As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me; for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday. Why art thou cast down, O thy soul? And why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. (Psalm 42:1-5)
So many people are going to church singing praise-and-worship songs about freedom, and are just as tied up and in bondage as they can be. One problem people have is that whatever the issue is in their lives, they want to deal with it on the outer surface. They are like the amoeba that has certain parts, and their issues are hidden deep in the nucleus of their soul .
They say, “That’s just the way I am; I only drink one six-pack of beer a day; I have sexual needs; I can’t get close to people; I want to kill myself; I’m so depressed; I have to beat on my wife and kids, they don’t listen or understand me; I had to kick the dog or take one of the nine lives of the cat, they got in my way…” The list of excuses goes on and on. These are just the symptoms of the problem, not the problem. That’s why people have a really hard time getting delivered, because that is the only area they want to stay in with their issues. God wants to deal with our issues straight to the nucleus——the center of the whole thing.
What are you still holding on to that causes you to be depressed, to drink, and to continually be sexually active and some of the other symptoms? That’s what God wants to heal and deliver you from. Once we allow Him to heal us—right in the center of what caused that hurt and what wounded us—then all the issues disappear.
(Excerpt taken from Chapter 1: “Waking to the Need of Soul Restoration”)
