Sometimes following Yeshua can seem like a difficult decision to make and it indeed can be, but it is much harder if we forget to carefully consider the options that we are choosing between.
I think the feelings of indecisiveness regarding the choice to commit to the Lord would be removed if we mentally took a step back from the immediate situation placed before us and looked at the big picture to get a broader view of the pros and cons of either accepting or rejecting God’s will in the situation at hand.
Moses in Torah states, “Today I offer you life and prosperity or death and destruction. This is what I’m commanding you today: Love Yahweh your Elohim, follow his directions, and obey his commands, laws, and rules. Then you will live, your population will increase, and Yahweh your Elohim will bless you in the land that you’re about to enter and take possession of. But your hearts might turn away, and you might not listen. You might be tempted to bow down to other gods and worship them. If you do, I tell you today that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live for a long time in the land that you’re going to take possession of when you cross the Jordan River. I call on heaven and earth as witnesses today that I have offered you life or death, blessings or curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants will live.” Deuteronomy 30:15-19
From that passage it looks simple. Following God means good things, not following God means bad things. But life can make things a bit complicated, because prosperity doesn’t always look like prosperity by the standard of this world. For example, someone might sacrifice integrity for prosperity and in this life it may appear to be worth it, while someone may lose a job in order to keep the Sabbath and may seem no better off for it. But if we are measuring success by what God deems important we can see the true value of what we are choosing. “What advantage do people have if they gain the whole world for themselves yet perish or lose their lives?” Luke 9:25
“Don’t get upset over evildoers; don’t be jealous of those who do wrong, because they will fade fast, like grass; they will wither like green vegetables. Trust the Lord and do good; live in the land, and farm faithfulness.” Psalm 37:1-3. We are not to measure success by the standards of this life but by the standards of God’s word. Yeshua reminds us, “Instead, desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
The prosperity we are to seek first and foremost is the prosperity of the soul. We should want our love for the Lord to increase so the population of those who serve the Lord can increase through our influence. When we are following God we are following the only true path to life and prosperity. But we must understand what true prosperity is, and that means a relationship with God. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever doesn’t believe in the Son won’t see life, but the angry judgment of God remains on them.” John 3:36
