Calmed, Quieted, & Rested Soul
Our new women's Bible study on Sunday nights is called, He Speaks to Me, by Priscilla Shirer. It's about how we prepare ourselves to hear from God. In this first week, Priscilla brought up three areas that really spoke to me: The Calmed Soul, The Quieted Soul, and The Rested Soul.
She notes, "Calming your soul into a state of dependence on God also required discipline...We naturally rely heavily on ourselves to secure our destiny...direct yourself to the nourishment of the Lord when your soul cries out for its old dependencies. If you remain faithful to Him, sooner or later you will find nothing else will satisfy."
Regarding the Quieted Soul, Ms. Shirer writes, "Weaning requires a season of discomfort...When we begin to wean ourselves of dependence on other things, we may feel uneasy, fretful, and uncomfortable. But without the crutch of dependence on ourselves or others, it becomes easier to turn to God for comfort and spiritual nourishment."
Finally, Rested Souls, "will re-orient themselves to a new way of feeding as we accept God alone for refreshment. If we seek fulfillment in the things of the world after a season of depending on God, we will discover that is doesn't satisfy us the way it used to."
I could relate to the concept that to calm my soul requires discipline, choice or an intentional decision on my part to let go of the controls and trust God to take over the control of my life. Even harder then for me, was quieting my soul, which meant depending on God, not myself and feeling the discomfort that comes when routine habits are changed. Lastly, resting, which requires disorientation from doing things my way, to waiting on the Lord so I can do things His way.
Discipline, discomfort, and disorientation are not feelings or behaviors that I necessarily enjoy or that come naturally to me. But God's ways are not my way, nor are my ways, His ways. Lord, I pray you will show me how to do things your way, it's always better! Amen.
She notes, "Calming your soul into a state of dependence on God also required discipline...We naturally rely heavily on ourselves to secure our destiny...direct yourself to the nourishment of the Lord when your soul cries out for its old dependencies. If you remain faithful to Him, sooner or later you will find nothing else will satisfy."
Regarding the Quieted Soul, Ms. Shirer writes, "Weaning requires a season of discomfort...When we begin to wean ourselves of dependence on other things, we may feel uneasy, fretful, and uncomfortable. But without the crutch of dependence on ourselves or others, it becomes easier to turn to God for comfort and spiritual nourishment."
Finally, Rested Souls, "will re-orient themselves to a new way of feeding as we accept God alone for refreshment. If we seek fulfillment in the things of the world after a season of depending on God, we will discover that is doesn't satisfy us the way it used to."
I could relate to the concept that to calm my soul requires discipline, choice or an intentional decision on my part to let go of the controls and trust God to take over the control of my life. Even harder then for me, was quieting my soul, which meant depending on God, not myself and feeling the discomfort that comes when routine habits are changed. Lastly, resting, which requires disorientation from doing things my way, to waiting on the Lord so I can do things His way.
Discipline, discomfort, and disorientation are not feelings or behaviors that I necessarily enjoy or that come naturally to me. But God's ways are not my way, nor are my ways, His ways. Lord, I pray you will show me how to do things your way, it's always better! Amen.
Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
I love those few times when my soul is calm. So worth the discipline but very uncomfortable. You're a great teacher!!
ReplyDelete