16. A healthy soul…
And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’
Mark 12:30
What does it mean to be healthy in soul? The Oxford Dictionary has several definitions, I like this one the best:
a person’s moral or emotional nature or sense of identity.
Many of the biblical references to the soul are found in the Old Testament and are closely associated with our heart, the centre of our spiritual being (we’ll look at a healthy heart next time…):
“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the LORD your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul.
Deuteronomy 10:12
Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul.
2 Chronicles 15:12
“LORD, see my anguish! My heart is broken and my soul despairs, for I have rebelled against you. In the streets the sword kills, and at home there is only death.
Lamentations 1:20
The heart and soul are so closely related that it is difficult to tell them apart but today I will try to separate out how the soul operates within our beings. I will begin by looking at soul music. This is music that according to Wikipedia:
The style of soul music is marked by its emotional intensity and personal expression. It incorporates elements from gospel music, such as the use of church-rooted call-and-response and vocal techniques. Soul music also draws from blues, evident in its expressive and often improvisational vocal style.
It has its roots in afro-American response to slavery and prejudice and reflects a cry for freedom and recognition, a cry for identity as the heart meets with God in their soul, a place of sorrow and mourning but also one of joy. In the same way I believe that my soul is that part of me that responds emotionally to my heart. It reacts emotionally to how I feel and who I am at any point in time. My soul stands between my mind and my heart – it is where both joy and sorrow live side by side. It is where my innermost responses are revealed to God and the place where God in my heart and I meet to work through what is going on mentally and physically. It is the space in which the Spirit teaches us, heals us, comforts us, rebukes us:
Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Matthew 11:29
He (Jesus) told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
Matthew 26:38
For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
Hebrews 4:12
It is the place where we receive God’s salvation, find hope, do battle with the enemy, worship God:
You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:8-9
So, God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.
Hebrews 6:18-19
Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.
1 Peter 2:11
Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
Luke 1:46
This may all seem very new and maybe a bit scary to you, maybe even new worldly, and what has it to do with our theme of expectantly experiencing God’s plans and dreams for us? But stay with me…
When God created you and I, he created a complete being and it is with this whole being that we come to God as we fulfil all of his plans for us. Physically through putting into action the thoughts that are in our heads; mentally by formulating a plan of action to bring our dreams to fruition. “Souly” by sitting with God to discover his dreams and purposes for us. And, finally, as we experience the presence of God intimately through his Holy Spirit within our hearts. Does this make sense?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ,
pierce my soul with your love
so that I may always long for you alone,
who are the bread of angels
and the fulfilment of the soul’s deepest desires.
May my heart always hunger and feed on you,
so that my soul may be filled with sweetness in your presence.
May my soul thirst for you,
who are the source of life, wisdom, knowledge, light
and all the riches of God our Father.
May I always seek and find you,
think about you, speak to you
and do everything for the honour and glory of your name.
Be always my hope, my peace, my refuge and help
in whom my heart is rooted
so that I may never separate from you
Amen
Action: A bit of an experiment today: Slowly pray through the prayer poem above, written by Boniface in the 13th century, breaking after each verse, and waiting on God to speak through his Spirit to your soul.
Journal your thoughts…
