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Counterintuitive, even counteractive--the common expectation is that, when you have plenty, you will have peace. But it is not entirely so. Success has what is called a spiral syndrome. And there is a normal issue where success at one level wants to make success at another level possible. And that's really good. But I have found some people who have plenty, much more [than] they ever need, much more than they can ever manage. They have actually accumulated stuff for generations to come. But they do not have peace in the middle of prosperity. One actually told me money is a curse in his life. He said, "I like the good life. But, because I have money, I have a lot more complexity. I have much more to manage." And cascading down is a huge amount of problems and responsibilities.

Not long ago in the Middle East, there were 300 business tycoons who were lodged in a very fancy, expensive hotel for days on end in a national corruption initiative, anti-corruption drive, actually. And, after these things were solved, bringing many more billions back into the economy, people are now afraid of making transactions with large amounts of money, because they feel they are monitored by the state. They are sitting on very, very large amounts of cash in their homes. Foreign direct investment is plummeting. The cost of direct and indirect business is increasing.

So they are simply sitting on it. Many of them own palaces. A local banker said that he hears every week from a broker who sells palaces, asking, "Do you know anybody who wants to buy a palace?" And you thought, in the middle of plenty, you will have peace.

These are worried people, people who don't know how to handle what they have been given. They do not have peace in the middle of prosperity. Is it possible at all? Actually it should be because economic rank and material acquisition should not affect inner peace. And the poor have their own challenges. But they have different kinds of challenges. The commonality between the very poor and the very rich is that both need inner peace to handle circumstances, to handle relationships, to handle life itself.

Now, how can the ultra-high net worth individual find peace? And, because you may be one of those, you think you can negotiate it, or you can get a better deal. You can somehow manipulate it, that you can actually obligate others to give you what you need. But you can't operate like that with God.

God, whose peace must attend to all people, regardless of material rank and status and economic prowess, says, "The only way you can have My peace is if you receive it. And you can't control Me like you have done in every other area of life. You simply have to receive it. And I want to give it to you."

You see, God is the author of peace, the definer of peace, the supplier of peace. And He comes to us and says, "You have been estranged from me. That estrangement cannot be bridged by you, regardless of how much money you have. That estrangement can only be bridged if I came down to you." And that's what He's done in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so the Lord Jesus can be the source and the architect of peace in your life. In the middle of your plenty, He can give you And the estrangement has to be overcome. If you want to carry on in your own way, there is no hope for peace in your life. But, if you are willing to say, "Yes, I have too much--I have much more than I can manage. And I cannot handle it all. And I need His peace in the middle of my life." I want you to invite the Lord Jesus in a simple, receptive approach, and say, "Please come in. Take over my life. I trust You as the only one who can give me peace, by having overcome the estrangement between me and God. I need You to walk along with me in the middle of my plenty."

Peace can be found in the middle of prosperity, or poverty, through the Lord Jesus Christ. You think about it. Let's talk about it.