He’s still doing the same for us, as His people, today. He’s still saying to us, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (3 John 1:2).
Ken and I can testify to this from experience: There’s nothing stingy about the Lord! When we first started learning how to receive from Him, we were in very bad financial condition. We needed everything. We lived in a little rent house down by the river in Tulsa, Okla., and though we were grateful to have it, it was in such pitiful shape I didn’t unpack for two weeks after we moved in.
For me, having a nice house was high on my list of priorities, so when I found out God wanted to prosper us, a house was the first thing I started believing for. Ken, on the other hand, began by believing for an airplane. (Houses are important to women. Airplanes are important to men. Ken is a pilot, so as far as he was concerned, he could live in an airplane!)
That was back in 1967, and I don’t remember what the world economy was doing in those days. But I can tell you this: The Copeland economy was looking up. The Lord began to increase us, and after a while, we not only had a nice home and an airplane for our ministry, but much more as well.
Now, some 48 years later, I can say that everything we’ve believed for we’ve received. It didn’t all come overnight, but over time. As we kept standing in faith and let patience have her perfect work, all the things we asked God to give us manifested. Better yet, we kept increasing all the time. Because God is a good God, He just keeps on BLESSING us.
He’ll do the same for you. No matter how long you’ve been walking with Him or how good things get, He’ll keep giving you more in every area of life. He won’t say, “OK, you have enough now. You have a car, a house and a job, so don’t ask Me for anything else.”
No, your parents might have said that kind of thing when you were a kid. People might say such things. If they hear you talking about believing for a new car, they might say, “You don’t need a new car. Your old car still runs.” But that’s not how God thinks. For Him it’s not about need. It’s about BLESSING—and His BLESSING always brings increase!
Which One Will You Choose?
As much as God desires to increase us, however, He can’t just pour out prosperity on us indiscriminately. If He gives us more than we’re ready to handle, it could harm us. That’s why He prospers us as our “soul prospers.”
“Well,” you might say, “how does our soul prosper?”
According to 3 John 1:4, it prospers when we “walk in truth” by living according to the Word of God.
BVOV : 27
