Do you have a “soul” or are you a “soul”? Many theologians and modern translations have essentially “banished” the soul since the 1950s. The resulting vacuum has been filled by the mental health industry with often not the greatest results. But the Scriptures do support the soul and spirit integral to our being. This must be reclaimed to more fully understand healing and transforming prayer, among other reasons.
When we maintain and grow in our love for Jesus, we are least vulnerable to spiritual seduction. Some believers seek healing and transformation in “other ways” that can lead them astray, into bondage and eventually the need for deliverance and healing from Jesus. Better to avoid this in the first place by a focus on and love for Jesus.
How vulnerable are you to deception? How do you know that your spiritual experience, or another person’s, truly was from God? Deception can be painful and costly. Jesus expects us to grow in discernment as part of discipleship. There are at least ten principles of spiritual discernment which when applied with God’s grace and empowering can shield you from deception.
People of faith are not immune from depression. Many Christians struggling with depression find it difficult to reconcile this with their faith in Jesus. Some responses from faith communities add to the pain of depression instead of offering empathy and support. Although written long ago, the book of Job provides a deeper understanding for the issues of heart and soul for people of faith coping with depression.
Guilt – we all experience it. Yet the tendency is to avoid feelings of guilt, to sort of “bury them”. Those feelings are unpleasant and it does take courage to face our past, our pain, our mistakes, our need for reconciliation, and more. But what if guilt is designed to lead you to grace, to experience a deeper relationship with Jesus? What if guilt is God’s spiritual alarm system at work in your soul? What if those feelings of guilt are one of those indicators of the soul urging you to experience God’s healing?