My inner self

I said, Lord, be merciful and gracious to me; heal my inner self, for I have sinned against You. Psalm 41:4 AMP

Every day I sin against God. I think, say or do things that are outside of God's will for my life. My inner self has it's own thoughts on how I should conduct myself, mostly driven from a need of self-preservation, pride and plain selfishness.  So often I need to tell my inner-self God's truth and bring it back into line, just as David did in the Psalms.

Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the help of my [sad] countenance, and my God. Psalm 43:5 AMP

At these times, when I remind my inner-self of who God is, and my right-standing with God through Jesus, a change takes place within me. My inner-self shifts from a focus of 'me, me, me' to a focus on God.

O GOD, You are my God, earnestly will I seek You; my inner self thirsts for You, my flesh longs and is faint for You, in a dry  and weary land where no water is. Psalm 63:1 AMP

A hunger and desire builds within me. A hunger for His word and truth. A desire to worship the Almighty God with all my heart and soul. In response, God strengthens my inner self. 

In the day when I called, You answered me; and You strengthened me with strength (might and inflexibility to temptation) in my inner self. Psalm 138:3 AMP

From that strengthening comes, my inner self lets go of the need for self-preservation. It humbles itself and moves to a more self-less position. I am then able to shift my focus from myself to God, I am able to move forward in God, and His plan for me. I am able to look outwards and be a blessing to others. Thank you Jesus for your mercy and grace.

Question for today, what is your inner self focused on? Do you need to speak to your inner self, reminding it of God's truth, as I so often need to do? If so, seek out the scriptures that will remind the inner self of where it's focus needs to be. As with me, this may well need to be a daily task of renewal. Don't be discouraged, God wants to work with us to keep our inner self focused solely on Him.

Therefore we do not become discouraged (utterly spiritless, exhausted, and wearied out through fear). Though our outer man is [progressively] decaying and wasting away, yet our inner self is being [progressively] renewed day after day. For our light, momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!], Since we consider and look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are visible are deathless and everlasting. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 AMP