Something that I pray over my clients is III John 1:2 Beloved I pray that you would prosper and be in good health even as your soul prospers. Another way to say this is Beloved, I pray that you are excellent in your body and excellent in your soul. Excellent means the quality of being outstanding, extremely good, truly being the best.
When we show up as our best self, that means we have taken the time to prioritize self-care. Self-care is taking steps to minimize distress, and doing things that rejuvenate, refresh, strengthen, and build a foundation of peace to live our lives from. Prioritizing self-care isn’t selfish but it’s necessary. If we aren’t in good condition and if we don’t take steps to take care of ourselves we will be depleted and we will experience emotional fatigue which can lead to complete despair.
Self-care includes nourishing the three parts of self. We need to focus on all three parts because we experience life through these three parts which are our body, soul, and spirit.
The body is the physical parts of us, the external part, and the physical organs. This is the part of us that holds us to this realm, it’s our earthly temple where we house our soul and spirit. Our soul is our mind, will, and emotions. Our mind is our intellect, logic, reasoning, and beliefs. Our will is our choice and our emotions are our desires, passions, affections, the energetic response that comes from our five senses, that are activated by things we experience and things we are exposed to. Our soul is the breath of God in us. Genesis 2:7 says the Lord formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils and the man became a living soul. The Spirit is our heart, not the muscle, organ within us but the kardia, the Hebrew word for the seat or center of human life in relation to God. The spirit is the part of us that communes with God. It’s our conscience that convicts, our place of discernment and inner knowing. The spirit and the soul are the internal and eternal parts of us. They are closely related. The spirit is how we relate to God and also where faith, hope, and perseverance come from.
Our soul and body is the part of us that we experience the things of the earthly realm from. When it comes to our soul it needs care because life places demands on what our soul carries. Remember that our soul is our mind, will, and emotions. The good, bad, and neutral parts of life require our mind, will, and emotions to participate and sometimes this is without our permission. I say that because there are some things that happen to us in life that are out of control but they impact our lives. Other things happen to us because of our choices and decisions. The impact of this can be good or bad but regardless of which it requires our soul to participate.
Our lives are journeys. A journey is when we go from one destination to another. On our life’s journey there will be many different paths. The paths will consist of times of celebration and wins, times of pain and sorrow and times of neutrality, when we are content, ok, and just living. Each of these paths cause us to respond in different ways but no matter the path the responses will come from our body, soul, and spirit.
Whether it’s a path of celebrations and wins or pain and sorrow there is stress. Stress is the body’s response to changes that create taxing demands. Stress can come for positive or negative situations. The stress that comes from positive things is called eustress and the stress that comes from negative things is called distress.
When we experience stress it impacts our souls (mind, will, and emotions) so it is important that we take steps to take care of our soul.
How can we take care of our soul?
First we lean into the one who gave us a soul. The giver of the soul, who is God. Genesis 2:7 says He, meaning God breathed the breath of life in man and he became a living soul. The creator knows how to care for our soul and the scripture backs this up.
Psalm 62:1 Truly my soul find rest in God
Psalm 19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing and restoring the soul
Psalm 107:9 He satisfy the thirsty soul and the hungry soul he has filled with what is good
Psalm 121:7 The Lord will protect you from all evil, he will keep your soul
Psalm 138:3 On the day I called you answered me and You made me bold with strength in my soul
Psalm 54:4 Behold God is my helper, The Lord is the sustainer of my soul
My favorite, Psalm 23:2-3 says, He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet water, He restores my soul (THIS IS SOUL CARE, orchestrated by GOD)
In order to be replenished by God we have to connect with him. We do this by being intentional in developing a relationship with him. We talk to him, find times to be present with him in nature, in day to day living, in worship of him, reading his word, and following his lead. We can also do it by listening to sermons, podcasts, reading inspirational books, and allowing others to pray with and for us. Finding connection and community with those who are spiritually like minded is also very important when connecting with God.
We also take care of our soul by partaking of the fruit of the spirit for ourselves. The fruit of the spirit are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When we give ourselves these things, and cultivate these things in our life it nurtures and enhances our soul.
Another part of soul care is speaking to ourselves in a healthy and positive way. Words are important and they have power. We create experiences by what we speak. Words are so important that God gives us scriptures to guide us in using them.
Proverbs 16:24 Kind words are like honey, sweet to the soul and healthy for the body
Proverbs 25:11 The right word at the right time is like precious gold set in silver
Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue
Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away anger but a harsh word stirs up wrath
Proverbs 15:4 Kind words bring life (healing) but cruel words crush your spirit
When you are looking to do soul/spirit-care words matter. The way we talk to ourselves, the story that we tell ourselves about our life, matters. This inner narrative determines your mood and state of being. Words create emotions, emotions create feelings, feelings create a narrative that puts us in a mood, from that mood we live and interpret life.
So as you continue with prioritizing the care of you, be mindful of your soul.
Journaling Prompts:
1. How do you take care of your soul?
2. What are some changes you can make to improve soul care?
3. Which one of the fruit of the spirit do you need to give yourself more of and how can you begin to do this?
4. What is your self-talk like? Do you need to work on it or continue what you’re doing?
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