INTERNAL PROSPERITY
Although there’s a wonderful sense of God’s blessing in these days, there’s also a lot of burnout.
Burnout can be sudden and surprising. And yet the inward underlying causes will have been operating long before the problem is manifest outwardly. Burnout occurs when the visible, the public, the external can no longer be sustained by the invisible, the private, the internal. So we must look under the surface, in the inner life.
Paul prayed: “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” (Eph 3:16,17) He’s praying for spiritual strengthening and resourcing in the inner life.
This series of five Body-Builders will be on the theme of the inner life.
20My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
21Do not let them depart from your sight;
Keep them in the midst of your heart.
22For they are life to those who find them
And health to all their body.
23Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.
Prov 4:20-23 NASU
Notice that life springs and issues forth from the heart; that the flow of life is from inward to outward. We see the same thing in 3 John 2: “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.” (NASU) Here, outward prosperity is sought, and inward prosperity is presupposed—inward to outward. Therefore we ask the question, “Is your soul prospering? Is it well with your soul?” And we’ll look at prosperity in the inner life.
What is the inner life?
The inner life is the solid foundation on which the rest of your life is built. It is the underpinning of everything else that life consists of, that private place within you where no one else can go or even see, the core of your being. As Gordon MacDonald puts it:
But our inner world is more spiritual in nature. Here is a centre in which choices and values can be determined, where solitude and reflection might be pursued. It is a place for conducting worship and confession, a quiet spot where the
moral and spiritual pollution of the times need not penetrate.
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In certain parts of Florida, there can be the appearance of a sudden “sinkhole”, where the ground itself simply collapses into a pit in the underlying limestone, perhaps caused by the drying up of an underground stream. In fact, sinkholes are not limited to Florida. They have in recent times been reported in various parts of the world, even in the UK. This frightening phenomenon pictures for us what can happen when the inner life is neglected, and our outer world suddenly comes tumbling down. We experience a sense of emptiness, hollowness. We feel like a beautiful soap bubble, floating—until the skin bursts, and there’s nothing inside.
Because the inner life is less measurable and less demanding, it’s often neglected until there’s a cave-in. Paul said: “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” (2 Cor 4:16). For us, it’s often reversed—outwardly we’re “doing fine”, yet inwardly we’re wasting away.
The goal is personal integrity through and through—a public or outer life that is consistent with and flows from a private or inner life.
What is the value of the inner life?
Persecution and tribulation test reality—it’s easy to feel mature in the good times. In the Parable of the Sower, the seeds sown on the rocky soil grow quickly and look good. But when the heat’s on the plants wither, because they have no root (see Mark 4:5,6). The root is akin to the inner life.
Jesus promised us that in this world we would have trouble (perhaps not one of His more welcome promises!). But in the same verse He promised that in Him, we’d have peace (Jn 16:33). It’s the picture of being at peace in Jesus right in the midst of the trouble in the world—as in the eye of the storm. Peace is internal.
Can you be alone and at peace with yourself, or must there always be activity? “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps 46:10)
There will be storms. The issue is: are we storm-proof? Later in Mark 4, Jesus was asleep in the storm, but Peter was in a panic. But by Acts 12 Peter was asleep in his “storm”, and panic was gone.
Are you a panicker? If you are, it suggests your inner life may not be in good order. It’s not that we ignore the reality of the storm, but that we find a place of poise in the inner control-centre of our lives, where we know that the correct steps are being taken and that the right outcome will result.
How do we get deceived to a place of no inner reality?
First, by neglecting our relationship with God. We can easily begin to function “horizontally”, blessing people, serving people, fellowshipping with people, even zealously doing “Church work”, but neglecting the vertical dimension of relationship with God. Others may not notice and God may not complain, but at the centre of our being, something is becoming hollow. It’s particularly dangerous when we justify our neglect by being too busy. Busyness dulls the hollow feeling. Fred Mitchell used to keep on his desk a motto that read: “Beware of the Barrenness of a Busy Life”.
Secondly, by giving out more than we’re taking in. If we do that, we’re running down our reserves, ministering from memory, and we can end up with insufficient resources to sustain ourselves. We need input. It’s an increasing danger the further “up” you go in leadership. As Ray McCauley famously said, “If your output exceeds your input, then the shortfall will become your downfall.”
Thirdly, by living at the level of another’s revelation while ours lags behind. We can deceive ourselves into thinking we’re further on than we are, and project ourselves trying to impress others with what we’re really not. It’s incongruous, like a three-year-old in a three-piece suit. If you’ve been a Christian for thirty or forty years, it’s no guarantee that you’re mature; but it’s harder to admit that you’re not. But if you’re not, you need to admit it. Unreality leads to burnout, and reality starts with the arrow that says, “You are here.”
Fourthly, consciously or subconsciously by imitating another. We try to live up to others’ expectations. We tend to imitate people we admire (our heroes), and forget that our giftings are different from theirs. We force ourselves to do certain things or act in a certain way, because we think these are the things that people in our position are supposed to do. We pick up such expectations from watching or hearing about others. These things may be appropriate for the others because they are called and gifted in those areas. But are you? You may be called and gifted in other areas. That means that you should work out your calling and gifting in other ways. Anytime we do things that we’re not resourced by the Holy Spirit to do, we do them in our own strength; and therefore we run ourselves down. If it continues, we end up completely run down.
I once had trouble with the alternator of my car. It was working intermittently. When it wasn’t working, the battery was not being charged, but the car was running on the battery. Then it failed altogether. The night was dark and cold. I knew I couldn’t use the heater, but I had to use the lights. I had only a short drive home, but by the time I was almost there, the battery was so low that I had to switch the lights off just to keep the engine running.
When we operate as God has gifted us to function, His alternator provides the power, and keeps our batteries charged—we can function indefinitely. But if we do what others do to get the results they get, but without ourselves being gifted in these areas, we drain our battery, and can come to the place where we need to shut things down just to keep our most basic functions going.
The only person you can successfully be is you. And that’s the only person God wants you to be. Imitation is responsible for much burnout.
And so we return to the question: “Is your soul prospering?” Are you experiencing internal prosperity?
Persistent neglect of this unseen inner reality will ultimately disqualify you from usefulness in the Kingdom of God. Pursuit of it will be the key to Christian stability and success.
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Eph 3:16,17
George Alexander
Reference:
1 "Ordering Your Private World" by Gordon MacDonald (Highland Books) ISBN 0-9446616-31-0 Back
Copyright © 2005, 2025 by George Alexander. All rights reserved.
George Alexander, 05/02/2026