AN INSIDE LOOK

During times past when I experienced surgery, the O.R. team of doctors, no matter how skilled, never found my soul by probing all that is within me with any of their instruments.

Nor can they accidentally destroy my soul by the slip of a knife. Nor will the technicians who administer the MRI, CAT scan, the X-Ray, or the ultra sound find my soul. But it's there—my eternal, nonphysical, immaterial soul--the real me! And it will some day separate from my body and leave with its identity, intellect, and memory intact to go to its forever destiny. For the one who is “in Christ” the eternal soul is going to God.

The doctors have no trouble seeing other inward parts and they go about fixing whatever is the disorder in all that is within me—all that can't be seen by friends and family and strangers who are around me because it is all hidden under my unable-to-see-through skin.

Have I ever thanked God that He didn't create my body with transparent skin through which everyone could see right into my insides, into all that is within me? They would have seen my digestive system working, my kidneys and liver doing what they do, my heart pumping 24/7, and all the rest of the awesome, possibly entertaining, but definitely not attractive stuff going on. What thoughtful, divine wisdom on God's part to respect our inside privacy! Thank You, Lord!

I have been focusing on and trying to unpack Psalm 103:1-5 throughout my summit years. It is a deep well from which to draw truth. These five favorite verses of mine are also self-talk instruction to my soul.Through my soul I can communicate with God and receive His blessing and guidance. My soul, in turn, can bless the Lord on behalf of my body. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name.”

That possability fascinates me. I understand how my soul can bless the Lord, but how can all those organs within me do that? I discover that as I name the various automatic functions and vital organs in all that is within me, I can let each one bless His holy name. I am doing what God wants me to do. This becomes easy as I repeat that praise-blessing like the litany of gratitude in Psalm 136. The following are a few examples. You can become even more specific and as creative as you wish:

My intricate nervous system sends messages throughout my body and tells it how to work. Nervous system and all of my complex network of nerves, bless His holy Name.

My digestive system breaks down food into smaller molecules and absorbs the nutrients into my body. Stomach, intestines, and chemical juices, bless His holy Name.

My waste disposal system is beyond awesome as the bowels and related logistics rid my body of all that is useless for building me up. Bowels and your functions, bless His holy Name.

My skeletal system provides shape and structure to my body. It allows for movement, protects vital organs, and produces blood cells. Bones and skeletal system, bless His holy Name.

My muscular system allows me to move my body, keep my head in position, and allows me to walk, reach, and use my hands. Muscular system, bless His holy Name.

My brain controls body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and breathing and lets me think, dream, reason, and experience emotions. It accepts a flood of information about the world around me and processes it. Brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves, bless His holy Name.

My endocrine system controls my body functions using chemical messengers called hormones. Endocrine system and all my glands, bless His holy Name.

My circulatory system transports oxygen, waste, nutrients, hormones, and heat, around the body. Heart and blood vessels, veins and arteries, bless His holy Name. 
 

My immune system is on the alert fighting disease that would take me down if it failed, and it is designed to function in an involuntary, reflexive manner. Immune system, bless His holy Name.

My respiratory system brings oxygen into the body and gets rid of carbon dioxide. Lungs and bronchials, bless His holy Name.

My urinary system cleanses my blood, rids my body of wastes, maintains salt and water balance. Bladder and kidneys, bless His holy Name.

My communication system with the outside world is complex and awesome.Voice box and vocal chords, tongue and mouth, bless His holy Name.

My five senses through which I involve myself in the world about me give me joy. Feeling, hearing, seeing, smelling, touching senses bless His holy Name.

The bottom line: “I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Thy works, and my soul knows it very well” *Psalm 139:14. How incredible that “all that is within me” has been functioning automatically for so many decades with minimal maintenance, very few tune-ups, and often with willful neglect and improper fueling on my part! So I do well to bless Your holy Name! 


* "I thank you, High God - you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration - what a creation!" (From THE MESSAGE paraphrase of Psalm 139:14)