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Man's psychological faculty is very sensitive and most easily affected by outward stimulations. Words, attitudes, circumstances, human affections that come from the outside are able to affect us emotionally. Formerly our mind was filled with thoughts, plans, and ideals and always buzzing with activities. Our will was filled with opinions and suggestions and loved to act according to its preferences. Every faculty of our soul-life afforded us no peace. Whether we were alone or with others, the soul-life within us was constantly swaying, changing, causing turbulence, disorganization, and unrest.
But when our soul comes under the control of the spirit, we are delivered from these kinds of turbulence. The Lord Jesus says, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matt. 11:29). If we are willing to submit to the Lord, take His yoke, and walk according to His will, our soul will not be disturbed. If we are willing to follow the Lord, willing to consider how He was despised by men and did not give in to His self-will, but rather followed God's will, and willing to learn from Him, all the turbulence in our soul will be calmed down. The reason sorrow and grief come upon us is that we are not content with receiving the same treatment as the Lord; we are not willing to submit to God's will and His arrangements. If we put the soul-life to death and submit fully to the Lord, our sensitive soul will rest in the Lord, and we will no longer misunderstand the Lord. A soul that is under the control of the Holy Spirit is a soul that is at rest.
Formerly we were busy planning. Now we are serenely trusting. Formerly there were constant sorrow and frustration. Now we are like a weaned child, who rests in his mother's bosom. Formerly we were filled with our own thoughts and had many cravings and ambitions. Now we consider God's will as the best and rest in Him. Indeed, "Perfect submission, perfect delight," and "Perfect submission, all is at rest" [Hymns, #308]. Ephesians 6:6 says more or less the same thing: "As slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the soul." No longer do we do God's will by the soul, which is self-assurance. Now we are doing God's will from the soul, which means carrying out His will practically and wholeheartedly. The soul-life which once rebelled against God's will is now brought into full submission to His will through the work of the cross and is willing to do His will wholeheartedly. Formerly everything was outward; we either walked according to our self-will, or we tried to do God's will according to our self-will. But now, in everything, we have become one mind with God.
