My Soul Waits for the Lord

Jesus fills the hungry soul with His life, peace and joy. What is our soul? It is one entity in our triune make-up: our body, soul and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). The soul is our thoughts, feelings and choices.

One word for soul in the Bible is ”pxyxe" and means to breathe, or to blow. God breathed His breath of life into us and our soul was born. We get our words psyche, psychology, etc. from this root word. The soul is our personality, our identity as an individual.

God justifies us in our spirit through salvation; He will glorify our body with immortality when we see Jesus face-to-face; but He sanctifies our soul in a life-long process to make us as holy as He is holy.

If we earnestly seek the Lord with our whole heart and soul, we shall find Him (Deuteronomy 4:29; Matthew 22:37). We thirst for Him in this desert of life; we long for Him with our entire being (Psalm 63:1).

If we do not seek Him, we may gain the whole world, but we will lose our soul to the fires of hell throughout eternity (John 3:18: Matthew 16:26). The better choice is to search for an intimate union with God with the entire focus of our heart (Jeremiah 29:13).

God created us as an awesome and wonderfully made body, soul and spirit and placed our soul in our innermost being. We find true rest for our soul in God through salvation (Psalm 62:1; Jeremiah 6:16).

When our soul is depressed and disturbed within us, we can put our hope in God, praising Him in the good times and the bad (Psalm 42:11). He works out even the most horrific details of our life for our good (Romans 8:28).

Prayer:

Father God, You created us so that we prosper in life in the same manner that our soul prospers (3 John 1:2). If our soul is overwhelmed and depressed, it affects our body and spirit as well. Help us to see that we will prosper only as we love You foremost in our heart, walk in obedience to Your precepts, keep Your commandments, hold fast to You and serve You with our whole heart and soul (Joshua 22:5).

We praise Your holy name from our innermost being, because You have delivered us from the destructive pathway of sin (Psalm 71:23, 103:1). Our whole being waits for You, and our hope is based on Your Word (Psalm 130:5). Your encouragement of us is sweeter than a honeycomb, feeds our soul and heals our body (Proverbs 16:24).

Thought for the Day:

In our final days on this earth, we will clearly see that God did not fail to deliver any of His promises to us; if we appreciate all that He does for us now and walk only in His will, we will reap the benefits of an eternal life blessed by His love. - Joshua 23:14

Union with Christ - Not of This World

Our life on earth is simply a momentary breath on a cold day (James 4:14). We are not of this world. We dwell with Christ in the Kingdom of God and we are no longer limited by this world (Galatians 2:20; John 18:36).

Our citizenship is in Heaven and Jesus is our Savior and our King (Philippians 3:20). The Lord Himself called us to live in His timeless glory now as well as in eternity. He is our strength, and He confirms us and establishes our place in His Kingdom (1 Peter 5:10).

God delivers us through any trial, and we have joy in it as we accept that He is using it to do its perfect work within us and through us (James 1:4).

As long as we dwell in the realm of the flesh, we will continue to experience defeat at the hands of tribulation. We do not belong in Satan’s grip.

If we are living in Satan’s pit, it is because we allow Satan's thoughts to infiltrate our thoughts. We give in to his defeatist thinking and we buy into his lies, forsaking God’s truth in the process.

In the realm of the Spirit, our body experiences occasional negative circumstances, but they do not influence our spirit or our soul – our mind, choices and emotions. We see God working out all things, even the negative things in our life, for our good (Romans 8:28).

Do not waste time wanting what you do not have. If God wants you to have it, He will give it to you. Jesus died for us all, and rose again so that we will not live for our self, but for Him (John 3:16-18; 2 Corinthians 5:15).

Prayer:

Father God, we do not have to spend one moment longing for anything or anyone but You. We do not want to love this world nor the things that it offers to us. If we really need something in our life, which we do not have, You will give it to us. You will move us to another state, or give us a different car or house, or provide us with a spouse or a child, if it is Your will for us.

Remind us to trust only in You and in Your provision and timing. You have a perfect plan for each one of us and living in the center of Your will is the happiest place on earth. We give You all of the praise and honor and glory for Your provision, love and care for us each day of our life. We look forward to spending eternity in Your service as well.

Thought for the Day:

When we step out of the realm of the flesh and enter into the eternal realm of the Spirit right here on this earth, we finally find eternal rest for our soul and provision for our every need through Jesus Christ our Lord. - Psalm 116:7

Hope in God Alone

If we look at the responsibilities of our life as a huge chunk, we will feel overwhelmed and discouraged. We may want to go back to bed and stay there until Christ returns, we may get drunk and drown our sorrows and fears, or we may vegetate in front of the TV and eat unhealthy snacks.

We end up worsening our issues because they are still there after our unsuccessful attempt to self-medicate. Life is still happening all around us. Time still marches on.

When we fully surrender our life to Christ, His Spirit moves into our spirit. The entire Trinity abides in us and empowers us to make a difference in our life and in our world.

God plants seeds for a miracle in every trial. Trouble is actually an adventure when we view it with our spiritual eyes. God makes everything, even the most horrendous issues, turn out for our good (Romans 8:28).

We just need a positive attitude and faith in His faithfulness to see God's blessings in our circumstances. A sense of humor helps as well. We can laugh in the face of Satan's calamities and even chuckle over our own failings or social blunders.

Keeping fit, eating fresh and organic foods, simplifying our life, daily reading God's Word, fellowshipping with other Saints, serving our family members and our church family and community, and walking in God's Spirit restores our body to symmetry, our soul to confidence and hope, and our spirit to strength and rejuvenation.

Think of something in your life that you can thank God for and focus on it - flowers in the garden, a rainbow in the sky, pets, children, a safe home, clothes to wear, food to eat, air to breathe, ears to hear, eyes to see, and other things that we usually take for granted.

This new focus and attitude reduces our stress, lowers physical and psychiatric drains on us and improves our optimism about life. We surround our self with spiritually minded people, activities and atmosphere. We listen to praise music and participate in praising God with every breath we breathe.

Prayer:

Father God, You are our provision, and we hope in You alone (Lamentations 3:24). We know that You will raise us from the dead and take us home with You for eternity (Acts 24:15). You justify us and give us Your peace and grace (Romans 5:1-3). When we hope in You we are never disappointed, because You show us Your plan for our life (Romans 5:5).

By the help of Your Holy Spirit, we rejoice in Your hope and are filled with Your joy and peace as we maintain our belief in You (Romans 12:12, 15:13). Even when we see nothing in our life to hope in, we eagerly and perseveringly wait in hope to see the salvation of our God (Romans 8:24-25). We look forward to our blessed hope - the glorious appearing of Your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13-14).

Thought for the Day:

Christ in us gives us the hope of sharing in His glory; and as He and God our Father, who love us and console us with everlasting hope and grace, always comfort our hearts and establish us in their peace, they guide us in our good words and works.

- Colossians 1:27-28; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17;
1 Peter 1:13-14; Hebrews 6:19-20, 7:19