Loving God with My Soul

In Psalm 42:1 I read, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.” (NIV)

Mark 12:30 reminds me “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength” (NLT).

While all love God in all four of these ways, each of us tends more naturally toward one than the others. God has shaped me primarily to be a talker, a feeler, a thinker, or a doer. Talkers most easily love God with their hearts. Feelers love God with their souls. Thinkers love God with their minds. Doers love God with their strength.

Today I’ll focus on the feelers, those who are strongest at loving God with all their soul.

The world can’t get by just on communication from talkers, consideration from thinkers, and contribution from doers. It also needs the compassion of the feelers who love God best with their souls.

The word “soul” is used many different ways in the Bible. But most of the time, it’s used as a synonym for emotions, as seen in the Psalms.

Psalm 42:1 says, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God” (NIV).

Every emotion known to humanity is in Scripture. The Bible talks about souls that are downcast, disturbed, satisfied, yearning, troubled, forlorn, joyful, bitter, thirsty, hungry, rejoicing, and delighted. Can you hear the passion in those words? Soul people feel their emotions.

God also feels emotions. He gets angry, happy, sad, and everything in-between. I have emotions because I was made in God’s image.

God is passionate, and feelers represent that part of him in the world. They care deeply about issues, about people, and about knowing God. They can empathize with other people’s pain and problems.

They’re great examples of Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (NLT).

Feelers offer God’s compassion to the world. But, just like every other personality, they have their weaknesses. Feelers tend to be manipulated by their moods. Instead, they need to let God lead them.

The Bible says, “Let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature” (Galatians 5:16 NLT).

When feelers are led by God’s Spirit, they still have feelings, but they’re not controlled by them. They let God’s Spirit lead them in deciding which feelings to follow and which to resist.

If I’m a feeler, be a Spirit-led one. Let God guide me to share with the world the passions he’s given me.

In summary, my soul pants for you, my God.” I am to love the Lord your God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength.” Each of us tends more naturally toward one of these than the others. God has shaped me primarily to be either a talker, a feeler, a thinker, or a doer. Talkers most easily love God with their hearts. Feelers love God with their souls. Thinkers love God with their minds. Doers love God with their strength. The world can’t get by just on communication from talkers, consideration from thinkers, and contribution from doers. It also needs the compassion of the feelers who love God best with their souls. The word “soul” is used as a synonym for emotions, Soul people feel their emotions. God also feels emotions. I have emotions because I was made in God’s image. God is passionate, and feelers represent that part of him in the world. They care deeply about issues, about people, and about knowing God. They can empathize with other people’s pain and problems. Feelers offer God’s compassion to the world. Feelers tend to be manipulated by their moods. Instead, they need to let God lead them. When feelers are led by God’s Spirit, they still have feelings, but they’re not controlled by them. They let God’s Spirit lead them in deciding which feelings to follow and which to resist. So let God guide me to share with the world the passions he’s given me.

As the life of a deer depends upon water, so my life depends upon God. As I seek and long to understand him, I will find a never-ending life. When I feel lonely or depressed, I can meditate on God's kindness and love.

Father, I need you. Please give me Your strength for today and remind me in little ways that I can believe in, have faith and to trust you in everything including being the authority for my life, my self-worth and my future. You have my best interests in mind. Help me to embrace the way you’ve made, gifted and given me a passion for. I want to serve and fulfill the mission you have in mind for me. I ask you for wisdom and guidance in this and for my day, my work, my leadership, my interactions with others, my preparation for a future job role and for leading a small group. I pray these things through you Son Jesus’ name, Amen.