Encourage Yourself––Part II
The western culture, like the ancient Greeks, worships body and soul. By that I mean that we of the western world, have elevated the sleek, svelte body and the “positive thinking” mindset above all else. There’s nothing inherently wrong with positive thinking, which is basically letting go of negative mindsets, but if you don’t worship the Creator, who gave you your mind and your spirit, you’re setting up something else to worship. Click to Tweet #encourageyourself #worshipGod
Mankind, or humankind was created to worship. In the Garden of Eden, God breathed life into a lump of formed clay, and man became a living spirit (wisdom, communion, conscience), with a body (blood, bone, sinew) and a soul (mind, will, emotions). But you can’t have life eternal unless that spirit is regenerated by accepting Christ’s sacrifice in your heart.
Again, I encourage you to read the Psalms. When I was a child, I found them boring, but once I became a follower of Jesus, I discovered just how wonderful they are.
Psalm 13 became especially helpful to me a few weeks ago, when I’d just had a challenging time with the novella I’d written. Read these couple of lines that were particularly helpful to me.
Notice that David begins his psalm with his lament, then ends it with praise. And these are just a few lines from the short psalm.
“How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day?”
“But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. I will sing to the LORD because he is good to me.”
This is heartening news. Yet, even those of us who are worshipping God in our spirits, need to have our souls encouraged from time to time, especially at 2:00 in the morning. When we get our souls engaged in worshipping our Creator, we find encouragement for our troubles. Click to Tweet #encourageyourself #worshipGod
What about you? Do you find comfort in the Psalms? Leave a comment and let me know.
Donna L.H. Smith 
Reblogged this on Donna L.H. Smith and commented:
Just so you know…I’m locked out of my office and can’t get to my resource on creating suspense. So, just in case I can’t get there later today, here’s a re-blog for you to enjoy. If I can, I will post on Creating Suspense as soon as I can access my office. It’s not a matter of needing a key. The lock is locked from the inside, and it’s an inside door. Get the picture?
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