God
created us as a triune being with a body, soul and spirit (1 Thessalonians
5:23). In our soul - our thoughts, emotions and choices - we have three ego
states commonly known as our Inner Parent, Adult and Child.
King
David understood this when he quieted and calmed His soul like a weaned child
within him (Psalm 131:2). Our child-like faith is what enables us to dwell with
God forever (Matthew 18:2-4).
Our
soul is the most overlooked aspect of our human make-up. God gave us thoughts to express our emotions in
order to communicate our honest feelings with other human beings.
However,
we often ignore the needs of our body, soul and spirit, because of the demands that
our busy schedule puts on us. Negative emotions are red flags to alert us when
there is an issue in our soul that needs our attention.
We
rarely pay attention, however, because we bombard our life with useless trivia
and concerns, and we consult social media more that we chat with God.
Most
of the people living on this earth see God as a restrictive task master, and they
do not want to hear the preaching of His Word or to have friends that proclaim
the name of Jesus Christ (Psalm 2:3).
The
tragedy of this viewpoint is that it is a ploy from Satan to keep people from
experiencing for themselves the bountiful benevolence of our protective Father.
God
does not want us to reap the consequences of our sin; therefore, He provided
Jesus to take our punishment. He also gave us His Word to direct our paths away
from destructive behavior.
As
we sit still before the Lord each day, listening for the direction of His
Spirit, we hear His reassuring voice comforting us as we benefit from His loving
care (1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 55:22).
Prayer:
Father
God, thank You for forgiving our unfaithfulness. We get so distracted by life
that we abandon You for hours at a time. Instead, if we walk in Your Spirit, You
enable us to bear more fruit for Your Kingdom. You give us everything we need
to live a productive life (1 Corinthians 4:7). All of our talents and abilities
come from You alone.
Many
people fear losing friends if they commit their life to You. They do not
realize that they will actually gain truer and a greater number of friends,
family really, than they ever thought possible. These people will spend
eternity with us, so our time together now is merely a prelude to the wonderful
concert You prepared for those of us who love You (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Thought
for the Day:
The
work of the righteous is peaceable, and our service to our King gives us confidence
and peace forever; no criticism makes us less, and no acclaim makes us more than
we are in Christ; we do not rely on the praise of men or on human ideals of
success, but we give our loving Father the glory for who we are, for all that we
have, and for what we accomplish.
- Isaiah 32:17
