Deeper Life #332

Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

—2 Corinthians 3:6

BEWARE OF PAYING TOO MUCH attention to the talk of the soul that is in trouble. Keep your heart and mind alert to what God is saying to you; and if you do not hear God, then get to the place where you can. Get to the place where you will know when God brings His Word to your remembrance.

There is a wrong use of God’s Word and a right one, in counseling the troubled soul. The wrong one is this sort of thing: I cast about in my mind what sort of man you are, and then I hurl a text like a projectile at you. The Spirit of God is not in that. That use of the Word of God kills your own soul and the souls of the people you deal with. Jesus Christ said, “The words I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).

Keep your soul in touch with the directions of the Spirit, for your own sake and the sake of those with whom you talk.

Prayer Thought: O Holy Spirit, help my conversations with others to give life, not wounds.

SUGGESTED READING: 2 Corinthians 3:1–6