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abundance, adversity, development of the soul, easy believism, fire, God puts soul in life, God refines us, God tries us, God's presence and breath, James Lane Allen quote, places burdens upon us, Psalms 66, slipping and falling, water
Many of the Psalms are concerned about slipping, falling, and stumbling in our walk with God. Songs in general are good about reminding us of life’s hazards. Psalm 66 reminds us that it is God … “Who keeps us in life, And does not allow our feet to slip.”
The first part of this verse literally means … “God puts the soul in life.” Isn’t this good? It is God who puts soul, zest, meaning, and purpose in life. Without His presence and breath we would never achieve anything. We would end up falling, slipping, and careening into a soulless ditch.
How does the Lord accomplish this? According to the rest of this Psalm, God…
- tries us,
- refines us,
- brings us into a net,
- lays oppressive burdens upon us,
- causes men to run over our heads,
- takes us through fire, and
- takes us through water.
Then afterwards, He brings us out into a place of abundance!
I don’t know about you, but I have been guilty of only praying for the abundance part… not for all the other difficulties. I’ve got enough problems without God laying more on my plate. This is one of the issues people do not understand about the Lord, because a type of easy believism has crippled many believers. Many have falsely concluded anything too difficult and hard could not originate from God. This is what the psalmist is communicating. It is the Lord who brings us to these crisis points in life… in order that we might choose Him and come to know Him more intimately. This is God’s process of developing our souls.
Understand, if you are going to pray and believe God for abundance, then get ready because God is interested in something far greater… the development of your soul! In order for you to become all the Lord believes you to be, He just might have some hardships and difficulties waiting for you. He doesn’t want you to slip and fall so God is in the process of preparing your soul ahead of time. Get Ready!
Blessing – From God’s Incubator,
Pastor