I’m going to start this post with a general observation. I’m not looking to spark a debate or touch a nerve. But I have noticed that a lot of Christians tend to feel hesitant about asking God to help them fulfill their dreams because those dreams include success, prosperity, wealth, or something else of worldly value, and they aren’t sure that God really wants them to have those things.

But here’s the thing – God doesn’t turn his nose up at blessing His people. He doesn’t mind making them successful or wealthy. He did it all through the Bible, and He’s still doing it today.

Take Isaac for example. When we think of Isaac, we tend to define him in spiritual terms. He was one of the patriarchs of Israel. He was Abraham’s son – the son of promise. He was the one that God saved from being sacrificed. He was the father of Jacob and Essau – the one who proclaimed a powerful blessing over Jacob.

But look at what else the Bible tells us about Isaac’s life:

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him (Genesis 26:12-14).

This verse tells us that the Lord blessed Isaac with material blessings. In fact, God kept blessing him until he got so rich that the people around him started to envy him! Isaac was insanely prosperous. He had stuff. He had servants. He had a very successful life. Now that’s generally what we think of when we think of Isaac, but it was a very real part of his existence.

Why do you think that’s in the Bible? And why do you think that we don’t typically take notice of it?

Well, to answer the first question – I believe that this is in the Bible because it is a facet of the blessings of God. Deuteronomy 8:18 tells us that God is the one who gives us the power to get wealth. Why would He empower us to go out and get something that He doesn’t want us to have? That’s just silly.

But in answer to the second question I would say this – I think that part of the reason that we don’t generally notice the fact that Isaac was a wealthy, prosperous, and successful man is because that’s not what was important about his life. The important things were the ones that left an eternal spiritual difference. Those are the things that last through the centuries. They’re the things that are worth remembering and striving for.

The point that I’m trying to make is this: the fact that your dream involves a success, prosperity, or power does not make it a bad thing. God wants to give you those things. But those things are not what make your dream worthwhile. Your dream is worthwhile, because in God’s hands, it can leave a permanent spiritual impact on this world.

Don’t ever forget that. Your dream belongs to God first – and He intends to use it for His glory. If you’ll give your dream to Him, He will help you to achieve it. He’ll bless you too, with all of those material things that your dream comes with. But those are merely side-benefits of your much greater blessing – the blessing of being used to build His kingdom

Financial prosperity and spiritual success – you can have them both. God will give them to you gladly. But never forget which one is important.