A healthy soul-life is vital for a healthy body life. A healthy soul favours a healthy body. The well-being of your soul has a direct impact on your physical health. Our bodies tend to follow the lead which is taken by our souls. And our souls follow the lead taken by our spirits. A healthy spirit is therefore the sound foundation for a healthy life.
Soul sickness is more rampart and more prevalent than physical sickness. A lot of people carry with them painful sores on their souls from their past. Painful memories are woven into our hearts and minds. There are a number of things that can inflict soul injury and bring suffering upon our souls: Physical abuse, emotional abuse and guilt inflicted by a lifestyle of sexual immorality.
When your emotions are damaged, it is difficult to think straight. We think in pictures or images. The colour and character of those images is controlled by the well-being of our soul life. When it is ‘well with our soul’, the future is bright and filled with hope and faith. When the soul is sick, you can’t clearly see or understand others or yourself and the future is filled with fearful images.
God created you to function as a whole person. He wants us to be well and whole in spirit, soul and body. In the Bible, soul sickness is referred to by the term ‘broken hearted’. It is a term used to describe the inner hurts of the soul. Many people need an inner healing of the soul: Our minds, emotions and memories need to be made whole.
God always starts at the centre of our being-that is in our spirit. He first touches our spirit with His Spirit. After our spirit is restored, our soul can be restored. You cannot solve a soul problem by treating the body alone. In the same breadth, you cannot treat a spiritual problem by dealing only with the mind or emotions.
Healing of the whole man is a process that starts by meeting Jesus as our saviour and our baptizer in the Holy Spirit. This results in our having a new heart and a free spirit. The healing has to start from within to without. It is of interest to note that the scriptures say that Jesus healed ‘every kind’ of sickness and disease (Mathew 4:23, 24). This included spiritual sickness (demon possession), mental and emotional sickness (torments) and physical sickness (paralysis).
Mathew 11:28-30 gives us a prescription for the healing of the soul. ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ Jesus invites you to go to Him to be forgiven and set free from the heavy load of guilt and condemnation. This is where inner healing begins. If you want to be restored, this is the first step you have to take.
The next step is to take His yoke. The yoke refers to His governance (control) over our lives. Do not accept to suffer under the yoke of your own making: A self-willed life will bring you many painful falls that will leave scars on your soul. The third step you need to take is to learn of Him. Jesus suffered a great deal but He forgave.
Forgiveness is the main key to inner healing. You must forgive everyone who has hurt you. If you fail to do so, a root of resentment will continue to grow in your soul. If you hold onto ‘hard or hurt’ feelings towards someone, your soul will suffer. Forgiveness is not a feeling. It is an act of will. It is a conscious decision that requires mental effort. If you are suffering from the soul sickness of resentment, look to Jesus for the grace of forgiveness.
Psalms 147: 11 ‘The Lord bindeth the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds-curing their pains and sorrows.’