Devotional for Tuesday June 17th

Our theme for this month: “Taking care of your soul”

Our Bible verse for today: “Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!” Psalm 103:1 (NKJV)

Our thought for today: “When your soul is healthy it blesses the Lord.”

We’re familiar with the idea of God blessing us and so it’s not difficult to understand how it is that our soul could feel blessed by God. But how is it that we can bless God? In Psalm 103:1 David plainly calls upon his soul, and all that is within him, to be a blessing to the Lord. So how does that work?

Remember that so far we’ve learned that not only is the soul the very breath of life within us, but it is also that thing which animates us and which unifies our parts. It brings our thoughts and emotions and spirit into a single, unified entity. It is the ultimate object of the soul for our entire being – all of the parts of us – to be working together in perfect harmony to please God and to bring Him honor and glory. This describes a healthy and well-ordered soul.

When David writes, “Bless the Lord O my soul, and all that is within me …” he’s talking about all the parts of his person functioning together in perfect harmony and in such a way that God is pleased. When that happens, God is blessed, He is happy.

Do you remember in Mark 12:30 when one of the scribes asked Jesus which of the commandments was the most important? Jesus replied, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first and great commandment.” It was no mistake that the first and greatest commandment includes all three essential parts of the human person. The heart includes your free will and your choices; your mind includes all your thoughts and desires; your body includes your physical strength; and it is your soul which ties them all together and which makes it possible for them to interact with God as a unified whole.

Jesus taught here that our ultimate objective should be to have a soul that is so healthy and strong that it brings all parts of us together in such a way that God is honored and blessed. “Bless the Lord, O, my soul; And all that is within me, bless his holy name!”

God Bless,