How to Prosper From the Inside Out
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. — 3. John 2
How does God prosper His people? It’s a good question. One that deserves an answer, and you can find it in 3 John 2. There the elder Apostle John writes by inspiration of the Holy Ghost, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” Prosperity means having security, peace, wealth and an abundant supply.
I want you to notice something. That scripture doesn’t say I pray you prosper even as the economy prospers or even as your employer decides to promote you. It says I pray you prosper as your soul prospers.
That’s where most believers miss it when it comes to receiving financial prosperity. They keep looking at situations outside them, thinking that’s where their hope lies. But God doesn’t work from the outside in. He works from the inside out.
He blesses you materially as your soul prospers on His Word. Then, as the seeds of prosperity are planted in your mind, in your will and your emotions, and as you allow those seeds to grow, they eventually produce a great financial harvest—no matter how bad the conditions around you may be.
Read the story of Joseph in Genesis 37-41. When Joseph was sold as a slave to the Egyptians, he didn’t have a dime to his name. He didn’t even have his freedom. But, right in the middle of his slavery, God gave Joseph such wisdom and ability that he made his owner, Potiphar, rich. As a result, Potiphar put Joseph in charge of all his possessions.
Later, Potiphar’s wife got mad at Joseph, and he ended up in prison. Talk about a dead-end job! There is really not much chance for advancement in prison, is there? But God gave him insight that no other man in Egypt had. He gave him such great wisdom that he ended up on Pharaoh’s staff—not as a slave but as the most honored man in the entire country next to Pharaoh himself. Joseph went from prison to being prime minister.
He rode along in a chariot and people literally bowed down before him. During a worldwide famine, Joseph was in charge of controlling all the food supply of the richest nation on earth. Now that’s prosperity!
How did God accomplish that? By prospering Joseph’s soul. No matter how dismal Joseph’s situation became, no matter how impossible his problems, God was able to reveal the spiritual secrets that would open the door of success for him. Joseph never compromised his faithfulness to God. He never compromised his character. He honored God and God honored him.
That’s what makes God’s method of prospering so exciting. It works anywhere and everywhere. It works in the poorest countries on the face of the earth just like it will work here.