Living with an Exuberant Soul and Reining it In

Living with an exuberant soul, as in being too enthusiastic about what God's word says for us is true! When I was born again I became incredibly enthusiastic. That means I felt I had to run out and tell the world what was wrong with it and what could/can be done about it. I still feel that way. However, I realize under the very good guidance of my husband, that I should rein in my exuberance. Some people just are ready to believe that the world we live in is a fallen world and that just by believing in Jesus Christ, we can overcome it. It is almost too incredible to think that all we have to do is repent= rethink. What? How? Firstly, we worry too much about what will be and how to make things last, we worry about how we will manage to hang on to those things which we think are so important and even precious to us. What does living with an exuberant soul have to do with that? It has everything to do with our worrying. In my exuberance, I did not realize just how much people are caught up in this world; as this is a fallen world made corrupt by a popular youth and money culture as its apex. People thus look at me like I am crazy when I tell them, live with an exuberant soul which actually means living enthusiastically in God's word and trusting in that which thus allows us to rest in the Lord. They are thinking, "yeah, right and what does God care if we are going to lose our house while resting." For women, I think (being one myself) this is difficult. We are by God's will made to be nurturers, our values oriented toward family and community. When those two important values appear to be in jeopardy, we want to respond immediately. We fail to turn to our husbands which is God's social hierarchy. We take up the task of making things right, not consulting our husbands nor God. I too have failed in this. This is living with an exuberant soul. It is valuable to rein it in. I often wonder what the world would be less corrupt if women had a better relationship with the Lord God. The best story from the Bible to illustrate when reining in an exuberant soul should have been the practice of the woman who possessed it goes back a long way. I would firstly point to Abraham and Sarah, considering that Sarah went into panic mode and told Abraham to sleep with Hagar. I would also point to Isaac and Rebekah, a godly woman who played a cruel joke on her husband so that her favorite son would get the blessing. These two women were godly women with an exuberant soul. They did not ask God for direction and if they had and did not receive direction as they had wanted to hear, they should have turned to their husbands. Living with an exuberant soul comes with great responsibility, knowing when to rein it in and rest in the Lord.