The Women Who Followed (and Funded) Jesus’ Ministry

In our fast-paced, modern world, it’s incredibly easy to feel “exhausterwhelmulated”—a state of being utterly exhausted, overwhelmed, and overstimulated all at once. When we’re faced with this physical and emotional drain, we’re tempted to turn inward for restoration. Theologians call this incurvatus in se, a life lived curving inward on oneself, focusing excessively on our own needs, struggles, and desires rather than on God and others. As daughters and image bearers of a generous God, how do we reflect His generosity to the world when our exhausterwhelmulated state lures us into self-focus?

We see a profound historical example of transformation from incurvatus in se to outward, generous living in the women who walked alongside and financially supported Jesus. According to Luke 8:1-3, “Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.”

What makes the story of these women so remarkable is the driving force behind their radical generosity. Consider the order of events. Scripture notes that each of these women had been cured of diseases and evil spirits. They were, first and foremost, receivers of God’s grace and healing. In God’s giving plan, He always pours into us first. He not only gives us life and breath; he gives us the skills, abilities, and resources to share with others.

Giving is hard-wired into us before birth; it is in the very air we breathe, and what we have been given is meant to be shared with our families, friends, communities, and the nations. Because the women following Jesus had received the wonderful overflow of God’s healing power, they were transformed into givers. They stepped up to support Jesus and His disciples “out of their own means,” becoming the ultimate picture of both receivers and givers. They fully embraced their position as daughters of the King.

While God is the ultimate redeemer, He invites His daughters to join Him as co-workers in His restoration work. When we use our economic resources, investing practices, and daily work to support the needy and promote human flourishing, we are actively restoring what evil has taken. Just as Joanna, Susanna, and Mary Magdalene used their personal wealth and social positions to sustain the greatest ministry in human history, today’s daughters of the King are called to bring healing, restoration, and justice to our own communities.

To be a daughter of the King means understanding that our lives are fundamentally meant for others. It requires resisting the urge to curve inward during times of stress, and instead breathing in God’s love so deeply that we cannot help but pour it out. By overflowing with the same grace and generosity demonstrated by the women who funded Jesus’ ministry, we participate in the active restoration of the world and are continually transformed into the image of our Creator.

While God is the ultimate redeemer, He invites His daughters to join Him as co-workers in His restoration work.

A Prayer for God's Daughters

LORD, I am weighed down with cares, troubled in my soul. I am tangled in financial complexity, relational challenges, waiting in uncertainty, stressed, and overwhelmed. Yet,

I am a daughter of the King.

I have problems money can’t solve, relationships that I can’t reconcile, and questions that I can’t answer. Yet, I am not alone.

I am a daughter of the King.

I am tempted to work, hustle, and perform until I am exhausterwhelmulated. My natural response is to curve inward and to focus on self-care more than your care. Stop me from turning inward, help me breathe in your love and care. I can ask this of You because:

I am a daughter of the King.

You are transforming me into Christ’s image. You made me a creator, restorer, and connector. You’ve poured into me, and now I can pour into others from the overflow you’ve given me.

I am a daughter of the King.

Father, strengthen us to walk in the identity and inheritance you have declared over us. Help us to overflow with generosity because of the grace you’ve poured out on us.

In Jesus name. Amen.

This article was published in our Faithful Steward magazine, a quarterly publication filled with encouraging stories, biblical teaching, and practical tools to help you grow as a wise and joyful giver. If you'd like to begin receiving Faithful Steward, consider becoming a FaithFi partner.