"Nursing Our SOuls"

Have you felt like you’re running on a constant state of empty? You make sure you get enough sleep, try, and eat healthy and exercise, but you still sense something is missing. You may show up at church and listen to inspirational podcasts and messages, but nothing seemed to nourish this parched place in your being. Could it be your soul is thirsty for a connection with God?

Caring for our souls means slowing down and being still and allowing God to speak in between our activities and busy schedules.

It means taking time to reflect on what God is teaching us.

We must take the time to sit still, absorb, and simply listen. Reflect on what he’s teaching us, what he wants to tell us.

~Take a look at our inner thought life: Psalm 42:11 “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?” Here there is an intentional pause to examine what’s going on inside. Then he goes on to command his soul to “put your hope in God.” Because God can only give us the peace our souls lack.

~Pay attention to your ability to feel emotions: joy, sadness, excitement, and
even fear.

When our soul is unhealthy, restless we often become numb. And we don’t allow ourselves to feel, and this could be our responses to deep grief or pain where we’re trying to protect ourselves from pain.

God wants our souls to thrive. God made us to feel emotions, and they are an innate part of who we are as his creation. Even Jesus, who was God in the flesh, felt each emotion that we do. We see one example of Jesus’ humanity in Luke 19, where he weeps over Jerusalem:

“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and he said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace, but now it is hidden from your eyes. Luke 19:41-42 

Being honest about how we feel allows our bodies to heal physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Studies even shows that tears release endorphins, which can ease both physical and emotional pain.

~Pay attention to what motivates you. We can’t be motivated by this world.

Jesus warned his disciples about not letting the world motivate their decisions: 

Matthew 16:25-26 “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” 

When our love for God and others motivates us, our souls live as they were intended to live. We love because we were created to love, and first and foremost, we are commanded to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. Matthew 22. Loving God in this way brings our will, heart, soul, and mind in unison and leads us to a life of peace.

God desires to have a relationship with us. Our souls are an essential part of who we are. Our souls are what makes up our unique selves. When we neglect our souls, we are neglecting a vital part of our being.

So, let’s be intentional and take time to nurture our souls with God’s word, prayer and being still and listening to God our creator, as he is the one who makes us whole.