Deeper Communion: Part 4- Yielding Our Soul

(How to get your soul to stop contending with your spirit)

A good friend and I were discussing some of the ways she interacts with the Holy Spirit. We got to talking about what some might call “word of knowledge, wisdom and prophecy” ( I call it “feeling what is on Father’s heart”)  and how we often can make a mess of things.  Still, Father is so unconditionally loving and patient with His children.

One of the topics was the confusion over how at times we can recall what He shared with us, and at other times, hardly have any recollection of what He spoke to our hearts about. Also, we may sense the Spirit is speaking through others, but the words seem what I would call compromised or “muddy.”

Much (but not all) of what post-modern Christianity calls the “prophetic office” is merely glorified motivational speaking on one end, or Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone on the other. Yet, our spirits’ may still bear witness that the Holy Spirit is truly attempting to share something from the Father’s heart through the person doing the talking.  So, what is going on?  

Recalling a specific event I shared, my friend then asked:

“One of the things that I got out of your responses.., which I thought was intriguing is that you still can pull up in your heart what you were feeling when you first interacted with the gentleman.

Most people who give a word of knowledge sometimes cannot recall what they said… or it does not feel “clean.”  

Can you elaborate on that a little?”

This really is a great question.  Let’s talk about this.

When the Lord shares something, the purpose is to bring an area of darkness into reconciliation with His heart. All manners in which the Holy Spirit wishes to flow through us are meant to impart an aspect of His Love and goodness to another child who needs His touch.

When our spirit is getting insight through the Holy Spirit within us (our spirit-man), it gets passed along to our soul (mind, will & emotions). The more we sit and practice time in His presence the more our soul perceives and picks up on the things the Holy Spirit is speaking to us (spirit-man) about.

So… let’s discuss one reason why we then either mis-convey His heart, or overlay the meaning of something, or share His words but do not reflect His heart. These reasons also happen to be the same reason we may forget what we even share.

Here is a primary reason:

When our soul is believing something different than what the Word of God has declared, we are not fully yielded.

This effects all areas of our walk. Not merely the topic in question.

To the degree our soul is not actively yielded to our spirit-man (remember it is our spirit-man that is “born-again) we will not be so tuned into the Holy Spirit and the things of the kingdom.

There have been times I have shared a “word” and then a month later had no recollection of the event. This is often because I was yielded only enough to pick up on what the Lord wanted to share, but not centered enough in my soul to really be dialed in to what was on His heart. Said another way, my soul, at that moment, was exalting  the things of this realm, more than the things that my Father has declared. Again.. at that moment in time. This includes our belief-system.

So, the next most logical question is: “How do I do this? How do I learn to be more sensitive to His heart ? How do I yield?”

Yielding our soul to the Holy Spirit:

When you accepted Jesus as your atonement and confessed Him as your Lord, something happened on the inside of your spirit. The Holy Spirit came to live inside of your spirit-man.

“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.“Rom 8:16

“When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,” Eph 1:13

“Yielding the soul” means to agree that what the Lord stated in His word is… well… actually true.

Now none of us are quick to suggest we argue with His word. Unless that is… we are going through a crisis. Then all the latent lies we have chosen to ignore come raging to the surface. Instead of rivers of life flowing from within our belly, its rivers of pain, confusion, anger, depression and outright thoughts that contradict His nature.

Why is this?

The healing that needs to take place in each one of us, is within our mind, will and emotions. Whatever we choose to believe and accept as our own truth… this is what governs our life.  We are either yielded to the truth flowing from the Holy Spirit who speaks the will of the Father to us, or… we yield to the wounds, lies and deceptions that we have been taught since infancy (or earlier) are true.

“The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” Rom 8:6

We often deliberately choose to think of  this verse only in terms of actions… and for good reason. That short-sighted and legalistic viewpoint allows us to sidestep our pain-filled emotions which stem from past wounds and interactions that were anything but a demonstration of God’s unconditional love toward us.

“For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” Prov 23:7  (cf Rom 12:2, 2 Cor 10:5, 2 Pet 1:19)

Bottom line, whether we are willing to admit it or not, the truth is, family, that it is our beliefs that govern our actions. Consider even our most “noble” attempts to reflect His image or interact with His kingdom… what are the motives?

• Will God love me more?
• Does spiritual interaction validate His love for me?
• Will I be more pleasing to certain others? Why do I need validation?
• Do I feel I have the unspoken right to judge others, even if it’s ever sooooo slightly?

“Walking by the spirit” starts with agreeing with who the word says He is, and who He declared us to be through the gift of the Cross.  The core of His gift to us was righteousness and an unconditional acceptance in His eyes.

Right now, our programmed and auto-pilot minds are saying “yes and amen.” After all, what kind of child of God would that make me if I did not believe my worth and value comes only from God and is already forever settled??

For all the social media gatherers, I would be willing to say there was something that you had to work through within the past 30 minutes on one of your sites… and you only watched or read something.

Maybe? Why is this? What are we truly believing deep down? What drives our soul? Do we seriously think there is no deeper rumbling going on here? I did not even mention strangers we meet at the gas-station or our place of employment.

Application:

Our self-worth is never changing in the eyes of our Lord. He gifted us with HIS righteousness. This needs to be our foundation from which we believe, think and interact with both the kingdom of God and the natural realm. (2 Cor 5:21,  1 Col 19-22,  John 4:24)

NOTE: Wherever our soul is yielded to our born-again nature,  we will touch His heart, because we are submitting to, and flowing with our spirit that is in constant contact with the HS.

This means we will also walk more deeply after the Lord’s own passions because we are accessing the Love that was shed abroad in ours. We only need to yield to His truth.  Still… this takes courage.

The more we actively give Him permission, He will speak to us about where we are attempting to find a counterfeit worth and value system. As we repent of the area of thinking He reveals, the easier it becomes to flow in, and retain the things that are on His heart and mind.

“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Rom 5:5

Knowing and feeling His heart creates what I call “fingerprints” on our soul… and they don’t easily come off.

If… we allow Him to touch our souls.

I hope this ministered to some of you.

God bless you all, family.

David