+DEV+ Pt 7. Soul Care: Steps To A Liberated Will

Date: December 23, 2014 11:01 PM

Topic: +DEV+  Pt 7. Soul Care:  Steps To A Liberated Will

Pt 7 Soul Care:

STEPS TO A LIBERATED WILL

. . .(The following suggestions for freeing the will are from DeVern Fromke's book Unto Full Stature.)

Step 1:  I must accept the responsibility for what I am and what I have done. -

An ancient and familiar temptation is trying to blame our condition on someone else or on a set of circumstances, which is what Adam and Eve did.  But Henry Drummond refutes claims:  "Let no one deny that surroundings, people, and places can and do influence us.  But only that part of the environment to which we respond influences us.  We do the responding.  The choice is always ours" (Natural Law in the Spiritual World).

DeVern Fromke has put it this way:  I am responsible for how I respond.  I have that choice and I make that choice.  Until I accept responsibility,  I will place the blame elsewhere, and I will never mature.

Step 2:  I must discover the place and effectiveness of the will as God designed and intended it to function. - God gave us the right to choose, and he will never take that right from us.  It is not what my mind thinks, or what my emotions feel, that changes me.  It is what My will chooses.

Some people know they need to lose weight for good health and want to lose weight, but they never do.  It is not the knowing or desiring that will cause them to shed pounds.  It is choosing to follow a defined diet plan.  Until that choice is made, they will loose no weight.

A. W. Tozer explains this from the spiritual point of view:  "At what point then, does a theological fact become for the one who holds it a life giving truth?  At the point where obedience begins.  When faith gains the consent of the will to make an irrevocable commitment to Christ as Lord, truth begins its saving illuminating work, not one moment before."

Until I choose to do what God has ordered for my spiritual well-being, I will not be a healthy, growing soul.  Sermons, desires, and understanding of God's truths do not change me.  It is my choice to act on those truths that makes the difference.

Step 3:  I must understand the importance of the full liberation of the will as it cooperates with the Holy Spirit. - A growing, maturing, soul is not one with a strong enough will to always make the right choices.  But it is a soul with a will that is ready to act on the Holy Spirit's instructions.  God asks me to submit my will to his will.  Then he is released to do what I cannot do in my own strength.

To cure his leprosy, Naaman was instructed by the prophet Elisha to dip seven times in the Jordan River - something he could do if he chose to do it, although pride and reason almost kept him from it.  When he did as the Lord commanded, he was cleansed of leprosy.  It was not human willpower that healed him.  It was God's power.  Naaman released God by choosing to do what God asked him to do through Elisha. (II Kings 5:1-15).

Here is how this might work today.  A friend is upset with me and is avoiding me.  I know he is offended, and I desire to restore the relationship.   As I pray about it, God tells me to write a note expressing my admiration of my friend and how I miss our fellowship.  This is something I can do.  I cannot control what my friend is thinking, but I can write a note.  It is up to God to change my friend's mine - to do what only God can do.  My part is always to will to do his will.

Step 4:  I must learn to live in the will. - I must live in the will and not in my emotions or reasoning.  Over and over again I must choose to will the way God has given me:  to do as he would do, according to what he has said.  I must step away from the temptation to resort to my emotions or my limited knowledge of a situation. . . .        

~~~

From the book: 

'Soul Care'

By Peter Lord

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

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