The Battle预览

Strengthen Your Soul

By Amy Cook

God is triune—three in one: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Since you’re made in God’s image, you also have three parts: body, soul and spirit. Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NIV) says, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” When your body and soul align with your born-again spirit, you have a strong, threefold defense against the enemy.

2 Chronicles 11:11–12 (AMP) lists the elements a stronghold needs to be fully fortified: a captain, stores of food, oil and vintage fruits. Each element represents something that can strengthen your soul from enemy attacks. The captain of your soul is your will. Whether or not a captain is an effective leader depends upon who he takes his orders from. If you follow orders from your own human reasoning and changing emotions, you’ll be vulnerable to the enemy. But if you submit your will to the Lord, you’ll be strengthened against enemy attack. Another element you need to fortify your stronghold is stores of food. Jesus said that His food was to do the will of the Father; that’s what energized Him (John 4:34). Following the Father’s will for your life nourishes your soul and keeps you on track so the enemy can’t distract you. The next item on the list is oil, and it symbolizes the Holy Spirit’s anointing. This same anointing empowered Jesus to set people free (Luke 4:18–21; Acts 10:38). Finally, a fortified stronghold contains vintage fruits. This is a reminder of the fruit growing in your life as you abide in Jesus the Vine. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control (Galatians 5:22). These qualities stabilize your soul and produce the character of Jesus in you.

Has your stronghold seen a lot of enemy fire, and does it need to be restored to strength? You don’t have to do it alone. When a historic landmark falls into disarray, it gets restored by being brought back to its original design and former glory. Jesus is your Good Shepherd, and He wants to restore your soul to the design He originally planned (Psalm 23). In Isaiah 30:15 (KJV), God told His people, “In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.” Finding rest for your soul strengthens you. When the enemy can’t make you sin, he tries to make you busy. Satan wants to distract you from hearing the Lord, and he knows that excessive busyness will exhaust your soul. But if you focus your mind upon the Lord, you will enjoy His perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3).

Jesus understood the importance of finding rest for your soul. He said: “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:29–30, KJV). A farmer uses a yoke to join two oxen to each other and to a plow. When a young ox is yoked with a more experienced ox, the young one learns how to follow the lead ox and get the job done. Jesus is inviting you to follow His lead and to learn meekness from Him so that you can find rest and peace for your soul. Trying to pull away from Jesus’ lead and plow in a different direction will only lead to exhaustion, not to mention a crazy-looking field. Pursuing your own will leads to a burdened life. Pursuing God’s will leads to a blessed life. Are you burdened and battle-weary? Lay aside your way of doing things, and let Jesus come alongside to help you. Spend time with Him fortifying your stronghold, and find rest for your soul.

Memory Verse

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14 (KJV)