SPIRITUAL PURIFICATION
The result of the shepherd’s care that provides us with spiritual pause and grants spiritual peace is spiritual purification. (vs. 3a). “He restores my soul.” The prodigal son is an example of how Jesus restores our souls. This wayward boy is a great example of the marvelous grace of God pictured in a story in Luke chapter 15 beginning with verse 11. The son asked for his share of the father’s estate and it was granted to him. He went off on his own and squandered it all on a worldly, ungodly lifestyle.
When things could get no worse, he thought, "How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!” (vs. 17). He returned to his father seeking forgiveness. The father restored the repentant son completely.
God wants to have fellowship with us. When we repent of our sins, he forgives our sins and we return to that sweet, close relationship with Him (1 John 1:9).
Look at the expression “He restores my soul.” The literal translation is He causes my life to return. The word restore means replenish, to return to its original state. Restoring my soul means God keeps me going and gives the enjoyment of life back to me. Notice it’s not some general or physical restoration—“He restores my soul.”
Soul is a very important word in the Bible. The Hebrew term nephesh can be translated soul, life, heart, or mind. Nephesh is the word used in Genesis 2:7 to describe what happened when God breathed into the clay figure He had made: “The man became a living creature [or soul].” Soul refers to the immaterial part of you that will survive beyond this life. The central thing that is most you about you is your soul. Your soul relates and responds to God.[1] – James MacDonald
Continual restoration or purification is God’s desire for us. He knows that we will sin, but He has provided the method of restoring our relationship with Him. 1 John 2:1-2 says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”
God’s spiritual pause, peace, and purification are only the beginning of His work in believers who fully submit to His grace. Once we have decided to place ourselves under His complete authority and follow God’s leadership without question, He provides us with a spiritual perspective. “He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake” (vs. 3b).
When God is leading, we have a new perspective of life; a God-directed worldview. When we are led to live according to righteousness, we desire to do what is right or just in His eyes and the eyes of other believers. However, when we are being led by our desires, our thoughts, and our logic, we are living according to the flesh.
When we make our own decisions, without God’s direction, we cannot please Him. In Romans 7:18 Paul tells us, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.”
We may please the world. The world system may praise us for the social good we have accomplished. However, unless our actions are directed by the Holy Spirit in light of God’s eternal plan, we have accomplished nothing for God.
Hebrews 13:13-16 tells us, “Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. or here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise — the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
To have a spiritual perspective, our attitude must be a reflection of God’s leadership. He will lead us into righteousness. When we follow His lead and live within the framework of His righteousness we will bring honor and glory to Him, not ourselves. We will honor and glorify His name and not ours; that He might increase, and I might decrease (John 3:30).
(To be Continued)
[1] James MacDonald, He Restores My Soul, © 2016 Walk in the Word, http://jamesmacdonald.com/teaching/devotionals/2013-07-10/
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