Did you know that every day, you have two worlds to manage? The outer world includes your job, home, social networking, kids, pets, etc. This outer world occupies most of your focus because it is always so in your face. However, the other world that must be managed is your inner world, the spiritual part that dwells in your soul. This part of you is often neglected because the demands of the outer world are outrageously loud.
Sadly, like a sinkhole caused by a drought, a soul not given its proper attention will become a chasm of collateral damage. Neglect causes the soul to split open with no center to give it stability. A centered soul is vital to a healthy mind, will, and emotions plus the abundant life we crave.
So, how do you know if your soul has a center? Here are some ways to tell if your soul needs to find its center.
- A soul without a center has difficulty making a decision. Like a boat tossed by the waves, pushed one way and then another. The soul needs that center like an anchor. Clarity only comes from a centered soul.
- A soul without a center feels constantly vulnerable to people or circumstances. The soul craves safety and will only find it when it becomes centered in the only place real safety comes from.
- A soul without a center lacks patience. It cannot wait for what’s best but jumps toward lesser things, like King Saul, who couldn’t wait for Samuel and lost his kingdom and relationship with God.
What is the center of the soul? Well, it can only be the One who created it. When we reach out to our Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus, we will always find the essence of life for the soul. King David says,” My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.” He knew what would keep his soul secure. Clinging to Jesus is the only way. If you have any symptoms of an uncentered soul written above, your number one task is to cling.
We cling to Jesus by practicing the presence of Jesus, as Brother Lawrence wrote so wonderfully about. We cling like a child longs to be held by their daddy. John Ortberg states, “When we reach out to God, we are lifting our souls up to be nurtured and healed. A soul centered in God always has a heavenly Father who will hold its pain, its fear, its anxiety.”
This is the spiritual life: to place the soul each moment in the presence and care of God
John Ortberg-Soul Keeping
No matter how hard it is to accomplish, we must cling to Jesus by practicing the following:
- Renounce whatever does not lead us to God.
- Ask yourself if it will block your soul’s connection to Jesus in each situation.
- Keep yourself from sin, for it always leads to disconnection from God.
- Be quick to repent.
- Think about your thoughts. Be careful of what-ifs and negative thought patterns that drag your soul away from who you are in Christ. Choose to think truth according to the Bible.
The fact is that the soul cannot be centered without God, and your soul desperately needs a center.
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