Though we live in a world that values what is visible, the picture right in front of you isn’t always the whole story. That’s why, when it comes to seeing clearly and living purposefully, I’ve learned to look beyond appearances.
I have also learned to apply this same principle to Scripture. Rather than focusing on a familiar verse or relying only on what I’ve been taught, I want to read Scripture in context, with an open mind, willing to examine what I already believe and open to fresh insight from God’s Word.
I did this recently with Deuteronomy 8.
When we talk about wealth and financial increase, one verse in this chapter is quoted more than almost any other. It is verse 18, which says, “But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth.”
It is a powerful verse. But when I recently found myself looking beyond that verse and studying the whole chapter, I realized that the verse carries a much deeper meaning when we understand the context in which it was given.
Deuteronomy 8 is not simply a chapter about wealth. It is about the wilderness, testing, humility, obedience, provision, abundance, prosperity, pride, remembrance and our relationship with God. In other words, Deuteronomy 8 does not simply tell us that God gives us the power to get wealth. It gives us a framework for pursuing, receiving and maintaining wealth without losing our relationship with God in the process. And I think this distinction is important.
People can become wealthy by applying sound principles of work, value creation, discipline, investment, business and financial management. These principles work whether or not someone acknowledges God. What makes the believer’s pursuit of wealth different is not simply how much wealth we acquire, but who we remain while acquiring it, who gets the glory for the ability to create it and what we do with the increase.
So, here’s what we can learn when we look beyond verse 18
1. Learn from seasons of lack
Verses 2 – 5, 16
Before Moses spoke about wealth, he reminded the Israelites about their forty years in the wilderness. That season had a purpose. God used it to:
- Humble and test them
- Reveal what was in their hearts
- Teach them dependence on Him
- Establish the importance of obedience.
This gives us a different perspective on seasons when resources are inadequate. Not every season of lack is evidence that something has gone wrong. Sometimes, difficult seasons are also seasons of formation. They can teach us dependence on God, patience, discipline, contentment and wisdom. They can expose attitudes and desires that may become dangerous when we have more.
So instead of only asking when the difficult season would end, you can also find out what God is developing in you through that season. This way, you do not simply survive a season of limitation; you emerge from it with greater wisdom, maturity and capacity.
2. We need the capacity to create wealth
Verses 17 – 18
Verse 18 tells us that God gives us the power to get wealth.
This matters because it means we should not think of supernatural financial provision as only money appearing from nowhere. God gives us the capacity to create value. This can be wisdom, ideas, skills, creativity, diligence, opportunities, relationships and favour.
Instead of only praying for God to give you wealth, pray for God to help you build the capacity to create wealth. Ask:
- What skills do I need to improve?
- What problem can I solve?
- What opportunity have I overlooked?
- What idea can I develop?
- What can I build, create or offer?
- Who should I learn from or collaborate with?
Faith without works is dead (James 2:17). You will need to take some action, and sometimes, that action is connected to a capacity God has already placed within you but expects you to develop and use.
3. Recognize and use what God has already provided
Verses 3 – 4, 15
Throughout their wilderness journey, God had already been providing for the Israelites. He sustained them, fed them and preserved them. Then, as Moses reflected on their journey, he reminded them of what God had already done.
The lesson here is that when we are believing God for increase, we should not become so focused on what we don’t have that we fail to recognize what we already have. Your current resources may appear small compared with the vision before you, but you may be able to do more with them than you realize. These resources include your
- Knowledge.
- Skills.
- Experience.
- Relationships.
- Ideas.
- Existing work.
- Opportunities.
So instead of just thinking about new things that you need, also identify what God has already placed in your hands, and figure out ways to use them more wisely.
4. Prepare for increase before it comes
Verses:7 – 13
One of the most striking things about this chapter is that Moses warned the Israelites about prosperity before they entered the Promised Land. He described a place of abundance, including good land, water, food, natural resources and prosperity. But he also warned them about what could happen when they had eaten, become satisfied, built good houses and accumulated possessions.
This teaches us that preparation for wealth is not only about learning how to make money. It is also about developing the character and discipline required to handle more.
- Can you manage more without becoming careless?
- Can you remain generous without becoming wasteful?
- Can you make wise decisions when more is available?
- Can you maintain your integrity when you have more options?
- Can you remain obedient to God when you no longer feel financially desperate?
Improving your capacity to handle increase is part of preparing for increase.
5. Guard your heart against the pride that can come with success
Verses:11 – 18
One great warning in this chapter is what prosperity can do to the heart.
Moses warned the Israelites that when their possessions increased, they could become proud and forget God. He even described the dangerous thought that could arise in their hearts in verse 17: “My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.” That is why he immediately brought them back to the truth in verse 18 by saying, “Remember the Lord your God….”
This teaches us that it is possible to pray desperately for increase and then, when it comes, we gradually begin to live as though we no longer need the One who made it possible. We may begin to attribute everything to our intelligence, hard work, connections or business ability.
Those things genuinely contribute to success. But verse 18 reminds us that even our capacity to create wealth is ultimately a gift from God.
So, while praying for financial increase, also pray to God to help you stay humble with increase.
6. Let obedience remain more important than wealth
Verses 1, 6, 11, 18 – 20
Throughout the chapter, prosperity is connected with a warning to observe God’s commands and not forget Him. This means that our pursuit of wealth cannot be separated from obedience. There will be financial opportunities we should be willing to reject because:
- Not every profitable opportunity is a good opportunity.
- Not every open door is a door we should walk through.
- Not every increase is worth the price it demands.
If gaining wealth requires us to compromise our integrity, disobey God or become someone He has not called us to be, then the wealth is too expensive.
Never become so desperate for financial increase that you compromise the character God is developing in you.
7. Keep remembering God as you increase
Verses 10 – 18
This is perhaps the central message of the entire chapter. As you read Deuteronomy 8, you would notice how often Moses tells them to remember.
- Remember how God led you.
- Remember how He provided for you.
- Remember the lessons of the wilderness.
- Remember Him when you are satisfied.
- Remember Him when your possessions increase.
- Remember that your ability to create wealth came from Him
Fellowship with God, study His word, and follow His leading always. Remembering Him always would help keep you in check and ensure that you do not lose your relationship with Him.
8. Give wealth a purpose beyond yourself
This isn’t stated directly in the chapter. It’s more of an application of verse 18.
One way to remember God in your increase is to use it to fulfill purpose.
I noted in my book 40 Days to a Clearer Vision that your purpose is the reason God created you and placed you in a position of authority over everything else He made. This is summarized in Ecclesiastes 12:13 (GNT), which tells us to “Have reverence for God, and obey his commands, because this is all that human beings were created for” and expanded in Jesus’ words in John 15:16 (NIV), where He said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit, fruit that will last”.
In Day 18 of the book I wrote, and I quote:
“When you reverence and obey God, you live out the purpose for which you were created. You reflect His character, reveal His wisdom in your daily activities, and display His works through acts of love and service. Your obedience produces lasting fruit, seen in the positive impact your acts of love and service have on others while you are here and even after you are gone”.
In remembering God in our increase, the wealth should not end with our personal comfort and consumption only. It should become a means through which we bear fruit and make a positive impact around us. With the wealth we create, we can serve, give, create opportunities, solve problems and contribute to purposes greater than ourselves.
Conclusion
Deuteronomy 8 therefore gives us a powerful framework we can follow from the seasons of lack, to when increase comes and afterwards.
The goal therefore should not be simply to get wealth, but to get it without becoming proud, forgetting the source and losing our way. “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” (Mark 8:36, NLT)
So as you pray for wealth, also ask God to
- Build your character
- Increase your capacity
- Sharpen your wisdom
- Keep your heart humble
- Teach you to use whatever He places in your hands for His purposes
Because ultimately, the greatest evidence of God’s increase in our lives is not simply that we have more, but that we can have more and still belong completely to Him.