Soul direction

Soul Time

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” 

J.R.R. Tolkien, Fellowship of the Ring

 

Facing our world and our lives can be daunting.  Here are some beginning tips on how to go for it.

 

 

Check out the pdf for reflection in my last post.  reflect2106

Soul direction

Wisdom to your soul

How do we get wisdom into our soul?

CANfield

In our busy-ness we’re in danger of mismanaging ourselves.  “Your toughest management challenge is always yourself” Bill Hybels says.  Make it a priority to find time to set aside for your own reflection and planning for the year ahead.  It will make a big difference in your sanity!

“The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” Proverbs 4:7

“Teach us to number our days,
That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” Ps. 90:12

 “Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before the LORD his God…”  2 Chron 27:6

 

“Be very careful, then, how you live–not as unwise but as wise. ”  Ephe 5:15

 

 “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; And to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God.”  Psalm 50:23

 “The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way, But the foolishness of fools is deceit.” Prov. 14:8

For a pdf download on some steps to ordering your days before God click here.  reflect2106

Soul training

Overtaken Soul

ManPushingRock

In moments when my sin wants to get the upper hand, to assign to me deserved condemnation, I have an Advocate, a Way out of that; something much more powerful than even my sin!

The fact that I am guilty is clear. The greater fact that upon confession I am free from that guilt takes faith in the reality of what Jesus did. I can live under the shadow of guilt or take the gift of forgiveness that leads to freedom and change. Sometimes I can stare at forgiveness or freedom like a beautiful, expensive gift, unopened and unappreciated.

Psalm 40 has intrigued me.  After a verse like

Ps 40:5 – “You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you.”

and

Ps. 40:11- “O Lord you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and faithfulness will ever preserve me.”   

Then he says,

Ps. 40:12 – “For evils have encompassed me beyond number; my iniquities have overtaken me…my heart fails me.”  40:13 – “Be pleased to deliver me…”  

This shows quite a contrast, from high praise to near despair, crying to him for help.  So we’re in good company when we feel amazed at God as we look back on his goodness, but then get overwhelmed as we see our shortfalls and the obstacles before us as we look forward.

When things in our lives want to overtake us, there are ways out.  “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man…”  1 Cor 10:13

Here are some valuable words on dealing with sufferings of life when you feel overtaken from Michael Hyatt’s podcast by Michelle Cushatt 11-2015:

Lessons from suffering:

  1. The unexpected is unavoidable. It’s just unavoidable. That sounds like bad news, but when we incorporate that into our daily lives, into our stories, we realize it’s totally unavoidable, so we shouldn’t be surprised by it. Don’t let yourself be completely derailed by the phone call you didn’t expect, the promotion that didn’t work out, the child who’s struggling, or whatever it may be. The unexpected is unavoidable for all of us. We’re in good company.
  2. The second lesson is that the suffering is invaluable. I tell people, that’s not a good party conversation. Nobody wants to talk about suffering, but it is invaluable. In the midst of suffering, you can be mad at it, you can be angry at it, but if there is a way to lean into it, the rewards on the other side are just incredible. So somehow we have to figure out how to not resent it and resist it. It’s going to come. We can’t do a lot about it, so if we can somehow not resent it or resist it and instead lean into it, the suffering becomes a great teacher.
  3. The third takeaway would be that the reward is incomparable. We know we run those 26.2 miles of the marathon because of how it feels when it’s done, to know we accomplished it, and that’s just a race. Imagine how much more rewarding this life is when we choose to run it well to the very end. So the unexpected is unavoidable and the suffering is invaluable, but the reward is incomparable.

“. . . often God leads us through the land we most want to avoid in order to produce the fruit we most desperately desire.” The Land Between: Finding God in Difficult Transitions by Jeff Manion p. 191

What unopened gifts are you staring at?

Soul Help

Don’t miss our next event

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Soul Help

A day at the office

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Soul Help

Just a simple post

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Pellentesque consectetur massa nec nulla fermentum, at tincidunt elit volutpat. Duis vulputate placerat tortor, sit amet eleifend mauris tincidunt sit amet. Aliquam a maximus ligula. Phasellus nec sapien sed tellus tempor eleifend id a erat. Donec convallis bibendum posuere. Quisque mollis imperdiet malesuada. Suspendisse eget dictum massa.

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