Soul Detox (Part 7)

There’s this internal battle that rages within the soul of man.  Paul referred to it in Romans 7:15 when he said, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

Have you ever made God, yourself, or others this promise; “As long as I live I will NEVER go down this road again”, only to do whatever it was you promised never to do?  Then you’re plagued with guilt and a sense of inward conviction because of your failure.

When this kind of thing happens you’re tempted to try to cover it up or hide the truth.  You don’t want anybody to know.  Inwardly your soul is tortured.  In 1 Peter 2:11 we can get a clear picture of what is actually taking place.  “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.”

Did you know there is actually a war against your soul?  It’s true.  Satan himself is at the heart of this battle.  He works to keep your soul in bondage.  He wants to make sure you never feel like you measure up.  He wants you to believe that God could never accept you.  He is warring against your soul and the battle is raging on several different battlefields.

Over the next couple of posts we will explore some of the specific ways this battle is being fought and how we can overcome it.  The good news is that there is victory in and through Jesus Christ.  You don’t have to live in bondage anymore. You don’t have to give in to the torture.  You don’t have to live the way you have been living. There is a better way!  You can be free!

Even now satan lies to you and says, “You’ll always be this way!  Nothing will ever change.”   But 1 John 4:4 reminds us that “The one who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world.”  The Bible tells us that “where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty, freedom, and peace!”  Romans 8:1 says, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  And John 8:36 we are told that “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!”  With God’s help, you can overcome!  More next time…

Soul Detox (Part 6)

In the past couple of blogs we have been considering various ways to care for our soul.  We have learned from King David that importance of being still and quieting our soul before the Lord.  Another important discipline is to learn to reflect on God’s goodness.  The problem is that so often, if we’re being still, we’re tempted to think about all that has to be done.  What if you decided to intentionally take time to think about all that God has already done?

In Psalm 116:7-9, David said, “Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.”  When was the last time you took time to reflect on God’s goodness?

Take time to think about the good things God has done in your life.  If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, think about the fact that He has forgiven you.  You are a new creation!  The old is gone and the new has come!  When you confessed your sins, they were forgotten by God!  Your confessed sin is removed from you as far as the east is from the west. (Psalm 103:11-12)  These are just a few of the things that should calm your soul and bring you rest.

Think about the fact that we serve a great big God who is working in all things to bring about good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.  He is the One who promised, “I have a plan for you; plan to prosper you not to harm you; a plan to give you hope and a future.”

There is no need to worry about tomorrow.  When you meditate on Him, you’ll soon realize He’s already in tomorrow.  And because He was faithful yesterday, you know He will be faithful tomorrow and your soul can be at rest as you reflect on God.

I am convinced that God does not want your soul to live in constant turmoil.  With His help I believe we can live a productive and fruitful and yes, even busy life, and yet be calm at the soul level.

If satan can’t make us bad, he’s going to make us busy.  In fact, clutter, busyness and noise are enemies of your soul.  It is wise to get rid of anything that leads us away from God, His truth, His will for our lives.

Soul Detox (Part 5)

In Soul Detox (Part 4) we established the fact that true rest for our soul is found in one place.  It comes from one source.  It is found in God and God alone.  In order to be cleansed of the toxins that can poison our soul, we must experience the rest God offers to provide.  We must be willing to make some counter-cultural decisions.  We have to go back to the Word of God and decide to do what it says.

One of the first things we need to do is learn what it means to be still before God.  Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”  It is important to notice that the Psalmist doesn’t say anything about being busy, productive, worried or anxious.  He says, “be still.”  It is not easy to stop, but the Bible says we should pause and reflect on the fact that God is God and we are not.  He is on the throne and He can be trusted.

King David said, “I have stilled and quieted my soul…” (Psalm 131:2)  I think it is important to notice that it was not somebody else who quieted David’s soul.  God didn’t quiet his soul.  David had to do it himself.  It was an act of the will.  It was a decision that he made for himself.  Can you settle yourself down and be still before God, and focus on God, for at least five solid minutes a day?

One of the most important disciplines you can learn to do is daily be still before God, for the sole purposes of knowing Him and nothing else.  It may be more difficult than you may think because you’re going to start thinking of all of the things you need to do.  But the goal is to intentionally be still.  Settle down.  Quiet your soul before the Lord.

Psalm 37:7 challenges us to “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him…”  We are such an impatient society!  We are so used to being over stimulated so much of the time.  We pray, “God, give me patience and give it to me now!”

Decide you will wait on God, seek Him, be still; slow it down and be still.  God will take care of the rest of the world while you take time to seek Him.  Be still and wait on God.

Soul Detox (Part 4)

We have been talking about spiritual toxins; these poisonous influences that can have a deadly impact on our soul.  Have you ever thought about the detrimental effect things like chaos and clutter can have on your soul?  I am absolutely convinced that busyness, and the clutter that sometimes crowd our lives, are the exact opposite of God’s desire for His children.  I believe God wants us to have peace and rest.  God doesn’t want us to live in constant noise, clutter and chaos.

We would acknowledge that our body needs rest.  We get that.  But our soul needs to find rest as well.  That raises an important question.  Where do we find rest for our souls?  The Bible tells us that there is only one place that we can find true rest and that is in God and God alone.  David said it like this; ^“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.” (Psalm 62:1)  In other words, there’s no person, no thing, no experience, no vacation, no amount of money that can bring true rest to the essence of who I am but God.

It was Augustine who said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our soul is restless until it finds rest in you.”  Jesus gave us this invitation; “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  (Matthew 11:28-29)

Are you worn out?  Burned out?  Stressed out?  This may be true on more than just a physical level.  It could be true emotionally and spiritually as well.  You’re overwhelmed and tense.  Perhaps you are worried and anxious.  And these are not just physical concerns.  They are concerns that land on the deepest level of your life, the soul level.

Jesus invites us to come to Him and He gave us this promise; “I will give you rest.”  Then He said we could find rest for our soul!  Sounds good, doesn’t it?  But how do we rest in God, especially in a culture that says, “Go faster!  Produce more!  Do more!”

Next time we’ll explore some specific ways to experience the rest Jesus offers to provide.

Soul Detox (Part 3)

The Psalmist David was described as a man after God’s own heart.  He was NOT a perfect person.  Most of us know his story.  He committed adultery, then tried to cover his sin by plotting a murder.  As a result, David experienced a soul sickness that affected him physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  Take a moment to read the prayer David prayed (Psalm 51) as he comes clean before God in a prayer of repentance.  David desired a detoxification of his soul, didn’t he?  It feels good to be clean.  It is good to detoxify your soul, to renew your faith, to be revived in your relationship with God.

All of us have blind spots.  To see ourselves clearly, we need to be open to the Spirit of the living God as He pulls back the veil to expose toxic behaviors, toxic attitudes or practices that have crept into our lives.  Most of us are pretty good at identifying the toxins in the lives of others.  What I have found is that we have a hard time seeing them in the mirror.  It is hard to be objective about ourselves.  That’s why we pray for the Lord to examine our hearts…

Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV)
²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart;  test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,  and lead me in the way everlasting.

We need to beware of spiritual toxins, which could be anything that leads us away from God, His truth, His will for our lives.  Some of the toxins we need to look out for include toxic emotions.  The enemy loves it when you speak such toxic words.  Take an honest look at the media you consume, the sites you surf, and the potentially toxic influences that you have allowed into your life.  The enemy will fight to keep his grip.  He wants to keep you thinking toxic thoughts and nurturing toxic attitudes.  He will try to deceive you and keep you where you are, which for some, is a place you never thought you would be.  But subtly, gradually, over the course of time, you have drifted to a place of potentially poisonous possibilities.

As God reveals spiritual toxins, my prayer is that you will have the courage to act swiftly and decisively to remove them.  If you are unable to do it on our own, which is often the case, be willing to take advantage of every resource that you can get your hands on (ie; counselors, family members, Christian friends, etc.).  Help is available.  With God’s help, you can overcome!

 

Soul Detox (Part 2)

We’re exploring the idea that we are more than a body with a soul, but we are, in fact, a soul with a body.  And sometimes, our soul is in need of cleansing.  Our soul needs cleansing because subtly, over the course of time, toxic influences have slowly crept into our lives.  It is the classic case of the frog in the kettle.  They say that if you put a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will leap out right away to escape the danger.  But, if you put a frog in a kettle that is filled with water that is cool and pleasant, and then you gradually heat the kettle until it starts boiling, the frog is unaware of the threat until it is too late.  The frog’s survival instincts are geared towards detecting sudden changes and not gradual ones.

In secular culture, the temperature continues to rise daily.  Without realizing it, those who call themselves Christian are becoming desensitized and acclimated to a toxic environment that is full of poisonous influences.  We may pretend we are just soaking in the hot tub, when in reality we are scalding our soul as we become desensitized to what is right and wrong.  We are slowly drifting away from a close personal relationship with God, and the sad reality is that people are oblivious because it is happening one subtle degree at a time.

This is not about living in a sanitized little bubble and it is not about returning to the legalism of the past.  It is about becoming sensitized to and aware of the evil influences that surround us, especially those toxic influences that can have such a devastating impact on our lives if we are no proactively and consistently guarding against them.

Paul issued a powerful warning to New Testament Christians in Romans 12:2.  I love The Message paraphrase of this passage; “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”

I want to rid myself of anything that would hinder my relationship with God, don’t you?

 

Soul Detox (Part 1)

We often use the term detox (detoxification) as it relates to ridding the body of toxins and poisons associated with drug or alcohol use.  Did you know that sometimes our soul needs to be detoxified too?  To be holy and to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ, sometimes our soul needs cleansing.

When we use terms like “heart” and “soul” we are referring to a person’s whole being or the person himself or herself.  Your soul is the real you.  Your body is simply the house where your soul resides for a period of time.  Whenever you die, your body dies but your soul lives somewhere forever.  We are not a body with a soul.  We are, in fact, a soul with a body.

In this series of posts I want to invite you to allow the Holy Spirit to shine the light of truth into the darkest corners of your life to bring cleansing, healing, wholeness and spiritual health.  This experience could help you understand why you have been taking one step back in your spiritual development.  You might see why you say you long for more of God, but seem to experience Him less and less.  Perhaps you will discover how things of little significance have come to occupy places in your life that should be reserved for God alone.

We are often unaware of the forces that can stunt our spiritual growth.  We embrace harmful relationships, consume toxic media, live with addictive habits and remain virtually oblivious to the long term effects of these behaviors on our spiritual lives.  We assume the way we are living is normal, but God offers us a better way.

As we begin our journey together, I want to invite you to pray a simple prayer that is found in Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV); “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Spiritually speaking, I know some people who are living with poison in their soul.  They are living with things that will not only hurt them, but things that will gradually destroy them spiritually if left unaddressed.  Let’s be open to allowing the Lord to expose any toxins that might have crept into your life.  You might be surprised at what you’ll discover.