Satan has had us in a poverty mentality so long that it’s tough for us to grasp just how intensely God really does desire to prosper us—even though He’s demonstrated that desire again and again.

Take Abraham, for example. God made him an extremely wealthy man. Genesis 13:2 says he was rich in cattle, in silver and in gold.

Then, of course, there was Solomon. The Bible says he surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

God’s servant Job possessed such great wealth that he was called the greatest of all the men of the East. That was before Satan put him through the wringer. Afterward, God blessed him with more than twice what Satan had stolen.

The problem is, just the thought of the kind of wealth God gave to those men scares most believers today. They’re afraid it would destroy them.

God has said that “the prosperity of fools shall destroy them” (Proverbs 1:32).

But that doesn’t mean you should avoid being prosperous. It means you should avoid being a fool!

I challenge you, this week, to go to the book of Proverbs and find out for yourself what God says about the characteristics of a fool. Let the Holy Spirit search your heart. If you see ways in which you’ve been a fool, repent and make a firm decision not to be caught in that trap again.

Let the Word of God inspire you to leave foolishness behind and stir within you the faith to reach out and receive what you, as a redeemed child of the living God, have a divine right to—not the curse of poverty, but the blessing of prosperity!