I love the third epistle of John verse 2 where we read, "Beloved I wish above all things you would prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers." What a wonderful God we serve. Our loving heavenly Father who desires us to prosper. We read in Psalms 35:27 "Let the Lord be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of his servants." Aren't we glad today God is on our side! We live knowing that in our Savior Jesus Christ we are forgiven, and God now wants us to prosper and be in health. Sometimes we get so busy trying to serve God and fight the battle of life and money we forget Jesus tells us in John 10:10, "I have come that you might have a life more abundant." If our going to church and paying our tithes is just another added burden to our already overloaded life, maybe we should look again at our relationship with the living God. Romans 8:32 tells us, "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how will he not with him freely give us all things?" When we come to Jesus, we do not find a religion like everyone else on this earth, but instead we enter a relationship with our living almighty God. the one who desires to be there for us in our daily lives. He is alive today desiring that we prosper and be in health, even as our souls prosper. Let us look again and understand Jesus always met people at the point of their deepest need. He met the blind man in his blindness, the woman with the issue of blood in her sickness. We too today can know the things that distress us and bother us are the very places our Savior of love and mercy wants to reveal himself to us, with his reality and power. As our fears and worries knock at our door let us answer with our faith, knowing God loves us more than we can ever know, and he is answering our prayers. It was him and not us who declared, "ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will open." We have not chosen Him, but He has chosen us: to love us, to bless us, and to prosper us in our finances and in our souls!
I am reminded of the story about the time there was a ship on the sea and a great storm came. The ship was battered and tossed upon the waves as the people gathered below in terror and in prayer. As they wept and cried out to God fearing at any moment they would perish, someone looked up and at the top of the stairs sat a boy like he didn't care. His mother with anger said, "get down from there, don't you understand we are all about to die!" The boy replied I am not worried, I peeked out and I have seen the Captain's face. His hand was upon the wheel and he was smiling at me.
And Jesus said, "fear not little flock it is my Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."