Mensa Otabil - A Profitable Life
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Isaiah chapter 48, verse 17: Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I, the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go. Pay attention to what God says; He teaches us to profit. He instructs us and guides us to be profitable. Normally, when we talk about profit, we are discussing trading or accounting, where we consider profit and loss.
In this context, God speaks of profit in every area of our lives. He wants our lives to gain, to increase, to be profitable. He desires us to profit spiritually; He wants us to profit mentally. He wants us to profit in faith and wisdom. Our Christian life requires us to become fruitful, and the one who teaches us to be fruitful is the Lord God Himself. He doesn't just provide us with a fruitful earth or bestow talents and grace upon us; He also teaches us. When God teaches us, He guides us, helping us discover things that we ordinarily would not discover.
One of the things God assists us with, as He teaches, is helping us learn the things related to our fruitfulness easily. Everyone has something difficult for them to learn, but there are also things they learn quite easily. God directs us into paths He has already prepared for us. When God guides us on a path, one of the marks of the path He leads us into is easy learning. Easy learning occurs when you find an area where it almost seems as if you were prepared for it; everything about that area is easy for you to understand and absorb more than in other areas.
Some people take to law, and it comes easily to them; some people become historians, and history is straightforward for them; others wish to become doctors, and medicine just flows for them. Easy learning doesn't mean they don't learn hard; rather, there is a natural flow in their learning. Conversely, there are others who enter certain fields, and it's almost as if the field is fighting against them. Everything in that field seems to resist knowledge. If you encounter severe resistance as you advance in your studies, it may be God is telling you this is not an area of fruitfulness for you. So, easy learning is something you should be mindful of.
Secondly, when God teaches us, He gives us fulfillment. When God wants us to be profitable, He guides us to areas aligned with our gifting, aptitudes, and temperament. As we engage in these things, we find joy in them. There are pursuits that bring us gladness. Even if they are challenging, you still feel your life is contributing to something meaningful, something good. It's disheartening to go through life working hard yet feeling that everything you do is useless, hopeless, or makes no difference. If God is the one guiding you to profit, even if it is hard or tough, you will always end the day feeling fulfilled with what you have accomplished because He teaches us to profit.
The third thing is that, if God is the one teaching us, He will direct us to something we are passionate about, something in which we can channel all our energy. You might even lose track of time while doing it because you love it; you are fully engaged. Everything about you is in the flow, enabling you to commit all your passion to it, so when difficulties arise, you can persevere. Even if you aren' t receiving the financial reward you desire, you still carry on. So how does God teach us to profit? He directs us to areas where learning is not too tedious; it's easy learning that aligns with your mindset, the way you work, think, and process information. All of that works for you. He leads you to areas where you find fulfillment, and then He guides you into areas where you can contribute your passion. It is when all these components come together that your life becomes profitable. It is the Lord who teaches us to profit, and may the Lord guide you in a profitable direction.
Let's pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, teach me to make the right choices and take the right actions in all that I do, in Jesus' name. Amen and amen.