SOUL NEED PART 1

THE SOUL NEED/KEEPING YOUR FEET

It is a dark thing to take hold of one’s life, to try to measure it and compare it, comprehend it’s worth and purpose, to weigh it, and how empty and confusing we see it.  But how often do we do such things? As if we hold the ballpoint pen of life in our human hands and we are the author and finisher of our life.  For no one knows for certain what will come of the day or when the physical death will come.

 

Our mind, making the “human” eye the master, makes the heart heavy, burdensome and it slips into slippery slopes of torturous thoughts and imaginations making us symptomatic to things that may not even be true or come into being.
   

And after repeatedly consorting with the word of God and the Spirit, we always find these are things were never meant for us to carry but how often do we allow them to latch on and squeeze binding us like slave.
   

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1

I do understand how the soul is deep… it is like throwing a torch into a chasm and never finding its bottom.  It is like asking those deep questions of the heart and seemly only hearing the echoes of the questions taunt back.  Clearly the soul “continually” needs something greater then itself to guide and fill it.

It doesn’t need the philosophy of men and every opinion under the sun.  It needs truth and a spirit that reveals the truth in all the different and deepening aspects of the truth, for even what is perceived is not always the truth.

Jesus Christ, LORD and Savior said, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.  He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.  All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” John 16:13-15

When God declares something through the Spirit, he wants us trust in it, to take to heart, to rely upon it and even speak it over our lives. 

“The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want.  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.  He restoreth my soul:  He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff comfort me.  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:  thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Sure goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” Psalm 23

When we only look to ourselves, we might as well muzzle the wings of the butterfly, bondage the eyes with a blindfold, spin and spin until we lose all sense of equilibrium and fill the muscles of the heart with lead.  We might as well believe everything; every human opinion has spoken about us- good or bad.  We might as well put an emphasis on all the circumstances and situations that have ever happened in our life even though the sun set long ago over those hills and seas. 
  

And if the struggles we now face are embraced with those same old eyes – what hope is there?  What ignorance…sorrow… and drudgery follows?

Where does the unmindful eye end up? 

The LORD himself said, “The lamp of the body is the eye.  If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” Matthew 6:22-23

We seem to forget,

“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I hope in Him!’”  Lamentations 3:22-24

Not only do we forget to apprehend these Godly principles in our life continually by relying on the Spirit of God but apply them to other people’s life as well. NOTE: James 3, Matthew 7:1-5.  

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23 

We lose heart and fail to enter His rest because we don’t submit and humble ourselves to God.    

“So we see that they were not allowed to enter his rest because of their unbelief.” Hebrews 3:19

Unbelief stems fro the natural eye, the understandings of self a heart that is ruled by the flesh.  It comes from putting confidence in the flesh.  It comes from lack of focus/trust in God.

I am reminded of a smoker who resorts to the nicotine of a cigarette or a drinker who consumes alcohol to relieve stress.  What are the results of turning to those destructive things again and again?  What results when we don’t look to God?  Aren’t those results just a foolish? Aren’t those just as poisoning and damaging?  Some of you know what I am talking about when I say, “Who needs an enemy when you have yourself?”
 

Noteworthy: Besides Satan uses as his persuasions, the lack of or the abundance of worldly possessions or ideals to suck us in.  He wants us to be stuck in the wisdom of world.  He doesn’t want us to be set free and built up in the wisdom of God and His love. Scriptures: 1 John 2:15-17, James 3:13-18, Proverbs 4:27  

I find the issues and naggings of life easily ambush the soul but those who turn to and are immersed in the presence of God have a life of goodness.

“Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you.  Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

God/Jesus who created us made it certain that His Spirit would fit us PERFECTLY.  He made certain that when we would “heed” His Spirit, He would fill the soul’s need. 

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” Romans 13:14

“For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have not confidence in the flesh,” Philippians 3:4

The flesh’s first instinct is to take things into it’s own hands INSTEAD of submitting to God and turning the situation over to God.  Which causes us to worry, fret, have anxiety, become frustrated, depressed, etc…. In other words the flesh antagonizes the soul.  But when we submit to God, it causes the Spirit of God to override the flesh’s knee-jerk reactions and keeps our soul from being swept away with whatever comes.

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” 2 Corinthians 10:5