Soul Time

If someone asked you that question, what would you say?  Are you aware of your soul? How do you define the soul? 

Dallas Willard wrote: “Our soul is like an inner stream of water, which gives strength, direction and harmony to every other element of our lives.  When that stream is as it should be, we are constantly refreshed and exuberated in all we do, because our soul itself is then profusely rooted in the vastness of God and his kingdom, including nature…. To refer to someone’s soul is to say something about the ultimate depths of his/her being.”

In the Psalms we see David speaking to his soul.  There are three references where David says, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?” (Psalm 42.5, 11; 43.5) The soul is a living part of who we are, created by God.  Our soul can be “downcast”.  Our soul can be at peace.  Our soul can be full, or empty.  Some have referred to what is known as “the dark night of the soul”.  Our soul is at times trying to get our attention.  How often do we actually pay attention to what is going on within us?  How often do we tend to our soul?

Scripture tells us that we are to love God with all our heart, SOUL, mind and strength (body).  We fill our mind with knowledge, even putting Scripture to memory.  We take care of our body by having a healthy lifestyle.  We tend to our heart, embracing love and giving it away, staying connected to God, so that we might have compassion and empathy for others.  Our heart breaks and we seek what we need to repair it.  But, what do we do to tend to our soul?

If Dallas Willard is correct, and the “soul is like an inner stream of water”, do we take time to soak in the living waters that are available to us by the Holy Spirit?  To we nurture our soul?  Do we spend time listening to our soul?  In order for our heart, mind and strength to be fully alive, it seems that we need to make sure that our soul is receiving the ingredients to produce the necessary fruit that comes from such a well-tended to garden.

I believe it is the soul that aligns the fleshly desires of our heart, mind and body with the righteousness of God.  If our soul is neglected, everything else runs amuck.  The soul communicates to us when things are well, or when things are not right.  Our soul can be filled with peace, or it can be wrought with anxiety.  Our soul can have comfort, or it can be filled with fear.  As David shows us, our soul can be downcast, telling us that something needs to be paid attention to.

Get to know your soul.  Have some soul time.  Relish on some soul food.  Whatever that might be for you: reading the Scriptures, listening to music, singing, walking in God’s creation, or even just sitting in the stillness of a new day.