God is in the heavenly realm, but He works in the real world. He deals not just in spiritual blessings and rewards, but in tangible, black-and-white, dollars-and-cents material blessings and rewards as well. He’s the God of heaven, and also the God of this present world. He transcends both, rules in both, lives in both, dominates both‚ creates in both, and has the power to pay us in both currencies.
We need to learn to trust Him for the material things that we need—not just our spiritual needs like happiness, purpose, and peace of mind. He’s just as powerful‚ just as capable, and just as willing to give us the tangible, practical blessings we need. We need to not limit God in our minds, but to realize that His influence is all-encompassing and that He is capable of performing miracles in both the spiritual and physical realms. He can and will bestow on us both spiritual and material blessings.
God has given us some amazing promises in His Word. These promises are for real. They have been given to us by our truthful God who never lies. He doesn’t exaggerate. He doesn’t pump up His promises to lift Himself up or to make us feel good. He gives us His promises because He wants us to believe and claim them as our own, so He can give us all of the great things He has in store for us.
They’re not fake promises, but each one is conditional. “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”[Psalm 37:4] “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”[Matthew 6:33] “Give and it will be given to you.”[Luke 6:38] “No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”[Psalm 84:11] They’re each dependent on us fulfilling our part of the bargain, which nearly always comes down to keeping His two great commandments: love God, and love our neighbors as we do ourselves.[See Matthew 22:37–39.] But if we do our part, they are guaranteed to come to pass—not necessarily in the way we want or think they will, but in God’s time and way. Like a wise and loving parent, He always knows what’s best for us and is happy to give it to us.