As
a man, Jesus suffered great turmoil in His soul. This is exemplified on the day
prior to His crucifixion. As the passion of his soul-wrenching prayer
intensified, His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground (Luke
22:44).
He
prayed for several hours, until He could surrender His desires to our Father’s
will (Luke 22:42). Then as He focused on the joy set before Him in heaven, He
endured the cross, scorning its shame, and eventually sat down at the right
hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2).
In
laying down His life, Jesus raised our spirit, soul and body from the mire of
sin. His ultimate desire is to possess us as a Bridegroom embracing His bride.
Daily, He increases our spiritual awareness and our life blossoms from the
inside out.
He
pours out His unconditional love on the soul starving for affection. He
nurtures the soul, which lacks self-worth. He heals the attitude of the soul,
which is angry, bitter and unforgiving.
Slowly,
our doubts, fears, insecurities, self-centeredness, hurt feelings, bitterness
and rage diminish as He replaces them with the His fruit: love, joy, peace,
patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness, self-control and faith.
God's
Holy Spirit protects our soul from the deceptions and illusions of counterfeit
alternatives, which Satan uses to allure us away from God and back toward
worldly values driven by demonic influences.
In
the process of making us holy, the Spirit also heals our soul, which is wounded
by past experiences. The life and spirit of the Word become engrained in our
soul (Jeremiah 15:16 and I Peter 2:2), and we walk in holiness as we follow His
Spirit moment by moment throughout the day.
Prayer:
Father
God, You are the peaceful Lord over our soul. You woo us as the Lover in the
Song of Solomon. You call us into a deeper personal relationship with Yourself
until we change our focus from worldly pursuits to Your eternal quest. You transform
our natural mind with the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5).
Eventually,
carnality vexes, repulses and sickens us as much as it does You. We no longer
desire to do anything except what pleases You. We yield our desires more and
more to Your will. We relinquish to You all the power over our life. We do
this, not in painful submission, but in the joy-filled surrender of our soul.
Thought
for the Day:
When
we lift up our soul unto Him, the Lord Jesus Christ brings joy to His servants,
and each new morning produces proof for us of His unfailing love; as we lift up
our soul to Him, and put our trust in Him, He shows us the paths that we should
take for each moment of our day.
-
Psalm 86:4, and 143:8
