Why did God bring you and me into the Promised Land of His Kingdom? Because He saw we would want to be righteous? No. Like the children of Israel, we were stiff-necked and rebellious from the beginning (Deuteronomy 9:7). He did so because of the wickedness of our Enemy.

We have an Enemy who, from before time began, has questioned the goodness and kindness, mercy and grace of God. “Can’t you eat of that tree, Eve?” Satan hissed. “God knows that in the day you eat of it, you’ll become godly.” In other words, “God is not as good as He purports to be. He’s holding something back from you, Eve. He knows that if you eat of that tree, it would be wonderful for you. And He doesn’t want you to have good things” (see Genesis 3:1–5).

Satan challenged the goodness of the Father not only in the garden, but also in Heaven. “Of course Job serves You,” he said to God. “You’ve blessed him. But if those blessings weren’t there, he would turn his back on You” (see Job 1:9–11).

Psalm 73:1 says, “God is good.”

Satan says, “No, He’s not.”

So God says, “I will prove My goodness and grace by bringing stiff-necked people like these into My Kingdom, by showering rebellious people like Jon Courson with blessing.”

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. - Ephesians 1:3–6

Paul says we were elected and redeemed not because God saw we were a good, sincere people who wanted to be spiritual, but in order that angels and demons alike would marvel, saying, “Look how gracious God is!”

Whether you’re prospering materially or moving into the Promised Land of the Kingdom and enjoying blessings spiritually, don’t think it’s because of your righteousness. The greatest danger to the children of Israel would not be the persecution or the battles in the Promised Land. The greatest danger would occur when things were going well because it would be then that they would forget the Lord.

How do you know when you’ve forgotten the Lord? It’s quite simple: you no longer have time for Him. After all, there are ski boats to use, vacations to take, money to spend. In times of persecution people don’t forget God. They gather together. They pray with passion. Their roots sink deep into the soil of the Scriptures. But in times of prosperity, people have toys to play with, places to go, hobbies to pursue. And, although they don’t admit it, they forget about God.

Statistics confirm that people forget the Lord in time of prosperity not only by withdrawing from fellowship, but by failing to give sacrificially. Ironically, people give much more generously in times of difficulty than in times of prosperity. In times of prosperity, they say, “I can’t tithe because I bought the second house, the newer car, and I’m overextended,” failing to remember that it was God who gave them the ability to do what they do, to bless them with every single thing they have.

If we truly believe that God has blessed us, we’ll say, “This is not my wealth. It’s God’s. Therefore, in giving my tithe I recognize that what came my way this week is not because of my cleverness or ability, but because of Him.”