Remind your soul

 

Photo by Chionsu Barclay

These days, with job losses, increases in the cost of living, and leadership throughout the world that appears to be self-centred and schizophrenic at best, if not for all people, certainly for a lot of people, life is uncertain and God seems to be afar off somewhere. David was experiencing similar circumstances when he wrote Psalm 63.

Psalm 63 refers to a time when David was in the wilderness in Judah. I have extracted verses 1, 6, 7 and 8 as the focus for today’s reflection.

O God, you are my God;
    I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
    my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
    where there is no water.

I lie awake thinking of you,
    meditating on you through the night.

Because you are my helper,
    I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
I cling to you;
    your strong right hand holds me securely.

David was experiencing inner struggle due to his circumstances, but he did not let it overtake him. Instead of succumbing to the rigours of the parched and weary land where there is no water, David takes responsibility for what is happening inside him and begins speaking to himself, not about the circumstances but reminds his soul of God his Helper.

It did not matter how it looked, or how he was feeling, what mattered to David was to focus on God; to think of God, meditate on God, and cling to God. David remembered all that God offers.

David reminded his soul that it was in God that his security laid.

Beloved, you too must do the same. Remind your soul that your security is not in your bank account, your job or the world’s economy, it is God who holds you securely in His strong right hand.

Keep God’s benefits in mind. As David said in Psalm 103:2 (NLT), may I never forget the good things he does for me, then he lists out all those good things in the successive verses of his song.

Reminding yourself of what God has done and not falling prey to your circumstances is a sign of spiritual maturity.

Emotions are adaptive so they can be controlled. Solomon, in his great wisdom tells us that it is better to have self-control than to conquer a city (Proverbs 16:32 NLT); this has more to do with inner transformation than outward restraint, therein lies your strength.

Hebrews 4:15 (NLT) says,

This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.

Jesus, in His humanity faced more challenges than we could ever endure, yet He did not allow the things happening outside Him to affect what was inside Him. The offense levied on Him, the insults spewed towards Him, the judgments cast upon Him never caused Jesus to return the favour.

We need to understand who we are as sons of God, as Jesus knew who He was as the Son of God. Now, you might be saying, “But I’m only human, I’m not Jesus”, you are absolutely correct but He was human and demonstrated how to walk and move as a son of God. Take a good look at Jesus, not in a wristband WWJD way, but to really see Him and imitate Him under the tutelage of His Spirit.

Beloved, Jesus took full responsibility for His soul and its condition, not that He did not wrestle within His human state, for we see Him in the Garden at Gethsemane doing just that but He knew in whom His security lay and reminded His soul as He brought His soul and His circumstances under the subjection of God the Father, declaring Yet I want your will to be done, not mine (Matthew 26:39 NLT).

Amen †

Shelley Johnson “Remind your soul” ©2026 January 29, 2026