Scripture:
Psalm 81:10-16 ESV
[10] I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. [11] “But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. [12] So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels. [13] Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways! [14] I would soon subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes. [15] Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him, and their fate would last forever. [16] But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
Observation:
The verse before the ones in this SOAP said there should be no foreign gods among you. This is another psalm written by Asaph. To be honest, it’s fitting. He had seen Israel go through a lot. He had watched the blessings when they followed the LORD’s plan, and he got to watch the chaos when they didn’t. He knew what a stubborn heart looked like and the results of it. The counsel of men and the counsel of GOD are 2 different things. GOD’s chosen people were taking counsel that was not from HIM, which means they were listening to what was wrong. It was their desire and not GOD’s desire for them. Asaph saw that misled them in the past. His plea was that they would follow the right way. GOD has a right way, and flesh has a way that leads to death. Let’s take a look at what these verses are saying. A stubborn heart leads us away from the LORD. A humble heart leads us to HIM. GOD knows that sometimes the best way to correct his people is through consequence, so HE turned them over to their own desires. So that they would come back to HIM, in these verses, there are some promises. I think we should pay attention to them. Verse 13 is a request oh that my people would listen to and follow. Verse 14 is a promise. If GOD’S people would listen and follow their enemies, they would be subdued. Verse 15 says they would cringe. Verse 16 says they would have the fat of the land
Application:
We have a choice to make. Are we going to follow what feels good, or are we going to do what is good? I’m going to be honest. It’s not easy to be spirit-led because it goes against what we want most of the time. But we don’t see the whole picture. GOD can. HE sees your life from start to finish, and if we submit to the Holy Spirit. We would avoid a lot of issues. That seems to be the issue 9 times out of 10. I really like the way Paul says it in Romans chapter 7. He is talking about the inner battle. The struggle we have between our flesh and our spirit. He states… I find myself doing what I know I’m not supposed to and not doing what I know I need to. It’s a struggle it goes against our nature. We want what feels good, and the spirit wants what is good. This struggle is not new. It has been going on since before the fall in the garden. We were made aware of it in the fall. The Bible says we were created in GOD’s image. We see that in more than one place in the bible. The Holy Trinity consists of 3 parts Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let me break that down so we can see the image we were created in. Mind (FATHER) body (SON) spirit (HOLY SPIRIT) is the image we were made in. Our flesh wars against our spirit for the control of the mind. Our flesh wants what feels good right now. Our spirit wants what is good for eternity. This is where our soul will rest, and depending on which one you feed depends on where that eternity will take place. I know the enemy is fighting against this SOAP going out because I have lost everything I had in text, and it truly frustrated me. I believe what we need to know is that we are in a war with ourselves. Our flesh and our spirit war against the one thing that will last forever… our soul. The image of GOD. It’s not easy to be spirit-led. In fact, it goes against everything we want most of the time. The struggle is real, and submission is the key. Listen to the still small voice, not the one that is screaming at you because it has to scream to drown out what is right so that you will do what feels right. One last thing, then we can pray. Jesus had this same struggle in the garden the night before they killed HIM. HIS flesh was crying out don’t do it, but HE knew in HIS spirit HE had to. If Jesus made decisions based on HIS emotions, we would still be looking for a savior.
Prayer:
Father, we know your way is right. We submit to it. Help us to hear your still small voice. Train our ears so that the Holy Spirit’s voice would be louder than that of our flesh. We desire to be Holy Spirit-led. We know that means we won’t always get what we want until what we want becomes what you want. We want our desires to line up with your desires for us. Change our hearts, LORD. We want you. May you increase and we decrease. In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray amen.