My Soul Waits - A Deeper Connection

 

 

In our stressful lifestyle in this modern society, we are often too busy with too many responsibilities to find a place of solitude in our spirit.

We maintain the illusion that we are satisfied with our lifestyle, but our soul is dying within us, because we are spiritually bankrupt.

We care so much about this world that we starve our soul and spirit. The cacophony in our soul - our mind, choices and emotions - is deafening and dulls our spiritual connection to God's Spirit.

The remedy for this is to develop a deeper connection with Christ through His Holy Spirit. We can quiet our soul and focus on Christ dwelling within us, even through the storms of life.

Throughout each moment of the day, our soul waits in silence for God alone (Psalm 62:1). Our focus changes from earthly goals and desires to spiritual ones.

God's Spirit transforms our thoughts into the mind of Christ, fills our emotions with His fruit and directs our choices to walk in God's will (Romans 8:29; Galatians 5:15-25; 1 Corinthians 2:14-16).

Christ is our all in all (Colossians 3:11). Nothing this world has to offer compares to the joy and peace, guidance and fulfillment that comes from living a life dedicated to the Lord.

Listening for God's voice requires that we still our soul and enter our spirit, where God's Spirit abides. We totally surrender our will, goals, fears, dreams and aspirations to the will of God.

Silently waiting on God throughout our day reduces our anxiety, silences the negative self-talk, teaches us patience and reshapes our mind into the mind of Christ.

He nourishes our body, soul and spirit as we meditate on His Word, trust Him for our daily bread and enter into union with His Spirit.

Prayer:

Father God, teach us how to empty our soul, still our mind and wait on Your Spirit's direction each moment of our day. Silence the negative thoughts and emotions, which Satan uses to distract us from Your will for our life.

Fill our soul with Your peace and help us to restructure our priorities to put You first and foremost above our soul's pursuits. Remind us that Your Kingdom is the only true reality in this life and everything else is simply wood, hay and stubble to be burned up in the end (1 Corinthians 3:12-13).

Thought for the Day:

Physical solitude is not necessary in order for us to wait on the Lord, because He is available any time or place.

Loneliness or Aloneness

The Bible speaks of being alone in two different ways. One denotes loneliness and the other refers to living al-one with our Father God (John 16:32). We can experience both at the same time, or one without the other.

God realized that loneliness had an adverse effect on the human soul (Genesis 2:18). He created us for companionship. Have you ever tried to scratch an itch in the middle of your back? We need each other. 

Even in a crowd of people, we can suffer loneliness, because it is a state of mind, rather than a physical issue. It is a aching void deep within our soul.

Loneliness causes us to feel isolated, dejected, abandoned, unimportant, unloved and even hopeless. We want to hide under the covers, ignore our responsibilities and vegetate.

Loneliness affects us mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically. We actually believe that no one cares about what happens to us, unless we realize that God continually cares for us (1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 55:22).

Aloneness is quite different than loneliness. We all need time to be alone. This helps us to get in touch with our inner self, to ascertain our needs, to get to the root of any negative emotions and to maintain our union with Christ (Colossians 1:27, 3:3-4; Galatians 2:20; Hebrews 3:14).

In times of solitude, we recharge our psychological, physical and spiritual batteries to have the energy to continue to minister for the Lord as His Spirit directs (Ephesians 2:10).

Times of solitude refresh us and prepare us to hear from God each moment of the day (Psalm 95:7; Hebrews 3:7-8). Al-one times require quiet, private and peaceful surroundings.

We listen with our spiritual ears (Matthew 11:15; Mark 4:9). The presence of God infiltrates our spirit, soul and body. We are one with God and enjoy His companionable silence (John 10:27-28).

Once we enter God's sanctuary within our spirit, we realize the futility of our temporal existence and begin to pursue eternal endeavors instead (Psalm 73). Al-one times help us to maintain a spiritual focus throughout our life.

Prayer:

Father God, our disheartened soul takes comfort in Your continual presence within. We meditate on Your Word and follow Your precepts each step of our life. Thank You for Your blessings and abundant provision of all of our needs.

We trust that You will continue to perfect us until Christ returns (Philippians 1:6). We have abundant assurance that You will keep all of Your promises to Your Saints (Romans 4:21). Teach us that loneliness is our choice. Remind us to spend al-one times with You, and we will never experience debilitating isolation, but restful solitude instead.

Thought for the Day:

As we traverse the moments of each day and face the issues of life, we function from our spirit, rather than our soul. This enables us to continually meditate on the goodness of God and the Truth of His Word, as we follow His Spirit's direction to accomplish His will.

Our HighTower

 

Solitude is one of the chief ingredients for a spiritual life. Jesus gave us this example, (Luke 4:42-44; 5:12-16; 6:12-16; 9:18-20; 21:34-38; 22:39-46). Slipping away into times of physical solitude, to quiet our soul – our mind, choices and emotions - and to retreat from the trappings and demands of the world around us is vitally important. That is why some people choose to take vacation days at a quiet retreat to pray and fast and withdraw from the noise and clutter of society.

As he did with Jesus, Satan loves to follow Saints into these solitary times with temptations and vain imaginations (Luke 4:1-13). There are many in history, which chose the life of a recluse, only to be disappointed that they still had their carnal desires for company. So, interior solitude of our thoughts and emotions, times to quiet our soul and to listen to God’s Spirit is important throughout the day.

Our thoughts can drive us crazy! We lament over the past, fear the future and obsess over the current moment and all that is demanded of us by family and employers. Therefore, we need times every day where we sneak into our prayer closet and listen only to God (Matthew 6:6). We still the turmoil of our thoughts, which race through our mind, and focus on God’s Spirit resident within our spirit.

We listen with our inner, spiritual ear (Revelation 3:22) to all that God has to say to us. When we return to our regular schedule after this time of listening only to God, we react to life from a place of peace instead of anxiety and stress. Our words are seasoned by holiness, our actions are anointed and our thoughts are stilled and centered on the direction of God’s Spirit. As we leave our quiet place, we can remain in that still place of solitude within.

Envision yourself climbing to the highest room in a tower. You seek God and find Him there. Then, you view all of life from this safe and holy position, where nothing can touch you or move you without God’s permission. We no longer react to life. We surrender our will to God’s instruction and allow Him to tame our tongue (James 3:2) and direct our actions. We say only what our Father anoints us to say, and do only what our Father directs by His Spirit.

Prayer:

Father God, we desire that You camp all around us and be our glory within (Zechariah 2:5; Psalm 125:2). We live a life in You, as we go about the business of our day, listening to Your Spirit and hiding under the shadow of Your wings (Psalm 17:8). We want the impulses of our soul to come from Your direction rather than driven by our flesh. You are love, and as we dwell in You, we walk in Your love and respond to the world around us by Your love within us.

Thought for the Day:

The soul in union with God lives a beautiful life of perfect harmony.

 

 

 

Let Your Soul Catch Up

The speaker at one of our Women’s conferences told the story about an American on safari. He had the natives marching almost day and night to reach his hunting destination in the African bush. On the fourth morning, the Bushmen refused to move. Instead, they relaxed in the shade of a tree and stayed there long into the morning. The American hunter was incredulous and exasperated. He grew angrier as the minutes ticked by on his watch, and he finally exploded. "This is an absolute waste of my valuable time. Can someone tell me what's going on here?" The translator looked at him with surprise and replied, "Well, they are just waiting for their soul to catch up with their body."

Can you relate to that? Are you so busy with a hectic schedule that it feels like you leave part of yourself behind? The thought of taking time to sit still, to enjoy a hobby, have a cup of tea, call your mom, take a college class, play with your children, read a book, visit with a friend, stroll in the park or on the beach seems like a distant dream. We feel guilty if we dare to take a moment to breathe, relax or take time to feed our soul.

What is our soul? It is our mind, will and emotions. Psychiatrists tell us that psychosomatic illnesses, a sickness with no known physical source, are very common in people with stress-filled lives. If we do not rest, our soul will actually invent physical symptoms to force us to shut down, so it can heal and regain its strength. We care for our body with regular meals. We care for our spirit with Bible study, prayer and corporate worship. Our soul needs care too.

If you place a rubber band in the sun, it will get hard and brittle, the elasticity gets rigid and inflexible. This same thing happens to our soul. With prolonged exposure to stress and abuse, we get hard, taut and easily upset or angered. We can no longer bend or compromise to accommodate another person. We are about to snap. We feel abused, taken for granted, overworked and overwhelmed. We act angry, resentful, bitter and unforgiving toward others. Eventually, we end up in a ball of nerves ready to bounce over the edge of sanity!

It is important to take time throughout the day to quiet our mind and to dedicate several hours every week for solitude, even if you cannot take them all at one time. You have heard the expression: “blowing off steam”. This helps us to get rid of strong feelings or energy, which are bottled up inside of us. This is basically what our soul needs to do several times during the day. Take a short break to unwind, to regain perspective and to breathe in oxygen to give your cells energy. Then go back to work.

Jesus gave us an example of how to allow our soul to catch up. He ministered to people for three years on a constant basis. Everyone who heard of Jesus came to Him to heal their sick and demon possessed friends and relatives. He spent hours on hillsides preaching to the crowds and providing them with food to eat (Mark 8:19). Yet, Jesus took time to withdraw by a private boat to a solitary place (Matthew 14:13; Mark 6:45-46). He went up on a mountainside by himself (Matthew 14:23). He slipped away to the wilderness (Luke 5:16). He even got up at daybreak and went to a quiet place (Luke 4:42; Mark 1:35).

He used this time to commune with our Father and to allow His soul to catch up. He also taught his disciples to do this same thing (Mark 6:31). If Jesus thought times of rest were important, shouldn’t we? It is not necessary to feel guilty when you sit still, take a nap, do deep breathing and stretching exercises, read a Christian novel, watch a Christian movie or sit with a friend to chat. It is also important to spend the Lord’s Day with fellow Believers in mental and spiritual renewal. Our soul needs time to refocus, to unwind, to find its balance and to center its focus on Jesus (Isaiah 26:3).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, remind us to take a clue from Mary when Martha worked herself into a tizzy because she did all the chores by herself, while Mary sat at Your feet. You told Martha that only one thing is worthy of our focus and that Mary discovered it; so You would not take that time with You away from her (Luke 10:43). Help us to sit at Your feet, to learn to live in the moment and to follow Your Spirit’s leading for each one of them.

Thought for the Day:

There is a time to “do”, but there is also a time to “be”. After all, that is why we are called human BE-ings.

A Place of Refuge

God does not abandon us at birth and expect us to make our own way in life. He does not want us to work for Him; He prefers to work through us (Galatians 2:20). Even our best self-efforts are merely filthy rags in His sight (Isaiah 64:6). Once we recognize our need for complete reliance on the Lord, His Spirit engulfs us. We are filled through all of our being with all of God’s fullness (Ephesians 3:19-20). We take specific time-outs during the day to draw away from society and to sit in silence in God’s company.

Many of us maintain a lifestyle of extreme anxiety. We rush through life, losing sleep to meet quotas and cut-off dates, using up every degree of human exertion we can rouse. We pay inflated prices for dessert coffee to wake us up, and then swallow medication to quell the physical illnesses produced by our frantic pace. We depend on our self-effort to handle all of life’s terrors. We mistakenly think the world depends upon us and revolves around us. What we fail to remember is that the cemetery is full of people who thought they were indispensable.

Sometime after our conversion, God brings us to a deeper place of brokenness. Recognizing that we can no longer function through our human potential, we acknowledge our weakness and totally surrender to His Lordship. We enter a new realm of the Spirit, which leads us to God’s power in us and through us. Basking in His presence, we receive His love, peace, wisdom and strength (Isaiah 26:3). We let go of control over our life and relinquish our worries into His capable hands. He is our only lasting refuge and strength, our constant help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1).

When we sit alone, we are never lonely as long as the Spirit of God resides within our spirit (Psalm 46:10). Connecting to the Spirit of God in times of aloneness gives us the opportunity to walk in His peace and rest throughout the day (Mark 6:31. We receive His healing for our spirit, body and soul – our mind, will and emotions. We enter our quiet place within, experiencing unity with His Spirit. We move through the routine of our daily life led by God’s Spirit.

As we carve deliberate times of solitude from our schedule to be alone (all-one) with the Lord, He readily speaks to us (Revelation 3:20). We suspend our thoughts and praise Him for His faithfulness and glory. Whether we are walking on the sunny beach beside the lulling cadenced of the swishing surf under the call of gulls floating on the breeze, or carpooling the children, or performing household chores, or driving in rush hour traffic, or chained to the overwhelming aspects at work, we remain in His presence, listening to His direction for every moment of our day.

We are dead, and our life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). God lives within us through Christ and leads us by His Spirit, ready to commune with us whenever we give Him the chance. All it takes is for us to silence the dissonance within and without and to focus all of our attention on His love welling up within us. Then we will walk in balance with His Will and direction for our life. As we remain in the Lord and rest in His goodness, His quietness and confidence invade our spirit and give us strength. (Isaiah 30:15).

Prayer:

Father God, I find my rest in You alone; my salvation comes from You. My soul waits silently for You, because You are the source of all of my joy. Remind me to enter that quiet place within my spirit all throughout the day, no matter what responsibilities claim my time, so that I can focus on You and enjoy fellowship with You every moment of my life. As we abide in You, Your love abides in us (1 John 4:16).  You are our hiding place. You preserve us from trouble and surround us with Your protection and deliverance (Psalm 32:7).

Thought for the Day:
Make it a priority to pursue more of Christ in silent times alone with Him.
- Psalm 42:1