HUSHING THE SOUL

Tuesday, July 8-08

Last night, Carson, my 2-year-old grandson, got a thorn stuck in his foot.
Shock. Pain. Tears. Yells. Limps. ...endless.
He would not be hushed - and would not let the foot with thorn be tended.
I see me in he.
I too pick up thorns...in my soul.
I too protest...and suffer...and hardly can be hushed...and sometimes it seems endless.
Sometimes I feel divided - gracious on the outside, groaning on the in.

How do we hush the soul? How do we deal with thorns? How do we become unified entirely?

Here is a path I've walked often:
1. Find, what can become for you, a quiet, comfortable, private space. Your body will turn up the "noise" too quickly if it is not comfortable.
2. Turn the noisemakers around you off. Let the space around you become an invitation to turn off the voices inside you.
3. Set aside time for the soul to become quiet. You "wound up" all day - now how about thirty minutes to "wind down?" It takes time for inner to follow outer.
4. When you are ready, actively begin to entertain the presence of Jesus. You can do this through just softly repeating His name. You can do this through reading some of His words such as the sermon on the mount. You can do this by simply talking through what is "noisey" inside you with Him.
5. If you are pained by a "thorn" - ask Him to deal with it...and show you what, if anything, you need to do to cooperate with His grace.
6. And now you are becoming more still inside. Linger. In this place, take time to listen. Let the Spirit of God speak to your soul. He loves to speak to those who listen.

Thorns....they are a part of life.

And they call us close to the One who said, "Be still and know that I am God."

Selah Dave