Build a Bridge of Understanding From Soul to Spirit — Let the Spirit Lead!

Bring understanding through The Word!

I had begun to administer a Counseling Discovery session, and I heard in my spirit from Holy Spirit very clearly, “Strengthen yourself in The LORD and then inquire of Him…

Bring understanding through The Word.”

This was the instruction from Holy Spirit given to me to guide my client as I was embarking on a new Discovery session with them.

The Holy Spirit was pointing out the need for their spirit-man to be engaged through developing understanding in their soul, providing a bridge of understanding from soul to spirit.

I always begin a Counseling Session listening and looking for where The Holy Spirit is leading, through a vision, word of knowledge and most importantly, the Word of God from scripture as emphasized by The Holy Spirit.* ( *I appreciate how Thomas Downes refers to this as “the Word sent”.)

This follows the model of Jesus, where He said, “I only do what I see My Father doing” and in another place, “I have spoken the Words that You have given me to speak…” (See John 5:19 and John 17:8 )

The Holy Spirit wants us to minister to the spirit of an individual, but also to bring understanding to their soul so that He can awaken their “inner Glory” while He is renewing their mind to The Word. His goal in every Believer is to form Christ within!

We want to teach people how to let their “spirit-man” lead in response to The Holy Spirit and the Word that He gives.

Step into the Waters of Baptism — a Baptism of Love

As the session began, The Holy Spirit showed me a Vision of Jesus inviting this dear Believer into the precious waters of Baptism. This was the Baptism of His Love.

In the Vision, I could see The LORD Jesus extending His hand and inviting them in, to be immersed into the “waters of Love” — “The Living Waters” that proceed from the Throne, and the very heart of Father God Himself. (Ezekiel 47:1-12, Revelation 22:1-5)

This is the place where we must all begin — positioning ourselves in Christ’s matchless love in order to “receive” from our LORD. We must each be immersed in His “Baptism of Love”.

The LORD wants us to “know the love of God through experience”. The Greek Word for this is “Epinosis”…

The LORD wants each of us to encounter the deep unchanging love of God personally.

It’s from this place of heart that we can reach forth and embrace His Truth as our own, and embark upon a process of soul and heart renewal led by The Holy Spirit.

As I proceeded to ask this Believer what seemed to be some of their most pressing issues, I heard from The Holy Spirit what He was wanting to build in them,

“Confidence” and “Understanding” … “Invite them to anticipate My Goodness and make ready for My Presence.”

I knew then that this was His focus for our session.

Immediately the Scripture came to my thoughts,

“May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of The Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope.” Romans 15:13 AMPC.

I shared and ministered the Scripture to them, emphasizing the “Hope” that The LORD wanted them to have in this current situation, and every area of their life, learning to “set their sails” for anticipation of The LORD’s great good.

This was the foundational paradigm shift in perspective for them.

From there we could begin to look at any place that didn’t have the “Hope of God” in it, and then we could uncover the lies that stood in the way of that hope.

Blocks to Faith

I then heard in my spirit, “He meets us in our imperfections….”

We talked for a little bit about what causes us to shrink back in our Faith…..

When we feel that we have failed God we often carry and deep, buried “shame” inside our soul — “shame” for those failures.

Sometimes we feel distant from God and shrink back because of discouragement, and disappointments in life.

While we may be very hesitant to admit, there can even be an underlying feeling of disappointment with God. This ends up seriously undermining our Faith.

Things like “shame, doubt, and unbelief” come crowding into our thoughts, taking up residence in our “soul gates”.

This is where the enemy places his “tags” on us, dulling our response to the Spirit and the Word, because our expectation for “good” is eclipsed by an underlying current of “hopelessness”.

We talked briefly about a few key areas where they felt that “hopelessness” had eclipsed their faith.

The LORD then led me to share the following passage in James. I ministered the passage to them, instructing and building understanding as The Holy Spirit led.

“If anyone longs to be wise, ask God for wisdom and he will give it! He won’t see your lack of wisdom as an opportunity to scold you over your failures but he will overwhelm your failures with his generous grace. Just make sure you ask empowered by confident faith without doubting that you will receive. For the ambivalent person believes one minute and doubts the next. Being undecided makes you become like the rough seas driven and tossed by the wind. You’re up one minute and tossed down the next. When you are half-hearted and wavering it leaves you unstable. Can you really expect to receive anything from The LORD when you’re in that condition?” (James 1:5-8 TPT.

We began to examine further the types of experiences that were undermining their faith, making them ambivalent to the working of The LORD in their life.

I explained about the concept of “soul gates” as it related to our internal decision making and thought processes, likening them to “ancient gates” in Old Testament Biblical time that were found around the entrance of cities.

These ancient city gates were often decision making places for government and business transactions.

Similarly we have “gates” in our soul, (mind, will and emotions), where we make decisions. We have to make certain that our “soul gates” are free from obstruction and “intruders” (demonic influence).

Things like fear, doubt, unbelief, resentment and shame have to be repented of, let go, and given to the feet of Jesus to judge. Then godly mindsets must be established in their place.

Among the areas of struggle, “resentment” seemed to be a particular hinderance to faith.

We talked about how resentment and bitterness operate like a poison that can poison our own heart as well as others.

Persistent and long term agreement with resentment and bitterness brings demonic influence into our soul and disease into our body.

Unfolding Psalm 73

I felt The LORD wanting me to lead them in an unfolding of Psalms 73, where David pours out his bitterness before The LORD, before finally submitting himself to the counsel of The LORD.

These two verses, 13,14, sum up what David was feeling in the first part of the Psalm

“Surely then in vain have I cleansed my heart and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been smitten and plagued, and chastened every morning.” Psalm 73:13-14 AMPC.

David was saying in effect, “What good does it do for me to serve God! Look at the wicked and how they prosper, but here I am trying to do what is right and I keep getting ‘beaten down’.…”

In verse16, David just didn’t know how to make sense of all of this: “But when I considered how to understand this, it was too great an effort for me and too painful…”

In verse 17 “Until ….I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood….”

The sanctuary of God…. that place where God and His Truth and Love is enthroned in our hearts.

We humble ourself in reverence, trust and love, yielding to the counsel of the Word and Spirit.

In verses 21 and 22 David realizes that bitterness had been poisoning his own heart, “For my heart was grieved, embittered, and in a state of ferment, and I was pricked in my heart [as with the sharp fang of an adder (snake)].

So foolish, stupid, and brutish was I, and ignorant; I was like a beast before You….”

But as He is communing with Father God in light of Truth and Love, David comes to this deep understanding in the verses 23-26, and 28:

“Nevertheless I am continually with You; You do hold my right hand.

You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to honor and glory.

Whom have I in heaven but You? And I have no delight or desire on earth besides You.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the Rock and firm Strength of my heart and my Portion forever.

But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in The LORD God and made Him my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.”

The Throne of Grace

Prayer and verse audio

Blueprints in the Psalms

I am so very glad that in the Psalms we have the pure unredacted expressions of David often in his state of helplessness, “emotional want” and need…

Father is so good to have given us these written accounts of David’s internal struggles, providing each of us with a “blueprint” for working out our emotional and spiritual processes with The LORD.

We come to see that we have permission” to be honest with Father about “where we are at” emotionally and in our thought processes… but we are not to stay in a state of despair and hopelessness caused by disappointment and hurt.

As David did, we can and must lift up our soul to the counsel of the Word and Spirit with anticipation of God’s great good.

We are reminded in this passage and others, like Psalms 34 to “magnify The LORD” instead of focusing on our lack, and to exalt the nearness, greatness and might of God.

Breakthrough

I had such joy at the breakthrough for this precious individual.

Coming into The LORD’s embrace of Love and Truth, they were now ready to take The LORD at His Word, repenting for faulty and sinful ways of thinking and speaking, and releasing forgiveness to those who had trespassed against them.

They realized that they were not helpless and alone, but had every privilege and right as a much-loved child of the Most High God to receive Truth as they embraced the deep Love of Father God.

This was coupled with reverent submission to His ways, allowing the authority, and empowerment of The Word and Spirit to begin to work freely again in their life.

A refrain from a precious old Hymn welled up in my spirit,

“My Hope is built on Nothing Less than Jesus Blood and Righteousness….
On Christ the solid Rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand.”

Thank you Father, Spirit, Son — our precious Triune God.

You are Faithful!

 

~ Shelley M Ed

---

Shelley M Ed/ LifeSetMinistries: Ordained Minister CMA/ working with Leaders and Ministry Houses: US/CAN/INT. Leadership development, counselling, and oversight.
“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom…. Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning” Luke 12:32;35.

Back to Top