Detaching

Day 2

Loving the Lord with all our soul – detachment

Loving the Lord with all our soul relates to detaching from the things of the world.  We need to detach from worldly soul ties, and draw away from the hindering influence of the world, the flesh and the devil.  We do this through disciplines of detachment.  Some disciplines of detachment

Fasting – Going without food (or something else) for a period of intense prayer .  One of the great benefits of fasting (there are many, which Heather will share with us tomorrow), is that it helps us learn to say no to the flesh instead of simply giving in.  It is a detachment.   

Giving – Money or materialism is one of the most common and debilitating soul ties.  Giving is a discipline that helps loosen the chains that tie us down to materialism. 

Secrecy – This means not making our good deeds or qualities known to let God or others receive attention and to find our sufficiency in God alone.  We struggle intensely with pride in what we do and the craving for human praise, and secrecy helps us loosen these chains.

Silence – In the discipline of silence we abstain from sound in order to make space for a deeper engagement with God and other people.  

Confession of Sin – Confession means to agree with God that we have sinned.  Confession is where we find cleansing and freedom to move on from the sin that keeps us tied down to earth.  ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9).

Renunciation— Renunciation is where we recognize that we have been believing and following lies.  These lies and the behavior that follows them need to be renounced and disowned.  This is the detachment side of confession of truth, where we verbally affirm and accept the truth.  An example would be to renounce thoughts of insignificance, because we are children of God through Jesus Christ and our worth is found in the truth of who we are in Christ.

Forgiveness – We often remain bound to the past and to people who have hurt us through unforgiveness.  Learning to forgive is a key element of loving the Lord with all our soul, freeing our soul to love Him.

Personal Reflection or Discussion Questions

Which of the above disciplines do you practice and how?  Which have you practiced in the past?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Did they help you detach from the world?   

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Which one would you like to start practicing with greater intentionality? 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Prayer: Reflecting specifically on this devotional, write out a prayer to God.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________