Greetings,
How is it with your soul? This past Sunday, I proclaimed a message on hope. I was surprised by the number of people who approached me after the service to say that they had struggled with spiritual and emotional depression. Those dark seasons of the soul are far more common than we care to admit.
I really appreciated studying and meditating on Psalm 42 and I have found the principles drawn from it to be helpful in my life, even though I rarely feel overwhelmed by hopelessness. The past 16 to 18 months in ministry have come with many trying and difficult moments. Although I didn’t feel hopeless, I definitely felt overwhelmed. I knew that the Lord would carry me through. I knew that I would see brighter days and that this was a opportunity to grow in character, but it also felt overwhelming and dark.
God bless our leadership and our church family for stepping into the place where I was to pray for me and speak the hope of the gospel to my soul. I feel incredibly blessed to share friendships that were encouraging during tough times. I can’t begin to tell you what a blessing it is to have elders with the grace and wisdom that we have at Way of Life. If I were faced with leading a congregation with only my faith and immediate family supporting me, I think… I know, that I would have broken a long time ago. I know that I need other people around me taking my spiritual temperature and checking on my soul.
One of the principles that I learned a long time ago is that I also need to communicate honestly where my soul truly is. I have known myself to say that my soul is healthy to those around me when I know that my soul is feeling dry or hurt. Vulnerability, meekness, humility is the position Jesus took for each of us. In order to have Christ shine best through us, we need to be honest with our friends about the condition of our soul. If you are feeling alone and your soul is feeling in need of a revival of hope, I would encourage you to look first to the unconditional, sovereign love of God through Christ Jesus, and second, to communicate the true condition of your soul with someone who reflects the love of God to others. Be willing to “put yourself out there.” Take the risk of experiencing the pain that undoubtedly you have experienced before, in telling someone about your soul condition. Be sure the person is a wise lover of God and truly desires to reflect that love to others. Trust that the Lord wants you to have hope.
John 13:34-35 ~ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
The soul of a person is more valuable than the whole world (Mark 8:36). You can’t truly know or love someone unless you know the true condition of their soul. Likewise, you cannot truly be known or loved unless you reveal the true condition of your soul.
Love ya,
Chris
God bless our leadership and our church family for stepping into the place where I was to pray for me and speak the hope of the gospel to my soul. I feel incredibly blessed to share friendships that were encouraging during tough times. I can’t begin to tell you what a blessing it is to have elders with the grace and wisdom that we have at Way of Life. If I were faced with leading a congregation with only my faith and immediate family supporting me, I think… I know, that I would have broken a long time ago. I know that I need other people around me taking my spiritual temperature and checking on my soul.
One of the principles that I learned a long time ago is that I also need to communicate honestly where my soul truly is. I have known myself to say that my soul is healthy to those around me when I know that my soul is feeling dry or hurt. Vulnerability, meekness, humility is the position Jesus took for each of us. In order to have Christ shine best through us, we need to be honest with our friends about the condition of our soul. If you are feeling alone and your soul is feeling in need of a revival of hope, I would encourage you to look first to the unconditional, sovereign love of God through Christ Jesus, and second, to communicate the true condition of your soul with someone who reflects the love of God to others. Be willing to “put yourself out there.” Take the risk of experiencing the pain that undoubtedly you have experienced before, in telling someone about your soul condition. Be sure the person is a wise lover of God and truly desires to reflect that love to others. Trust that the Lord wants you to have hope.
John 13:34-35 ~ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
The soul of a person is more valuable than the whole world (Mark 8:36). You can’t truly know or love someone unless you know the true condition of their soul. Likewise, you cannot truly be known or loved unless you reveal the true condition of your soul.
Love ya,
Chris