This is merely a musing that came to mind after studying Hebrews 4:12 tonight. It hasn't been well developed or well prayed over, but it has encouraged me nevertheless!
"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing SOUL and SPIRIT..." - Hebrews 4:12
Apparently this was a verse I had memorized and recited a hundred times without really understanding. I got that the Bible was important, as well as applicable to any life situation, regardless of whether the struggle or experience even existed at the time our Bible was written. But I never even noticed that "soul" and "spirit" were obviously two very different things. Though they are often used interchangeably, they can't be interchangeable if the word of God serves to differentiate the two!
So I did a little research and a little praying.
From what I understand, the "soul" makes up the immaterial part of man that consists of the will, the intellect or mind, the emotions, and the desires. The soul is what makes a man not just a human, but a specific man. It is the part of you that makes you YOU, as opposed to your next door neighbor, your friend, or any of the other 7 billion people on the planet.
The spirit, by contrast, is the part of you that provides the clearest image of who God is. It is how we commune and communicate with God. It is the "image of God" given only to man and not to any other living thing on Earth.
I know, I know, I haven't quite achieved that whole "encouraging" part I mentioned earlier. So skip ahead to chapter 6: "And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised...We have this hope [of the certainty of God's promises] as an anchor for the SOUL, firm and secure."
When we accept Christ as our Savior, our spirits are immediately transformed, we become a new creation. We are immediately made right with God, because this image of Himself that He has given us is renewed by Christ's blood. Our souls, however, remain marked by our pasts, our struggles, our humanity. Our souls serve as the communication between our spiritual selves and our physical selves, and they remain part of a broken world.
Therefore, God gives us the certainty of His promises, the certainty of our salvation, as an anchor for our SOULS! When my soul wants to give up -- when my emotions fade away or my mind wanders or my desires betray the fallen human that I am -- God's faithfulness anchors my soul to Him. His Word reminds me that all of His promises will be fulfilled in His time, reminds me that my SPIRIT still allows me to approach His throne boldly even though my SOUL may fail! It is His unfailing and unchanging nature that reminds me that I AM a new creation, I AM right with Him, even when my soul feels like nothing more than a failure.
And as we hold tightly to our hope in God's faithfulness, we must simply make like Abraham and wait patiently for the fulfillment of His promises.
So as I (rather impatiently) look forward to the good and exciting things God has set forth for me in the coming year, I must simply hold tightly to the promise that God never changes. He is always changing me through His Word -- always changing His new creation to look more and more like Him -- but His own goodness and grace never change.
His love never fails.
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