You’ve just watched the news and are now feeling a heavy burden of worry about the economy, an emerging health crisis, rampant immorality, or the growing tension in world affairs. You’ve just spent a few minutes on social media and now find yourself angry at someone or something or disgusted with aspects of society that you find disturbing or alarming. You’ve just spoken to a friend, a family member, or your doctor and were told something that induces so much fear, anxiety, sadness, or stress in you that it grips your mind and emotions in such a way that you find it difficult to find relief. You know that the Bible tells us, Don’t worry and Give thanks in all things. You’ve also read that Christians are supposed to have an abundance of love, joy, and perfect peace in all things, but you don’t feel any of that now. In fact, in some ways, you feel the opposite.
Why? The key to finding the answer to this is in understanding the difference between the soul and the spirit. Let’s face it, the times we are living in are often difficult, troublesome, and unsettling. Many of us fall prey to the tendency to worry, get angry, or become afraid. This can often lead to discouragement, anxiety, and even depression. We read the news, we hear the stories, we feel conflict and distress, and we see endless unrest and trouble throughout the world. It is natural to be very concerned. Everything we sense compels us to be alarmed and uneasy about things taking place all around us. We can’t help but internalize it, and before long we find ourselves disenchanted or hopeless instead of faith-filled and joyful. It’s a constant battle within us. In one sense, we trust God and know that He is Lord over everything on the earth, and in the spirit realm as well. In another sense, we are troubled and concerned about the darkness we live in and among, and we often become disturbed by it. We feel it all around us and within us. Sometimes in overwhelming waves of thoughts and emotions that are more than we can bear.
That is because there’s a battle going on all around us. There is also a battle going on within each one of us.
The battle within us is between two opposing forces: the flesh and the spirit. Our flesh wants to please and satiate the desires of the body, and our spirit is created to commune with God’s Spirit within us. This conflict is played out in the battleground of the soul. The key to winning this battle, and enjoying life and peace even in the most difficult times, is understanding the difference between the soul and the spirit. Sadly, when these two terms are confused and conflated, we end up relying on mental and emotional resources in situations that require spiritual wisdom and strength.
My hope is that this book will help us clearly see the difference between the soul and the spirit. Once we can identify the unique characteristics of each one, we will find it much easier to walk by the Spirit and live in the beauty and blessing of the fruit of the Spirit, in both our relationship with God and our relationships with others. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:6 NIV
