Many quote 3 John 1:2 as God’s assurance to us of good health and wealth but I was as shocked as you when I discovered how so
far from the truth this claim is. What you have in this verse is a prayer said as a greeting
to a Christian brother; not a direct statement or commandment attributed to Jesus or disciple under the direction of the Holy Spirit
Of course God
wants us to be in good health and to have wealth as spelled out in Deuteronomy
8:18 and the very popular Deuteronomy 28 verse 11-12. But like all other
promises, it requires effort on our part to tap into such assurance. Verse 8
has a caveat “But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God… that he
may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day." There is a doing required of you. Yes God made the covenant to Fathers of Faith but to tap into
it, we MUST remember God. You cannot take God, His words and His statutes with
levity and expect prosperity.
The caveat for
the assurance in Deuteronomy 28:11-12 is clearly stated in verse 1, 13
and 14:
“And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day… And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”
Christians must believe in God and His
commandments to sign into the assurance of wellness and prosperity. Simply put, to sign into the covenant of good health and wealth you MUST remain in God’s Word and not consider other gods or serve them! Christians must believe in God
and His commandments to sign into the assurance of wellness and prosperity.
Jeremiah 33:3 say, Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great
and unsearchable things you do not know. It is only after we trust in his overflowing
grace that God will begin to open to us His good treasures through the Holy Spirit. To
tap into this assurance, you must be prepared to do it God’s way. He said that
we should give (Luke 6:38) and only then will good measure, pressed down and shaken
together be given to us in the measure we gave!
Are you prepared to follow his
manual for prosperity? The Bible say, bring your tithe (Malachi 3:10) so that the windows of
heaven can be open to pour you out immeasurable blessings. Do you want to be in
good health? How well have you followed His direction not to gossip, begrudge,
back bite or harbour anger? You want to be prosperous? How well do you give? Are
you constantly looking at your own need and so refraining from meeting the
needs of others? Do you agree that all good gifts come from God and so refuse
every offer of being prosperous through illegal means like changing your date
of birth to get a job, or travelling abroad under someone else’s identity. Are
you dreams only as big as what you can afford or is your vision motivated by The Creator of the Universe?
With God, prosperity and good health is possible
for Christian. Only trust, obey and believe. It is okay to pray for God to show
you how to attain good health (dieting, cutting off junk food, going organic
etc.) or prosperity (prudence, diligence, integrity, giving etc.) but prayers
alone won’t make the assurance available to you because obedience, which is
better than sacrifice, is required. Colossians 2:2 records another prayer that
even as we focus on God, our hearts will be encouraged and we can work together
with others who know the living God to attain all the wealth that comes from
the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God. The
Bible enjoins us to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness
(Matthew 6:33). Solomon’s prosperity is linked to obeying this directive. We
can activate God’s word for prosperity and good health by applying our hearts
unto the wisdom of God.
Even after doing all that is required of you, the devil constantly contends with you to cause you to stumble. So ultimately, it is the grace of The One who rules in the affairs of men that is able to keep you in good health and wealth (Isaiah 60:5).
Dr. Omolola Omoteso is a minister who is passionate about sharing God's words for the healing of others.
