Soul prosperity

When I walked into the shop for my appointment, I immediately noticed my hairdresser’s weight loss and strained expression. After the usual greetings, hair chitchat, and wash, she turned to me and said, “You always have this light around you,” waving her hands in the air.

I did not know what to say and silently prayed for the Lord to meet her needs. And then she poured out her heart: recurrence of an old illness, a son with addictions, a marriage ending. I prayed for the light she saw to shine on her. When she paused, I heard myself asking if I could help her in a practical way. She did not hesitate to tell me how difficult meals were for her. After working all day she was not only physically exhausted but mentally drained. Complying with diet restrictions and cooking depleted any remaining energy.

I offered to make her my pea soup, reciting the ingredients. She said it sounded good. We checked our schedules and realized she would be taking her son to the dentist later that afternoon, just minutes from my home. The Lord had it all planned. “ ‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’ ” (Jer. 29:11, NIV).

Three hours later, pea soup and carrot muffins in hand, I met her in the dental parking lot. “I don’t know how to thank you,” she said as she clung to my hand. We talked about God’s love for her and His timely providence in supplying her needs. We held each other and prayed. I am sure God’s light surrounded us.

Divine leading

God has big, prosperous plans! I go for a haircut. He hears her heart cries. Moment by moment He orchestrates divine appointments intended to supply all the needs of His children (Phil. 4:19). He reminds me again that I desperately need to stay tuned to Him. At one point in our blessed chair conversation, she said, “I wish Jesus would come.” We agreed that we long to see Him face-to-face, but that day we saw His personal healing, health, and wholeness stretched out before us.

God has big plans to prosper His church. “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 2, NKJV). Soul prosperity is what our brokenhearted church needs and what our brokenhearted God offers. Praise God: Jesus always lives to pray for healthy souls to prosper His church (Heb. 7:25).

His Word “is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105, NKJV). It is the light that surrounds me. My God has plans for the rough roads and tough ascents. His ministry of healing far surpasses my momentary to-do list. That is the beauty of a real God for real people. He is really at work for everyone. He orchestrates opportunities to prosper souls.

We, at times, can be so focused on our plans that we do not see the opportunities He gives us to be a blessing and light to others. But as we pray and daily make ourselves available to be used, God opens our eyes to the people in need around us. And as long as we stay connected to Him, the Holy Spirit inspires us what to do and say, according to the Bible promise (Luke 12:12), and gives us the desire and joy to serve and bless.

By divine grace I can see God at work and discern His love and compassion for all sin-sick souls, including myself. I can minister with a heart open to His leading and a mind focused on the precious soul before me. I do not have all the answers, yet God’s answer comes. Pea soup prosperity! If we are in Christ Jesus, our beloved God has the freedom to orchestrate His will. His plans are not only for an eternal future but also for a living hope that strengthens our souls day by day (1 Peter 1:3–6).

“Each morning consecrate yourself to God for that day. Surrender all your plans to Him, to be carried out or given up as His providence shall indicate. Thus day by day you may be giving your life into the hands of God.”¹ As God’s leaders, let us go forward holding each other in prayer, holding out the Word of life, holding firmly to Jesus Christ. His big plan of salvation is, without a doubt, prospering souls.