Today's Inspiration:

9 - Good Success begins with
The Prosperity of My Soul

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

Here is an incident in the life of the Prophet Elijah, where He encountered a woman who really began prospering in her soul as a result of answering the Prophet's challenge of faith:

1 Kings 17:
7 And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
9 "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink."
11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand."
12 So she said, "As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."
13 And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.
14 For thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.'"
15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.
16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.
(NKJV)

So how do we know that this woman had a healthy soul?
We know this because her motivation was to obey God.
That's one sign of a healthy soul.

God had instructed His Prophet Elijah to command the rainfall to stop in the land of Israel, so that God could get the attention of the people. (There is nothing that gets the attention of people who have forgotten God, like no food and water.)

As the recession deepened, even Elijah's resources began to run out. Then God instructed His Prophet to ask a widow in the village of Zarephath to feed him.
God assured Elijah that He had given the widow instructions to feed the Prophet.

So how was this widow to know the person that the Lord was sending for her to feed?
She gave Elijah a test:
She gave him the stock excuse that she didn't have enough food in the house to allow her to share any with him.
This was Elijah's reply:
"Don't be afraid! Go ahead and cook that 'last meal,' but bake me a little loaf of bread first; and afterwards there will still be enough food for you and your son.
For the Lord God of Israel says that there will always be plenty of flour and oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!" (LB)

At this point, the widow had to decide:

Do I turn this man's request down flat?
OR
Do I take the leap of faith and feed a perfect stranger my 'last meal'?

She had enough faith left to take the risk of feeding Elijah as the Lord had instructed her, and she gave him her last meal.
The result was that she and her whole household were provided for until the end of the recession.

You notice she started off just feeding herself and her son. But as her extended family saw how the Lord provided for her, they evidently moved in and she began feeding "her household".
Not only was she able to feed the Prophet in a time of great need, but she was also a blessing to her whole family.

Prayer:
Father, today I would like to obey you in giving, so that I can be a great blessing to my family, as this woman was. Help me to hear Your instructions clearly, so I can obey them,
in Jesus' name,
Amen.





Next installment tomorrow, God willing!
See you then, and meanwhile,
Have a great day walking with Jesus,
Sol Wise.