3 John 1-2

To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth. Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.

Are you someone who tries to fix everyone else? Have you ever tried to do that? Perhaps you have had times in life when you see an issue with someone that needs to be fixed and you jumped in, engaged, and it did not go well. What then?

I’m not saying there are no times to engage people when we notice problems and issues with their health or life or spiritual life. There are! But first, before engaging, pray.

The last of three letters the apostle John wrote is to his good friend, Gaius. We don’t know a lot about Gaius, but notice when John began his letter he didn’t launch off into a variety of things Gaius needed to fix. He didn’t jump all over Gaius. He didn’t try and get him to fix this or change that. Instead, he began his letter with a sincere he was praying for Gaius. He prayed Gaius’ health would be good and his life would be good, just as his spiritual life was good. In other words, he put Gaius’ life into God’s hands and let him do any fixing that needs to be done.

We all have people in our lives who are near and dear to us. We know the ways they need to be changed or fixed. Or maybe we don’t. Maybe we don’t always have the full picture. Or maybe we do know there needs to be a fix, but we aren’t able to help. Let’s take the approach of John and pray.

Instead of engaging first, entrust them to God’s care. Put their life and situation in God’s hands and let him do the fixing. Maybe there will come a time for you to engage and fix. Maybe not. Either way, take the time to pray for that person you love so dearly and be at peace God can take care of it.
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