Awake My Soul!

I woke up this morning at 6:30 because we have church at 8! Maybe 6:30 isn't the crack of dawn or anything, but it feels a little early for someone who hasn't slept much in the past few days (Thank heaven Sunday is a day of rest! :)

I entitled this post "Awake My Soul" not because my soul has to be awake and functioning at 6 in the morning, but because I read something in my scripture study that really made me think about what it means to have ones soul be awakened! It's Sunday, so I feel like it's only fitting and right that I take a moment to divert my attention from all the fun and excitement that's been going on in my life recently and really have these Sunday posts be a lot more spiritual in nature.

I was reading in 2nd Nephi chapter 4, and basically the gist of it is, Nephi lamenting the fact that he is still susceptible to sin and weakness because of his flesh. Nephi, even though he was a prophet of God, someone who received revelation and talked with the Lord, still felt he was not as good as he could be, not reaching his full potential. But then, I love how he turns the conversation right around and says:

"Awake my soul! No longer droop in sin." 

(vs. 28)

I think our souls, or our spirits, are the better part of ourselves. I think it is our souls that want to do good and progress and draw closer to Christ because that is the part of us that remembers Christ and can recognize the happiness that comes when one is spiritually progressing and becoming better. In the scriptures it says that the "natural man is an enemy to God" (Mosiah 3:7) meaning that our flesh, or the natural part of us, is weak. That's the part of ourselves that is susceptible to sin, while our souls are the part of us that hunger and thirst after righteousness. 

I've heard about the whole internal struggle between good and evil, deciding whether we want to feed our spirits or feed our carnal desires. While that is a profound truth, the thing about this chapter that really impressed me was how Nephi calls on his soul to "awake. It's as if he is calling on the better part of himself, eliciting assistance and receiving power from himself.  I think that we each have an internal strength of spirit which, if we choose to call upon, can be amplified by the power of God. God gives us power to overcome our trials and weaknesses only after we allow ourselves to be powerful. By turning to God, we demonstrate our spiritual strength, and then he adds to that strength. He is ready and waiting to come to our aid and lift us up and out of our sorrows, but we have to take the first step. 

~Keep Smiling~ :)