Seeking Jesus First - May 19, 2023
What are the gates to our soul? How do we influence our soul? Our soul is made up of mind (thinking), will (choosing), and emotions (feeling). We influence our souls with the things we see and hear. So the gates are the eyes and ears…
“My son, let them not depart from your eyes— Keep sound wisdom and discretion; So they will be life to your soul And grace to your neck. Then you will walk safely in your way, And your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; For the Lord will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught.” (Proverbs 3:21–26, NKJV)
When we keep something before our eyes, we allow our soul to meditate on it. In this passage, we are encouraged to meditate on the wisdom and discretion that comes from God and His word.
Meditating on what God says is wisdom and discretion will cause our soul to be filled with life. What do you think it means to have our soul full of life? It makes me think of love and joy and peace. God’s wisdom and discretion causes our soul to be flooded with peace, joy and love.
It also causes grace to be upon our neck. When grace is surrounding your neck like a necklace, it is noticeable to all who meet you. Our necklace of grace opens doors and changes atmospheres. It sets us up for favor everywhere we go.
With our souls full of life (love, joy and peace) and a necklace of grace (favor with god and man):
- We will walk safely in our way
- Our foot will not stumble
- We will sleep in safety and peace.
- We will have sweet sleep.
- Terror will not cause us to fear.
- Trouble from the wicked will not steal our confidence.
- The LORD will be our confidence.
- The LORD will keep us from being ensnared by the wicked.
All of this is the result of meditating on the wisdom and discretion of God.
Simply meditating on this does all of that? How can keeping God and His word in front of my eyes and meditating on God’s wisdom and discretion change anything? Don’t I need to do something else?
The truth is, you become what you meditate on. If we keep the world and the world’s view in front of our eyes, we will continue to be like the world. However, if we change what we look at, we will become something else. Simply keeping your gate open to God and closed to the darkness changes everything.
“pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17–22, NKJV)
This is possible if we guard our gates.
“Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23, NKJV)
Keep in mind that everything we teach as we disciple people in the word of God goes back to our personal intimate relationship with God through faith in Christ Jesus and His Word. This intimacy with God is facilitated by Holy Spirit who is with us and in us.
How can we pray without ceasing? We don’t have that many things to “pray” about. It means that we keep the conversation going with God through Holy Spirit in us. Listening is praying too! Pray with The Spirit and pray with the understanding. When we pray with The Spirit, we pray that we may interpret or understand. We can even do this when we are engaged in other things like working or talking or anything. But remember to guard your gates.