Soul Prosperity

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” — 3 John 2 (NKJV)

As humans we have an affinity for external qualities. We do all we can preserve the outward representation of our lives because we loathe the idea of embarrassment. However, this external work often leads to the neglect of our internal qualities — those with the greatest value. While we focus on making the outside look exquisite, the inside is left overlooked, overrun, and uncared-for. While this may be the norm, it’s not ideal. The look of prosperity without the essence of prosperity is the advertisement of a lie.

During our current Sunday Sermon Series titled “Hunger Pains,” we’ve been learning how to satisfy the hunger of our souls. This week, we entered the heart of this matter as we uncovered the Kingdom truth that all prosperity flows from the inside out. Life prosperity begins with soul prosperity. Join us this week as we uncover the reasons why we should focus on Soul Prosperity.

In the book of beginnings (Genesis), we find the event where God brought man to life. It says, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7 KJV). When God formed man, what laid before him was a lifeless shell. It was not able to walk, talk or think. Without the soul, the body cannot do anything. It wasn’t until God breathed life into the nostrils of man that he came alive and became a living soul. I submit to you that the first reason you should focus on soul prosperity is because everything begins with the soul.

What is the soul? The Greek word for soul is psyche. It’s defined as the breath, heart, life and mind of a man. When God breathed into man, His breath formed the soul of man and that was the moment where human life began. Life didn’t begin when your crush noticed you. Or when you got your first paycheck. Or when you earned your degree. Life began when God breathed into you and all of who you are flows from that breath. Everything begins with the soul. If your soul prospers, your life will prosper in a way that will surpass your wildest imagination. This is why we must tend to the wellness of our souls. If the soul is cared for, the this will manifest in every other area of one’s life.

Soul Prosperity is the greatest prosperity because soul prosperity is eternal prosperity. Eternal prosperity is received through the free gift of salvation made available through faith in Jesus. In a conversation with a Pharisee named Nicodemus, Jesus spoke of God’s plan for your prosperity: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 NKJV). To be clear, our bodies (which are temporal) carry our souls (which are eternal). Our flesh cannot be saved, only the soul. Because the soul carries the essence of life.

Salvation can be defined as preservation from destruction. As humans we invest so much time in preserving physical items such as money, possessions, titles, etc.—none of which can last. Please know that I believe that stewardship of one’s resources and opportunities is important. However, we must know that while some things will transfer from one generation to another, all things physical will eventually pass away. The only thing that will remain is our souls and it can only be preserved from destruction by divine salvation.

Perhaps you’re reading this and realize that you’re either not saved or unsure of your salvation. Romans 10:9 says “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” According to John 3:16, Jesus is God’s gift to you for your salvation. Your faith in Him will not only save you, but will also renew your life, making you a child of God. If you desire to be saved, say this prayer: “Father, I receive Jesus as Lord of my life. I believe He died for me and was raised to life by Your power. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse my soul. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Today, I’m saved by my faith and not my feelings. In Jesus’ name, amen.” If you prayed this prayer with sincerity, I believe that you are saved! Your soul is now eternally prosperous. Continue to live out the lifestyle of Prayer 365, it’s a great way to grow in your faith. In addition to this, prayerfully search for a local church where you can thryve in your new life in Jesus Christ.

Did you know that your soul has the potential to unleash the limitless power of God in your life? The truth is, your potential is directly connected to the condition of your soul. If your soul is prosperous, then your potential is limitless. If your soul is hindered, your potential will be also. Let’s look at a famous scripture that speaks of this truth:

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” — Ephesians 3:20 NKJV

For years I looked at this scripture and only considered the “power working within us” as the powerful work of the Holy Spirit. While it’s true, as believers, God’s spirit resides within us, this is not all that is at work within us. Deep within every person is a soul and that soul is at work. Remember, the soul is defined as the breath, heart, life, and mind of a man. It is also the seat of one’s emotions, desires, affections, and aversions. Every aspect of the soul is at work in every man, woman, boy and girl.

Paul describes our potential in God as virtually limitless. However, the “exceedingly, abundantly” is contingent on the “according” of not only how well God works but how well the soul works with Him. I believe the potential of what God is able to do in our lives is based on how well our soul works with His spirit. A definition for the word according means to be in agreement on every point. When the soul works in agreement with God’s spirit, this is the true manifestation of soul prosperity. On the contrary, it is impossible for the Spirit of God and the soul of a man to agree when the heart, mind, emotions, and affections of that man are all over the place.

Another word for according is harmonizing. In music, harmony describes the pleasing mixture of notes. When notes, whether on a piano, guitar or human voices engage one another in a way that’s complimentary, it has the potential to create a masterpiece. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 was the result of extraordinary harmony and is arguably the greatest masterpiece of all time. However, it could not be considered as such if there was a lack of harmony between the conductor, the musicians and among themselves. If we compared our lives to that of a symphony, our body is the instrument, our soul is the musician, the word of God is the sheet music, and the Spirit of God is the conductor. If we don’t play the notes (live out the word) as it was composed by the Father, we are immediately out of harmony with the Holy Spirit. Instead of making music, we’ll be making noise. If I play the notes correctly but with the wrong rhythm (not following the Spirit’s leadership), I’m still making noise. It’s only when my soul (the musician) and the conductor (the Holy Spirit) are working together in harmony, that we possess the potential to create something extraordinary.

What I’m saying is this: in order to explore our potential in God, every aspect of our soul—our breath, heart, life, mind, emotions, desires, affections and aversions have to be in agreement with His spirit. If your soul is not in harmony with God, your success will always be limited. This is because your success is the result of your own efforts and not the supernatural effect of God. This is true for the individual as well as the organization, business, ministry, or community.
Here are questions I encourage you to ask yourself today: Is my soul in agreement with God’s spirit? Does my soul harmonize with the spirit of God? If the answer is no, there’s a major problem. Both history and scripture teach us that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand (Matthew 12:25). When we refuse to work in agreement with God, we can hinder the effectiveness of God. In no circumstance should we ever quench the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

Limitless potential is ready and available for every person to experience. However, “exceedingly, abundantly” requires soul prosperity. Our souls must work in harmony with God’s spirit. This is the key to unleashing your potential and greater success.

In Genesis 4, we find the first two sons of Adam and Eve—Cain and Abel, presenting their offerings to God. Cain’s offering was rejected. Abel’s was accepted. Instead of focusing on why one was accepted and the other was not, I want to focus on what happens next: Cain became angry. It was all over his face. God addressed his anger directly by asking him “Why are you angry?” It’s important to know that God doesn’t focus on the outward appearance of man, He searches the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). It’s because of this that God was able to see that it wasn’t just Cain’s face that was downcast, it was also his heart (soul). When asking, “Why are you angry?” This was God instructing Cain to inspect the posture of his soul. God knew that the posture of Cain’s life drew directly from the posture of his soul.

As children, we wore our emotions on our sleeves. If we felt angry, sad or offended, it was clearly written on our faces. As we grew older, we learned to buffer (soften) and/or delay the expression of our emotions due to objectively process what has happened or is currently happening. These actions are forms of suppression but should never be confused as the solution. Suppression is a tool to help manage our emotions and navigate challenges, but it does not solve problems. If the emotions of our soul are not addressed and processed, we can begin to look much like a damaged pipe.

The Leaking Soul
One common indication of a damaged pipe is that it leaks in its environment. If you own a home or have ever watched a television show on renovations, then you understand the damage that can occur because of a leak. Leaks can provide the perfect conditions for mold growth. The most common effects are related to respiratory issues—it affects one’s ability to breathe. Whenever a person has unaddressed issues within their soul, it can only be hidden for so long. Eventually, the unresolved issue leaks out of the soul into their character and slowly manifests through their actions. Just as mold affects the respiratory system, it becomes hard to breathe around a person who has been leaking emotionally for a long time. At unsuspecting moments, the air in the room becomes tense and restrictive. This can be confusing because it can happen even while a smile is worn on their face. When mold has grown substantially is that it develops a distinct smell. The same is true with the leaky soul, when the unresolved issue has grown worse, it become clear by the aroma of their words. This person may become increasingly negative, appear detached when close the area of concern, avoids conversation.

Another possible result of a leaky pipe is water damage. A slow leak over time can cause significant damage to the structure of a home. This is very dangerous because the structure of the home is what supports the weight of the home. If the structure is compromised, then the entire home is compromised. The structure of a man is his character. It’s one’s character that supports the weight of life’s challenges, opportunities, growth, and rewards. An unresolved leak in the soul can damage the structure of one’s character. With a compromised structure, any change in weight (challenges, opportunities, growth, and rewards) will be viewed as a possible threat. A person in this state will oddly fight, not against change, but against anything that threatens their sense of security.

Fix the leak!
The author of Psalm 42 reveals how to deal with a soul leak: “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, For the help of His countenance” (Psalm 42:5). The author is speaking from a place of distress. This feeling has clearly overtaken his soul. Instead of sitting in it, he chose to speak to it—his soul. He says, “Why are you cast down, O my soul?” This is a direct motion to address the posture of his soul. His soul was disturbed and depressed, but why? When confronting the issues within our soul we must ask the question “Why?” Why are you angry? Why are you bitter? Why are you annoyed? Why are you threatened? Why are you embarrassed? Why are you offended? Why are you hurt? “Why” doesn’t provide the solution, instead it identifies that there’s clearly a problem.

The writer’s next words are important. He instructs his soul to “Hope in God…” This can seem counterproductive as you feel that you need a resolution. However, it’s nearly impossible to uncover and resolve the problem objectively in a disturbed or depressed posture. Both depression and disturbance hinder the hope of restoration, resolution, and reconciliation. Therefore, the psalmist’s words are appropriate. We must instruct our soul, to “Hope in God.” The Hebrew word used for hope is yâchal which means to wait, be patient and trust. In moments where we are deeply disturbed and battling depression, we must patiently wait on God and trust Him. We can do so because He’s trustworthy and He’s able to help us in a challenging season. We are not expected to manage difficult seasons alone. We have a Father who loves us and promised to never leave us nor forsake us. For this reason, we can surrender our fears to Him, receive courage and have hope without the worry of shame (Joshua 1:8; Romans 5:5).

After instructing his soul to hope in God, the psalmist immediately says “…for I shall yet praise Him.” He’s letting his soul know that regardless of how he feels, his choice has already been made! His response to this problem is to praise! Another psalmist said, “I will bless the Lord at all times and His praise shall continually be in my mouth!” (Psalm 34:1). Up to this point I’ve drilled the fact that you cannot dress up the outside and not address the inside. This does not apply to praise. Praise is not a decoration; praise is a declaration! The psalmist goes on to explain the reason why he chose to praise: “Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, For the help of His countenance.” The word used for help means aid, deliverance, and health. I used to jokingly say that my face needs deliverance because I had a difficult time controlling my facial expressions. However, what I’ve learned is that God will not only deliver your face, but He will also heal your soul! When we praise God in the middle of distress, depression, and disturbance, we praise Him knowing that he has the power to deliver us! He possesses the power to repair the leak in our soul.

But why not ignore the problem? It seems so much easier. Why not just act cordial? Isn’t that wise? It may seem easy, it may seem wise, but when compared to deliverance, it’s clearly foolish. The posture of your soul will ultimately affect the posture of your life. Sometimes it may take a while to manifest, but if left unaddressed, it’s only a matter of time before it’s revealed. Don’t dress it up, address the problem and protect the prosperity of your soul.

The fifth reason why we should focus on soul prosperity is because our soul affects our perspective. Perspective has everything to do with how we see things. More critically, it’s been said that a person’s perspective is their reality. I believe this to be true because the author of Proverbs says, “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23 NKJV). Remember, the heart is a component of the soul. Whatever perspective my heart adopts will be the lens through which I see all of life. If my heart has a bitter perspective, that means I’ll see with a bitter lens. However, if my heart has a grateful perspective, I will see life through a lens of gratitude. The latter speaks to the perspective that every believer should have and that is the perspective of praise.

I believe the author of Psalm 42 didn’t just change his posture; he changed his perspective. He knew that if he didn’t correct the perspective of his soul that it would ultimately affect the way that he saw life. So instead of leaving his soul in a depressed state, he commanded that his soul take on the perspective of praise. He required his soul to align with his decision to praise God no matter what. If his soul would shine through the lens of praise, it would shift the trajectory of his entire life!

David demonstrated what the perspective of praise looked like in Psalm 34:1 by declaring, “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” This is a decision to maintain the perspective of praise, regardless of life’s circumstances. Another demonstration of the perspective of praise is found in Psalm 103:1-5 where David says the following:

“Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

In this Psalm, David commands his soul to align with his perspective to praise God. It then seems that he wanted to ensure he didn’t miss anything and said “And all that is within me, bless His holy name.” David deepens this perspective by saying “And forget not all His benefits…” If we’re not careful, the challenges, disappointments and even distractions of life can cause us to overlook the benefits that are attached to a relationship with God. Those benefits include the forgiveness of sins, healing of diseases, redemption from destruction, a crown of love and mercy, and renewed strength. When we have a perspective of praise or an attitude of gratitude, it causes us to be reminded of God’s goodness. Instead of seeing what’s wrong we can see what’s right. Instead of seeing the bad that happened, we can see the good that’s possible. Don’t allow your perspective to be controlled by pessimism or pain, instead let it be fueled by praise. Praise creates a culture of prosperity within your soul.

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