Fractured Souls

This week in SOMD we had the great Steve Shamblin as our speaker. He also taught in my DTS, so I knew I was in for a week of great Biblical teaching and Spirit-filled times of prayer and ministry. Our topic this week was Identity, and more specifically, Healing of the Fractured Soul [Steve's book on the topic is also available on Amazon!]. Steve walked us through the Proverbs and what the Bible says about what can wound our spirit, and the pain and sin that can result. We even looked at Jesus' life and how His spirit was wounded, yet it never effected His character. Why is this? How can Jesus experience the same painful circumstances we experience, but it never caused Him to retreat into sorrow, rejection, mistrust or abuse? Because Jesus walked out in forgiveness and confidently knew His identity was in the love of the Father. And that's where we as humans fall short. We look to everyone but God the Father for our identity. From the culture around us to our friends or family or ministries, everything shapes who we are. And because those are all broken or imperfect sources, it's no wonder we find ourselves lacking in self-worth and self-value. In Psalm 139, the psalmist talks about God knitting together our "inmost parts"...which are fearfully and wonderfully made! It wasn't our bodies that God was praising, but our souls. The part of us that gives us life and character and personality and identity. The part of us that can live in eternity with Him forever. The bodies, or shells, will turn to dust and fade, but souls live on. Yet we spend so much time focusing on keeping these shells looking a certain way, and judging our shells to other people's shells. We should take care of our body as best as we can, but not put all of our stock there. We also talked through two cycles people live their lives in...Rejection and Performance, and the woundedness that can result.

So as you can see, it's been another great week here in the YWAM Orlando SOMD. I'm learning not only awesome principles that are bringing me closer to God, but are also skills that I can use to encourage others in their journey with Him. It's a great place to be.