Soul Catch-up Day

After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring.
He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him.
The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.

"Be still, and know that I am God". Psalm 46:10/NLT. With the surge of activity for the new school year upon us that could be a timely verse though not in time for the mouthy lion. There is a story I came across, reportedly from the writings of Rabbi Kushner, about a group of tourists who went on a safari in Africa and hired several native porters to carry their supplies for them. After three days, the porters announced they would have to stop and rest for a day. When the tourists inquired as to why (they did not appear to be tired) the porters confirmed that fatigue was not the reason: “but we have walked too far too fast and now we must wait for our souls to catch up to us."

The soul is the part of us that longs for God—that tells us how spiritually hungry we are. It’s also the part that reminds us of the truth. For David, the psalmist, his soul was like his inner compass that told him the right way to go. He often had to stop and listen to his soul. Over and over again, his soul is thirsty (Psalm 107:9), it longs for God (Psalm 143:6), his soul cries out for salvation (Psalm 199:81), and it recognizes the truth about himself—that he is fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). If we don’t listen to our souls we become spiritually disconnected. It’s impossible to know God and not connect to your own soul but every once in a while we need a Soul Catch-up Day. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord” (Psalm 37:23) but as Charles Spurgeon rightly noted “so are His stops”. Teachers, Professors, students and parents it may be time to take a stop. Is there some matter plaguing you today--an issue, an obstacle, a problem that stands in your path? Wait on the Lord to give your soul a chance to catch up and in His time, He will clear the way for you to see your way through.

A pearl to string:
Hal Chadwick said, “No one appreciates the value of constructive criticism more thoroughly than the one who’s giving it”.

Remember He gives us grace so we can give grace to others. :D

Know that the God who holds the universe is the God who is holding you,
Lyndi