Feeding Your Soul ~ Episode 248

We feed our bodies, but are you feeding your spirit and soul? Everything we put into our bodies affects our physical health, but the same happens with our spirit and soul. Who do you surround yourself with, what do you read or watch, and how we engage with others? In this episode, we discuss ways to feed our souls that benefit our spiritual health.

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Have you heard the saying “Garbage in, garbage out?” I’m sure you have, yet we don’t consider it means anything else than the food we eat. If we are careful about eating well to feed our bodies, why are we not careful with our spiritual being?

We know from the beginning of the creation of the world that God meant for us to live a life of abundance. To live in a garden without sin and to live essentially forever. We are created in the image and likeness of God, we are told. Genesis 1:26-27 God wants a relationship with us and is there waiting. We are the ones avoiding Him. Sin, at its root cause, is an issue of relationship. Relationships that are broken, harmed, and sometimes destroyed.

We read in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are made up of spirit, soul, and body. We know what a body is, but what about our spirit and soul? While we have a spirit, we are not spirits in the sense of Heavenly Ages or the Holy Spirit. The spirit is the entity we have that connects with God; it is the “relationship” part. It gives us a sense of longing; we long for God, who has made us for Him. If we are unaware that this longing for happiness is essentially a longing for God, we are unhappy and unfulfilled.

People try all types of things to become happy. Whether it is eating, friends, drinking, or shopping. Have you heard the term “retail therapy”? That is a term that refers to shopping to make you happy when you are sad, as if new clothing or some other purchase can take away the sadness that is rooted in brokenness. Let me ask you – have you ever thought, “I would be perfectly happy if I had…” (Fill in the blank.) Whatever that need is, and again if you get that thing, you want, it will be a temporary fix. Money does not buy happiness, only God.

The spirit is also the reservoir, if you will, of faith. It is important for the life of the believer. Once again, it is that God connection, that belief that you know that you know, beyond doubt, that the Almighty lives and He cares for you in an intimate way. Not as some afterthought but designed purposely for this life. That craving is not for chocolate; it is for God!

Our souls and spirits are connected. The soul is shrouded in a body; it is called the “life principle,” all living bodies have a soul; if they do not have a soul, they would not live. Every living thing has a soul; however, man is unique. Why? Because we have rational powers, that makes us different.

Luke 12:19-20 states  (Read online.)

Our souls are where our selfish and sinful nature resides, and our souls are part of our bodies that leave our physical selves at the time of death. In Genesis, we read about the death of Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob. Genesis 35: 18 (Read online.)

Our soul and spirit combined are where our emotional experiences reside. The soul can refer to the entire person, whether we are alive or have passed on. So shouldn’t we feed our souls with all that is good and pure? If our consciences are well formed, we will know when something is not right, when we shouldn’t watch, listen or be around something we know isn’t good for us.

We read in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (Read online)

And in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, (red online.)

So now what will you do? How will you feed the part of yourself that is tempted by sin or the part of you that wants a closer relationship with God but does not have the time? My challenge will surprise you. Sure, reading Scripture, praying, keeping a prayer journal, reading a good Christian faith book, and works of charity, all these are wonderful and can indeed fill your soul with nourishment. But there is more. Feeding your soul means working on your conscience. This means making an effort to do what is right. Just like forgiveness, making an effort means making a decision and doing it. Is it easy? No. Is it worthwhile? Yes, and yes.

Feeding our souls means taking the time to put our decisions in alignment. What road do we travel as Christians? The road that is less traveled. Giving into sin may seem like the easy way, but like our diets, eating what is good for our bodies, so too, filling ourselves with what is right and will be a blessing. Think of the people you hold in high regard. Is there a time when you saw someone fail? How did that make you feel? I know I’ve felt let down, especially if this is a person you care about. With all of the scandals going on in churches across our world, people have lost faith in God. That is a shame and truthfully not warranted. Yes, we can be heartbroken, but our eyes should never be on the pastor, the choir, or the Bible teacher; our eyes should only be on Christ because He will not fail us.

A very popular Christian author, speaker, and associate pastor left his faith behind when an extreme scandal at his church came crashing down. While he had nothing to do with this on the surface (maybe he could have done something or not turned a blind eye), the point is he allowed this tragedy to take him away from God. But what else happened? It was a domino effect because he had led many people toward God with his writings and sharing about relationships. We have his books on our own shelves. His downfall came from placing the wrong emphasis on the wrong people. Did God fail him? No. Did man. Yes.

Almighty God gave us life and gave us a chance to do things right. This is the only life you have, so live it well, and that means not in the sense of selfishness. I hear the words, “Live your best life,” as if anyone would purposely live their worse life — yet sometimes, while living your best, you live a life that is devoid of putting others first. Or, maybe if you are a parent, you put everyone else first but yourself and then find you have nothing left to give.

Not surprisingly, last Sunday, our pastor talked about the soul and its need to be considered. He is the same pastor who often talks about sin being a broken relationship with God. He shared that filling our souls in repairing that relationship with God and with the important people in our life. It does not mean we ignore others, we should have Christian charity, but it does mean we do not lose sleep over what people think about our walk with God. Many times people care about what people think of those who are unimportant in their lives.

When God is not a factor in our life, the evil one gets in and causes havoc to our souls. So decide today–what will you do? How will you fill your soul? How will you encourage that sense that nothing is fulfilling in your life (because it can’t be without God as the focus), and make an effort to change? Do you think you need to change, or are you content with your life as it is now?

I pray you to take this idea of feeding your soul to heart and find a way to make it happen. Only you can decide, and only you can create that effort and dedication to place God first in your life and lead by example, which is your challenge this week.

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