Our theme for this month: “Taking care of your soul.”
Our Bible verse for today: “The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception.” Proverbs 14:8 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “A prudent person gives thought to the condition of their soul.”
So how’s your soul doing these days anyway? Have you even thought about it much? I have to admit that I had not. Over the last year I had allowed myself to get so busy and so preoccupied with activities and projects and duties and responsibilities – and problems (mine and those of others), that I was giving little thought to the impact all of that busyness and worry was having on my soul. Fortunately some things happened which caused me to pause and give serious thought to where I’m at spiritually, and what I discovered wasn’t pretty. I had allowed the spiritual gas tank to run pretty low. I had not been taking proper care of my soul.
In Proverbs 14:8 Solomon counsels that a prudent person gives thought to their ways, and the implication is that they make adjustments as needed. In the case of soul-care, that means that we have to periodically take inventory of where we’re at spiritually and be prepared to make adjustments as needed. If we don’t, we will eventually crash and burn.
An old Chinese proverb says, “If you don’t change the direction you’re going, you’re likely to end up where you’re headed.” Writer Lance Witt challenges us to apply that to the condition of our soul and then consider, “If you could plot the trajectory of your soul, where does it end up?”
Ouch. If you plot-out the current trajectory of your soul, in other words if you maintain your current pace of living, your current schedule, your current spiritual disciplines, where is that likely to lead you? What condition is your soul going to end up in? When I asked myself those questions I realized I wasn’t happy with the answer. So in a sincere desire to be prudent about it, I’ve made some changes.
How about you? Is there anything about your current life that needs to change for the sake of the health of your soul? There may not be a whole lot you can do about most of your outward circumstances, but with the help of the Holy Spirit you can identify some ways in which you can take better care of your soul. Throughout the course of this month we will continue to consider various strategies and approaches you may find helpful. For now I just want you to know that with God’s help you really can bring your soul back to life. It can be healthy. Joy can return. Passion can be reignited. And intimacy with God can be restored.
God Bless,
Oak Hill Baptist Church 