I am no investment genius, but I know one thing, anytime you invest your resources or talents into something you do so expecting to earn a profit. If you lose your investment, that is not good. If you break even, that is not too bad, but if you make a profit, that is better.

It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. – Isaiah 55:11 NLT

No other investment can ever produce greater profit and prosperity than the Word of God. It was by God’s word that the heavens and the earth were created. God said, let there be light and there was light. Through God’s word, Jesus turned barrels of water into wine, calmed storms, healed the blind, raised a dead man, and so much more. God, speaking through the Prophet Isaiah, said that his word would be fruitful and prosperous. But there is an exception; God’s word is of no profit to anyone unless they apply it.

For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. – Hebrews 4:2 NKJ

God promised the people of Israel who had been enslaved in Egypt for more than four hundred years, that he would personally secure their freedom and lead them to a very prosperous land of their own. True to his word, God in a powerful way, lead them out of Egypt. He parted the Red Sea and the people were on their way to the Promised Land. What a magnificent story! But wait, this was of no profit to the people of Israel. The entire generation died in the desert never entering the Promised Land. This wasn’t because God had changed his mind or because his word had lost its power. No, they never received the benefits of God’s word simply because they chose not to believe God sufficiently enough to apply his word.

Every day people pray and ask God for something better, a better marriage, better health, or better finances. But after they pray, they walk out and ignore God’s directives for their marriage, health, and finances, and the word of God that created the heavens and the earth is of no profit to them. It is just like the person who is given a tip on a moneymaking investment but they fail to invest in the venture. Can that person expect to earn a profit? Obviously not, the information alone is of no profit to them.

The same is true when it comes to God’s promises. He will give us the inside scoop on how to gain something better, but if we fail to apply his word, then his promises are of no benefit to us. Something better is always the result of knowing but more importantly, of applying what you know.