Is Your Heart or Soul Stubborn?

Is your heart or soul stubborn? Have you ever woken up on the wrong side of the bed, grumpy, or whatever you might want to call it? What if that persists day after day and you begin to develop a heart that is less than content, disillusioned with God’s good plan for your life, or apathetic toward the glory of God? Bitterness and discouragement quickly become unwanted companions that never leave. In these moments, how do we respond to them? How do we help change the fundamental problems of, on one end, grumpiness / discontentment and, on the other, settled-in bitterness / discouragement? We go to war in our own souls. When we go to war, these unwanted friends can be rooted out, replaced, and the devastating effects of their presence eliminated. Let me explain.

King David’s Instruction Helps Us

Notice what King David writes in Psalm 103:

Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:1-5)

He instructs us – at the level of the soul, no doubt – to bless the Lord. He instructs us to bring praise to God. Not just a little praise either – he instructs us to praise God with all that is within us!

Sometimes, praising God with everything that is within us is difficult. In the title of today’s blog, (Is your heart or soul stubborn?), you can see the implied difficulty. Although we know we are to praise God with everything that is within us, we still find ourselves somewhere on the spectrum from grumpy to bitter. Although we may agree that we are to praise God, the actual doing it comes up lacking.

How can you help a stubborn heart or soul?

As I mentioned above, we have to go to war within our own souls or hearts. David’s instruction helps us understand how to do this as well. He writes:

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits

We must intentionally remind ourselves of the benefits we receive from God. The way we win the war that rages in our souls is to begin with intentional reminders. We specifically remind ourselves of all God’s benefits. He lists them:

God forgives all our iniquities,
God heals all our diseases,
God redeems our lives from ultimate destruction and all kinds of destruction before that,
God crowns us with His lovingkindness and tender mercies – which means we can demonstrate these same qualities,
God satisfies our mouths with good things, while renewing our energy each day.

Consider these benefits. Think about them for a few minutes. Consider how great these things are for you.

In the fog of disappointment, disillusionment, and discouragement, we fight to remember all the benefits of God to us.

God forgives.
God heals.
God redeems.
God crowns.
God satisfies and renews.

The psalmist continues with explaining how God does some of these things. I’ll let the psalmist close out today’s blog:

The Lord executes righteousness
And justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the children of Israel.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.

Therefore, bless the Lord, o my soul!

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