Soulfit "Train yourself…"

quarantine – a state, period, or place of isolation…

Our souls need a space, free from distraction, expectations, chatter and the noise of life.

Often, it seems, God’s answers come through limits.  He has now imposed a global limit on us. And as always with Him, it is out of love for us and jealousy that we might settle for less.  He knows where other paths will take us.

“The Coronavirus pandemic is a vivid reminder that God can change the global equation overnight, whenever he wants to.  The curtain of predictability is ruptured, and people are awakened to larger realities.  Amid the uncertainties, we who know the Lord have a “great door of opportunity” to minister to others and proclaim the mercies of the gospel.”  Steve Richardson

Borders closed, gatherings banned, schools on-line, distancing required, meetings canceled, plans on hold, travel in question, investments plummeting

Like He’s backing us into a corner

Like He wants some attention, or maybe full attention!

Like He has something important to say to us

Like there’s something essential at stake

Like we’ve gotten used to putting our hope, our security, our attention in many other places.

Like our love for Him has grown lukewarm and He’s finding a way to kindle a new flame.

Even with life slowing down externally, we can keep a frenzied anxious state internally, in our souls. How can we accept our limits and draw near to Him?

Perhaps even a half hour of planned, creative silence, holding your soul and its anxious thoughts before your God could give telling insight.

“When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul.”

Psalm 94:19

As He said to His people right before sending them into exile because of their refusal to turn to Him:

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.” 

Jeremiah 31:3

His faithfulness shines brighter in the context of uncertainty. (DS)

Share an insight you receive from some silence before Him!

So, this website got hacked over a month ago and after trying to figure it out in frustration, connecting with web dev people, asking a lot of questions, getting better security, and of course paying some $, we’re back on line!

Made me think about our souls. (Are you surprised?!)

How insidious are our enemy’s ploys to gain unauthorized access to our souls when we hardly know it.  We open our souls up to malware by giving in to sin, by holding onto bitterness, un-forgiveness, pride or you name it. We have no idea how far-reaching our sin is, even when it is forgiven. “God is forgiving, but sin is not” John Mark Comer

There’s a schemer intent on our destruction, so any way he can find to get in, he’ll take.

“…so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.”

2 Corinthians 2:11, NASB

The scheme Paul mentions in this verse is one of finding where there is un-forgiveness that somehow opens the door, allowing “malware” in to mess with the soul. No wonder God is so adamant, so often, about staying away from sin.  It’s just bad for us, bad for those we live among, bad for our future.  That’s why turning from sin is such a strategic move toward wholeness.  It’s taking back the authority over evil we have as believers in Christ, who has all authority.

What area of your life is ripe for a soul hack?  Maybe some extra security is in order.

     We can’t “end the heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to” but we can take up arms against the hacker and scan our souls for malware and close the holes he’s getting through.

Take a serious walk with the Spirit through these passages to check yourselves for malware and get some extra security against the enemy!

Soul scan: Galatians 5:16-26

Soul security: Ephesians 6:10-18

 “The story of your life is the story of a long and brutal assault on your heart by the one who knows what you could be and fears it.”

Waking the Dead, John Eldredge

So, this website got hacked over a month ago and after trying to figure it out in frustration, connecting with web dev people, asking a lot of questions, getting better security, and of course paying some $, we’re back on line.

Made me think about our souls. (Are you surprised?!)

How insidious are our enemy’s ploys to gain unauthorized access to our souls when we hardly know it. We open our souls up to malware by giving in to sin, by holding onto bitterness, un-forgiveness, pride or you name it. We have no idea how far-reaching our sin is, even when it is forgiven.  “God is forgiving, but sin is not” John Mark Comer

There’s a schemer who is intent on our destruction, so any way he can find to get in, he’ll take.

“…so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” 2 Corinthians 2:11, NASB

The scheme Paul mentions in this verse is one of finding where there is un-forgiveness that somehow opens the door, allowing “malware” in to mess with the soul. No wonder God is so adamant, so often, about staying away from sin. It’s just bad for us, bad for those we live among, bad for our future. That’s why turning from sin is such a strategic move toward wholeness.

What area of your life is ripe for a soul hack? Maybe some extra security is in order.

We can’t “end the heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to,” but we can take up arms against the hacker and scan our souls for malware and close the holes he’s getting through.

Take a serious walk with the Spirit through these passages to check yourselves for malware and get some extra security against the enemy!

Soul scan: Galatians 5:16-26

Soul security Ephesians 6:10-18

“The story of your life is the story of a long and brutal assault on your heart by the one who knows what you could be and fears it.”

Waking the Dead, John Eldredge

We were privileged and awed to visit Rome for our 36^th wedding anniversary.  There were too many fascinating relics to take in!  I had studied a bit about layers of ruins in Rome but there was one that captured my interest and intrigued me most.

This monument was constructed in 82 AD by the Roman emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his older brother Titus to deify him and commemorate his victories, including the siege of Jerusalem in 70AD, which marked a major turning point in Jewish history.  The Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, carrying away all the temple treasure. This scene is depicted on the inner arch of the monument in a haunting, gloating image. There you see the triumphant march of the victors carrying the precious gold and silver furnishings that were used in the service of the God of Israel, paraded out in enemies’ hands! 

How do you explain that?  Where is God?

The first century Roman empire was a rough place to live for Jews and even rougher for Jewish Christians.  Not only did the Romans oppress them, their own Jewish families and friends couldn’t understand them. They would have taunted, “Give up this cult and come back to your tradition. Fight with us against the Romans!” 

Talk about deconstruction of faith!  This was only a few decades after Jesus rose from the dead, inaugurating the new covenant.  He had predicted this very event. (Matthew 24:1,2) Along with the holy things carried away were thousands of Jewish slaves who were used to build the Colosseum in Rome about the same time the arch was constructed.  In the Colosseum many early Christians were martyred or crucified as entertainment. The Jews, for years after this, had to pay homage to Rome at the arch of Titus.  Can you imagine?  Your worst defeat and devastation being smeared in your face by your enemies?!

What they had hoped in outwardly, like a good luck charm, was entirely dashed.  They had lost the heart connection and forsaken God himself, while keeping the outward appearances of worship.  God’s New Way (Hebrews 10:20) had come and they didn’t recognize or want it.  How disillusioning for the Jewish people and confusing for the new followers of Jesus.

So, imagine your hope, the thing you counted on, the stable factor of your life is wiped out.  How do you handle that?

Most of us have disillusionment in our lives.  We can look back on something we hoped in, counted on and deeply believed.  Then saw it fail, thrown away, trampled or dismissed.  And just like the Jews in the time of this historical event when the Emperor took over, we feel abandoned and violated. 

Do you have an arch of Titus in your life? Where disillusionment, deconstruction wants to thrust you away from the One who’s trying to get your attention?  While the Roman world-power gloated at the deconstruction of Judaism, God had much greater things in mind for His people.  An entirely new way that was much superior to the old way.

What greater things might He have in mind for you?

At the monuments of defeat or disillusionment in our lives, can we turn our affections back to God himself and not what we thought He was or thought He said?  Can we lift our eyes above the rubble and hear a still, small voice inviting us to something more? 

Connecting with God, the One who created us!

We know we need it!  He knows us inside and out and has resources beyond what we can imagine, yet at times it’s hard to take time to tap into that; to receive from Him and listen to what He says.  Christianity is the only faith that acknowledges that we cannot, on our own make ourselves good enough for God.  Because of our desperate need for His forgiveness and strength to live well, He came to us in Jesus.  He comes to us still.  And gives us Truth that sets us free!  We have so many voices in our heads, from living in a fallen world, that we need to replace with God’s words; to hear, meditate on and take to our hearts His incredible grace, forgiveness, help and warnings to us.  He so longs for good for us, that He instructs and guides us with His eye upon us! (Psalm 32:8) Working toward a daily habit of time with Him is key to growth and resilience.

In my years as a young mom it was very hard to find time alone to do this.  With 4 small kids I hardly found time to keep myself rested and energized.  I remember putting some verses by the sink where I washed dishes to use some of that time to turn my thoughts Godward.  Or playing music while doing laundry to lift my mind and heart to combat my negative self-talk.  Using daily tasks to remind us to pray, can help turn a mundane routine chore into a place of reconnecting with a heart-felt prayer or a plea for strength to face what’s ahead of us. 

We all deal with condemning thoughts about how we don’t pray enough.  One thing we can do when that happens is turn it into praise.  Thank God that even though your prayer life is not what you want it to be, you can praise Him now, that He is there for you, accessible and ready to listen and be with you. Acknowledge the negative thoughts and turn them into a moment of praise and thanks.

What is one task you do each day, even if it’s for a few minutes, that you could use as a trigger for prayer?  Each time I fill my water filter pitcher I take those moments to lift something that is on my heart.  A good way to reconnect with God during my day because I drink a lot of water!  🙂

After a knee replacement, our friend, Mary, was in for her one-month appointment with her surgeon, Dr. V, where he brings her physical therapist, Chase, in to see how she’s been in therapy, and they line up the next month. Everything she does, (exercise, weights, ranges of motion) is documented on an I-Pad. Chase shares the data with Dr. V and together they give a full evaluation.

During the appointment Dr. V told Mary how great everything looked. He showed the X-ray of how tight and straight everything inside is, no more swelling, and complimented her on her work with Chase. 

Then Dr. V turned to her wish list and said, “Well Mary, we’re 1/3 through our process — And the first third was the hardest third: major surgery and lots of pain.  But we’re done with that.   Your knee is fixed.  But the next two-thirds are longer, and hence, mentally harder.  Honestly, this is where a lot of people say, “enough”.  But here’s the key Mary. The work you do in these next two-thirds will determine the quality of your life moving forward. You can simply start walking around to the extent that you want to walk the rest of your life or

you can build up strength for a totally different rest of your life.”

“So, when I look at your wish list, you look like you want a lot of life past this surgery, correct?”  

She interrupted him and said, “I got an email from our friends who are planning a trip to Italy in October, what do you think about that?” He smiled and said, ‘October?  Heck! Not a problem. You could handle that easily.”  She smiled…

But her husband Kelly said yesterday she didn’t want to go to therapy. “She was fighting it, crying… I dropped her off, praying that the Lord would meet her. Two hours later I picked her up and she had the biggest smile on her face.  She was totally energized. I said, “Well how was it?  She said, “Oh Kelly. It was great.  We had the best session.” 

We were going through our exercises and we got about half way and Chase said, “Ok. get up. Off the table, let’s go!” I said, “Where are we going?”   

He said, “We’re going to do some stairs!”   I said, “STAIRS?!”   

He said, “Yep, stairs”.  I was freaking out; I wasn’t ready for that. I told him, “I don’t know, Chase.”  

He said. “I do.  And if you want to meet up with your friends in Italy, we’re going to be ready. Let’s go!”  He held my hand and we did the first flight – four times. Forty stairs!” 

Turning point!

Pushing through physical therapy and finding the motivation to persevere has taken everything in Mary and more.  And wouldn’t you know it, our spiritual growth (soul therapy) has striking parallels: turning points that determine the quality of our spiritual life moving forward. Some people call it the “wall” where doubts, testing, questions and new paradigms arise and it’s easy to give in, stagnate, float or get bitter.  Finding our way can be like intense wrestling and disillusionment, but if we endure with our Soul Therapist, we’ll see refreshing and deep transformation and a “totally different rest of our life”.

I think we’ll be seeing our friends in Italy! 

“One way to define spiritual life is getting so tired and fed up with yourself you go on to something better, which is following Jesus.” Eugene Peterson