God speaks this very same sentiment to us in His Word. He wants things to go well with us! From a simple search in the New International Version translation of the Bible, it looks to me like this phrase—that it may go well with you—is found about 15 different times in Scripture. Each time, the phrase is preceded by an instruction from the Lord. Do _______ so that it may go well with you. Are you curious? What kinds of things does God tell us to do so that things can go well with us?! We can see what God highly values by taking a closer look at these verses. Among many things, obviously, He values obedience, honor, humility, service and purity.

OBEDIENCE – Many different times throughout Scripture, the Word says that if you obey God’s commands and instructions, it will go well with you. Check out a few of these instances: 

• Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time. -Deuteronomy 4:40
• Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. -Deuteronomy 6:3
• Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord your God. -Deuteronomy 12:28
• Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. -Jeremiah 7:23b

HONOR – God values honor. He tells us to honor the right people in our lives! What does that mean? When you honor someone, you treat them with respect and with high esteem. Who do you intentionally honor? Who do you casually dishonor? Scripture is quite clear about the importance of honoring parents. In fact, this is such a clear command that it’s included in the 10 Commandments that God gives Moses in Exodus 20. One awesome thing about this particular commandment is that it comes together with a promise. Take a look:

• Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you. -Deuteronomy 5:16

HUMILITY AND SERVICE – Our phrase of the day, it may go well with you, is also connected in Scripture to humble service. The Old Testament books of Kings, Chronicles and Jeremiah detail the events surrounding the Israelites’ deportation to Babylon. Because they had been hardhearted and disobedient, God had warned the people that they would face a period of Babylonian exile. When the time came and Jerusalem fell, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, appointed a man named Gedaliah to govern over a group of people left behind in Judah (but still under Babylonian rule). As he stepped into this leadership position, Gedaliah instructed the people to humbly submit to the Babylonian king for this time period. 

• Gedaliah took an oath to reassure them and their men. “Do not be afraid of the Babylonian officials,” he said. “Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.” -2 Kings 25:24

PURITY – We can also see how God values purity—distance from sin. Much of the book of Deuteronomy is Moses giving the Israelites instructions for right living according to God’s law. Moses told the people exactly what the Lord required of them if they wanted to cross into the Promised Land. As part of these instructions, Moses provided details about setting up “cities of refuge.” These cities were to be set up as safe havens for anybody who killed another person unintentionally. (Read Deuteronomy 19 for more details!) In his thorough explanation, Moses clarified that someone who killed another person out of hate cannot flee to a city of refuge for safety. In fact, he said that if such a person did make it to a refuge city, the Israelites should act decisively by turning the guilty man over to town elders for a death sentence. The people were to stay as far away from that person as possible. Moses said: 

• Show no pity. You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so that it may go well with you. -Deuteronomy 19:13

Isn’t it interesting to look more carefully at these different things God values? Of course, this is not an exclusive list! But with each of these verses, He states that if you act accordingly, it will go well with you. What a promise. So I know you may be thinking… I’ve had times in my life where I was honoring my parents with great fidelity, and things were not going well in my life. Maybe you had car trouble? Or an unexpected bill to pay? Or a frustrating medical diagnosis? Obviously we know that our lives here on earth are not perfect. We live in a sinful world, so we simply cannot live in a state of perfect bliss at all times. 

So then, what do you suppose it actually means for it to go well with you? Well, the Bible doesn’t spell that out exactly. And while that ambiguity might bother you, it can also be beautiful. We can always ask the Holy Spirit to provide insight and wisdom on Biblical words, statements and principles, and as I sit with the Holy Spirit to think about this phrase, here’s what comes to my heart and mind. Even if my life is in shambles, I can still say that things are going well when I am living submitted to the sovereign King of the universe. Why? Because when I have His peace that passes understanding dwelling deep in my soul, then no matter what’s happening on the surface, I know that ultimately, all is well. Jesus has triumphed over sin—all is well. He has defeated death once and for all—all is well. He is reigning in Heaven and is coming back to restore perfect fellowship with all who believe in Him—all is well. 

God calls us to be sanctified, which means to become more and more like Him. Colossians 3 tells us to take off our sinful nature and, instead, put on our “new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” So if you’re looking for one way, today, that you can set your sinful ways aside and be more like Jesus, maybe focusing on one of these values is the way to go. 

• In what area of your life do you need to be more obedient to God’s Word? 
• Who can you show greater honor to? Your parents? 
• How is God calling you to humbly submit to a specific authority or situation? 
• What sin do you need to distance yourself from—in pursuit of purity? 

Choose one of these areas to focus on so that it may go well with you. 🙂