(1) As your Soul Prospers

Let's Jump in.
 

Today's thought is a reflection of 3 John 1:2.

FIRST, A LITTLE BACKGROUND.

This letter is written by John (yes, the disciple. Ya know the one Jesus loved. Not to be boastful or anything). He was the longest living disciple, which is pretty wild to think about him getting to follow Jesus on earth and then stick around the longest to see the beginning of how we humans tried to work out how to BE His Church and follow Him well. That just blew my mind when I read it. It is believed this letter was written from the Isle of Patmos where he was in exile and was writing to his pal Gaius who was leading a church(es) in Asia Minor (what a fun place). He was writing about the proper way to deal with troubles he was facing. That sounds like solid advice that olds up through ANY time. Amazing how some things never change. Troubles in figuring out how to be the Church alongside other humans who keep messing it up (them, of course, not YOU. obviously)- yeah that tracks.

NOW, THE THOUGHT.

I accidentally got stuck on this verse last week while preparing to teach on Emotional Health at a Marriage Conference here in ESwatini. I read it, kept rereading it, researched it, and reworked my teaching to focus on it. It's so good.

The phrase John used here, "to prosper in every way and be in good health" was a common phrase in everyday language at the time. It was so common for people to use this phrase that when writing it in letters, people didn't even need to write it out but just used shorthand, writing the Latin abbreviation of the phrase instead. No need to expound, they knew what you meant. Just like when some sneezes, the "bless you" comes almost as a reflex.

Oh but what stuck out to me is that John is not just wishing his friend Gaius good health and to prosper, as was the custom, but he tied it to the health and prospering of his SOUL. Some versions say "As your soul prospers".

I paused and thought, "what if my outward life and my physical health were a reflection of my spiritual health?" What if every other area of my life only prospered to the level that my Soul had already achieved?

By tending to the health of our souls, of our spirituality, we are creating an environment for our lives to prosper. May our souls be good soil from which our lives can flourish.

Not only that, the health of our bodies and all of the physical things that we use to define our life propsering will fade, but our souls will be what we keep for eternity.

How Can I Apply It?

How can we practically focus on the health of our souls? I have a few ideas, but these are by no means a rulebook:
 

• PRACTICE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES.

This has been my personal spiritual focus for the year and has been SO fruitful for me.So many different disciplines and ways to practice, but some are: Prayer, Meditation, Silence + Solitude, Fasting, Sabbath, Celebrating, Study.

• KNOW WHO GOD MADE YOU TO BE.

I could go on about this for as long as you would listen. But commiting to understand who God had in mind when He made you and growing into that person is so helpful! 
(One way I started to understand this was through learning personality. If you want to know more- email me and we can chat).

• GO BACK TO MOVE FORWARD.

Patrick's session at the marriage conference discussed in order to move forward in health, we may need to heal from things in our past. Sure, this can be sin. But it can also be from Generational Wounds from our family or Ungodly Beliefs we believe and have on repeat. Patrick can share more on that in the future if it would be helpful.

How do you keep your own soul healthy? What have you found helpful? We would love to hear and learn from you.

A PRAYER.

Lord, I pray for my friend today. Would you meet them in this moment exactly where they are, wherever in the world that is. Would you bless them that they would prosper and be in good health JUST AS they would spiritually? Would you weed our souls, give us tools to grow and maintain spiritual health, and let us continually learn how to walk with You.
Please bless my friend this week in everything that concerns them, Lord.
Amen.