God Cares About Our Soul

 


This may not seem like truth to you at first. You may think that this is a selfish attitude. But, I want to assure you, that God desires for us to meet the needs in our own spirit, body and soul – our mind, will and emotions.

The Bible tells us to “Love our neighbor as our self”. If we have not cared for our own needs, we will have no emotional, mental, physical or spiritual energy to meet the needs in others that God brings our way.

You can only give from what you have. If you do not feed your body, you will have no physical strength. If you do not feed your spirit, you will have no spiritual direction. In the same way, if you do not feed your soul, you will have no intellectual or emotional energy to meet your needs or the needs in others.

If we wait on Him, God helps us to meet our needs in His own way and timing. Learn to laugh and enjoy God's blessings in your life, love the people He put in your life, and appreciate the unique person God created you to be.

Selfish people are so focused on their own needs, that they need to do less of that and focus more on the needs of other people around them - especially their family members, neighbors and workmates.

Some people feel guilty about allowing others to minister to their needs. This attitude actually stems either from false pride, a lack of self-worth or from unforgiveness toward our self. Please realize that you can accept help from other people, because it comes from God.

We may also feel guilty if we do not meet all the needs of all of the people who come our way. When others ask you to do something for them, if you do not hear God saying, “Yes,” then it is much wiser for you to say, “No.”

This attitude may take practice! This is especially true if you are not used to refusing another's request. As codependents, we compulsively feel the need to worry about everyone, and to meet all of their needs and to solve all of their problems.   

The real issue here is the will of God. If you do not feel God saying, “Yes,” then please, say, “No.” To do otherwise is disobedience to God!

Then you are out of the center of His perfect will for your life and you are frustrating God’s will for that other person too. If God calls us to serve in some position at home, work, church or community, He also grants us the grace to meet these needs.

If we find that we regularly lack peace in what is expected of us, then we must seek God’s will about our life. If we are out of His will, He will redirect us by His peace (Philippians 4:7).

Prayer:

Father God, we know we are walking in the center of Your will if we have Your complete peace within our spirit (Philippians 4:7). When we feel anxiety or any negative emotion, remind us to stop and pray! Help us to follow the leading of Your Holy Spirit each moment of the day.

When we feel Your complete peace again, regardless of all the natural considerations, we will know that we are back in the center of Your will. Our fulfillment only comes as we live in Your peace. Help us to serve You with our body, soul and spirit. Remind us that You have a perfect will for our life and we can walk in it (Ephesians 2:20).   

Thought for the Day:

Follow the Holy Spirit to do God’s will rather than allowing the compassion of your soul to lead you to meet the needs of those around you or to succumb to the obligations you feel are placed on you by your position in life.

       

Behind the Masks

Who are you behind the mask you wear? Do you wear your feelings on your shoulder for other people to see who you really are? Do you try to act one way when you really feel another?

Or have you learned that it does not matter what other people think about you? Are you free from the tyranny of their opinions? Do you let your insides out?

Our fears and insecurities often define who we really are inside. We may have a strong spirit, but a very wounded soul. We appear strong, yet are feeble within.

When people reject us for our weaknesses, we feel like worthless damaged goods, which increases our fears and insecurities and compounds our problems.

Some people will actually disdain our inner self, many simply tolerate us and others dwell with us with understanding. The good news is that Jesus died for our inner self too.

His Spirit is transforming our inner self into a new creation through one stage of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18). He slowly peals away the bandages we apply to our wounds.

He exposes the raw emotion and anxiety and puts the salve of God's unconditional love on each one of them. The only opinion of us, which really matters is God's.

This revelation frees us from having to hide behind masks. Jesus encourages us to let our insides out and to receive His healing for our past and His strength for our future.

Prayer:

Father God, teach us not to value anyone else's opinion of us, but to gain our identity through Christ in us. We do not need to rely on any person, place, thing or accomplishment to feel good about our self. It is our personal relationship with You that makes us a child of the King.

Help us to make room for Jesus on the throne of our life where He belongs. He is our best friend and He actually sticks closer to us than any human being ever will (Proverbs 18:24). Your love is ours both now and throughout eternity and flows over us like a waterfall.

Thought for the Day:

Tolerance is not acceptance; only Jesus fully accepts us just the way we are, and then perfects us by His Spirit as He fills us with His joy and peace.

Secret Intents and Motives

When we depend on someone else for our sense of value, we put our self into bondage to that person. Our motives, goals and opinions revolve around that person's whims.

People come and go in our life. They have unrealistic expectations of us, tire of us and dump us on the curb like a useless sack of trash.

However, Jesus never ever leaves us or forsakes us (Hebrews 13:5). He died for us in spite of our self and our failings. He approves of us in Christ and fully accepts us with all of our idiosyncrasies (Hebrews 13:8).

We can also put our self into bondage to religion by attempting to earn God's love and acceptance. We drive our self endlessly to work harder and to do better to please Him.

The truth is that our "self" is already crucified with Christ (Colossians 3:3; Galatians 2:20). At Salvation, we are fully accepted in the Beloved of God (Ephesians 1:5-7). God's Spirit fills us to the brim and overflows on everyone around us.

We prove that we love Him by our obedience to His Word (John 14:15). We do not always keep each letter of the law all the time, but our motive in life is to walk in His ways (Galatians 3:24; Psalm 86:11-17).

God sees our whole heart - including our secret intents and motives (1 Samuel 16:7). He encourages us to keep our self unspotted by the world (James 1:26-27).

Jesus loved us even when we did not love Him (1 John 4:19). We feel secure in His love, because it is not dependent on whether we earn or deserve it. It is a free gift, which lasts forever (Romans 3:23, 6:23).

Prayer:

Father God, the world values human attributes like popularity, physical features, power, influence and financial abundance; but You reward faithfulness to Your Word. You discern our secret intents and motives and discipline or bless Your children according to the desires of our heart (Jeremiah 17:10).

Help us to shed the trappings of this world that we carry with us into our relationship with You. Purify our thoughts and teach us Your ways, so that we want only what You want and value only those things which bring You honor and glory forever and ever.

Thought for the Day:

We attempt to justify our motives and actions, but the Lord weighs them on His scales; as we consult the Lord, He will guide our steps and establish our plans in His will.

- Proverbs 16:2-3