Our theme for this month: “Taking care of your soul.”
Our Bible verse for today: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” Psalm 42:1-2 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “We have to stop making excuses for not spending time with God.”
If you are a Christian then you do have a soul that is thirsting, panting for God. Even if you don’t realize it, even if you won’t admit it, your soul is thirsty for God. As a thirsty deer pants for a long drink of cool water, so your soul longs to be refreshed in the presence of God. And in truth, in our better moments, we do admit that we would like to have a deeper, richer, more satisfying relationship with God. But, we just can’t seem to find the time to spend in prayer and Bible study and church attendance and service in ministry and some of the other spiritual disciplines which help us to place ourselves in a position before God whereby He can refresh and renew our soul. We just don’t have time.
Often our time is consumed by the demands, expectations, and needs of others. Our jobs require large amounts of our time and attention; other people have expectations of the things they think we should be doing; family members have needs and it is up to us to meet those needs; and the fact is that most of the time those things are legitimate and they do have to be addressed by us. So how do we approach this whole issue of carving out the time needed to cultivate and nurture a healthy soul?
The answer is found in the example of an airline emergency.
“In the case of an unexpected sudden drop in cabin pressure an oxygen mask will fall from the overhead compartment. Place the mask over your head and breathe normally. If you are traveling with small children put your own oxygen mask on first, and then assist them with theirs.”
Why must you put your own mask on first before you help them? It seems counter-intuitive. As a parent your natural instinct is going to be to make sure your child is safe before you attend to yourself. Unfortunately, you may run out of oxygen and pass-out before you’re able to get the mask onto your child – so then you both die. If you had put your own mask on first then you would have had sufficient oxygen to maintain consciousness so that you could help the child too. But since you didn’t take care of yourself first, you were in no position to help the child either.
The same lesson applies to making the time to take care of your soul. If you don’t take care of your soul then it won’t be long before your soul is dry as dust. You will be drained, exhausted, shriveled up, and in a pretty poor condition to be much of a blessing to anyone else. But if you take the time to have your own soul refreshed and nourished by the Lord, then when you go out to meet the needs and expectations of others you will be doing so out the richness and depth of a healthy soul. You will be caring for them from the overflow of your own deep reservoir of spiritual richness.
We have to stop making excuses for not spending time with God. We must do it for our own sake and we must do it for the sake of those who depend on us. If you don’t take care of yourself you won’t be well enough to take care of anyone else.
God Bless,
Oak Hill Baptist Church 