The following is from the devotional God’s Word for You Today by Bob Gass:
“Have you read the story of Isaac blessing his two sons when he was old, almost blind, and nearing death (See Genesis 27)? When Jacob, the younger son, wanted his older brother Esau’s part of the family inheritance, which was twice as much, his mother Rebekah helped him steal it. Here’s how she did it. Esau was hairy and Jacob had smooth skin. So Rebekah wrapped Jacob’s arms and neck in goat hair and gave him some of Esau’s clothes to wear. When Jacob went in to his aging father pretending to be Esau, his father asked him to come near so that he could feel him. His father told him that he sounded like Jacob but he felt like Esau, so he decided to trust what he felt over what he heard. As a result, he gave the birthright that was destined for his firstborn, Esau, to his second-born son, Jacob. Bottom line: he was deceived by what he felt. Now we know God was at work in all this. But the point here is, you can’t always trust your feelings because they don’t always line up with God’s Word and they can deceive you. You say, “I got my feelings hurt so I haven’t spoken to my family in over a year.” Get over it! Learn to forgive. Refuse to remain offended. Practice love. If you let feelings rule your life they will mess you up. Feelings are like spoiled children: the more you indulge them the more they will control you. You shouldn’t suppress your feelings or deny them, but you must not be led by them.”
I am so much like this story that I’m embarrassed to say it, but it’s true. I so often trust what I feel over what I’ve heard God say to me through his Word and by His Spirit. The feelings of being overwhelmed, abandoned, rejection, anger, discouragement, fear, guilt, shame, grief, sorrow and loneliness are some of the emotions I’ve felt in my life. Yes, I know God has spoken in his Word about every one of these feelings giving wisdom and direction, but why is it they are so pesky? They haunt us like a bad dream on a stormy night!
The answer lies in knowing the difference between your spirit and your soul.
Your spirit is where God lives and gives witness to the Holy Spirit. Your soul is that part of you where your will, mind and emotions dwell. It flows from your brain but encompasses so much of who you are and how you were raised and conditioned in this world. It is from your soul that you allow feelings to rule and reign in you. This can produce a stinky attitude, cause you to watch a raunchy movie, or not be willing to forgive someone who has hurt you.
If your soul is stronger than your spirit, you’re in BIG trouble.
When Adam and Eve sinned their spirit was destroyed. Since one's spirit is where God lives, and because they broke fellowship with God, He was removed from their spirit. Sin took control and their soul became stronger than their spirit.
Now you can understand why the Apostle Paul would write; “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery (the soulish desire). Instead, be filled with the Spirit” Ephesians 5:8. The Holy Spirit lives in your spirit. The stronger you are in your spirit, the weaker the influence of your soul will be as it will submit to the authority of God’s Spirit dwelling in you.
Prayer and fasting bring your soul into submission and build up the spirit part of you! You can’t afford to not let God fill you daily; the the consequences are too great. The words from Genesis 27:22 are haunting me, in a good way, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” Spiritual people trust what they have heard and know as true NOT by what they feel.
So which part of you is stronger? The Soul? Or Spirit? The answer is critical to your spiritual success and future!
I’ll meet you at the Throne,
Pastor George
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