“He restores my soul.” Psalm 23:3 (NIV)
God is in the restoration business. He restored the Psalmist David’s soul and He desires to restore every soul.
When I first moved to Canada, I heard a pastor say: “You are a spirit, you live in a body and you have a soul.” This helped me gain a clearer understanding of my personhood, with the soul being my mind, will and emotions.
I began to understand that when I received Christ as Savior, my spirit was redeemed, but the work on my mind will and emotions just began. In many places, the landscape of my soul was rather rocky. Christ wanted to bring beauty, wholeness and restoration also to those places where the lies, hurt and disappointments had become part of the landscape.
One by one we removed the rocks and the rubble. We weeded and tilled. We worked on my soul quality.
About a year ago, while leading a group of women through an exercise on ‘watering each others souls’ speaking words of blessing and encouragement to one other, one of the participants said, ‘God has been restoring your soul in order that you may pour it out to others.’ I believe this is God’s desire for every one of us. As we invite Christ into every place of brokenness, He restores us to beauty and wholeness, so that we may again pour it out to others. In this way, the desert may become a garden.
Dear God, Thank you for restoring my soul. Show me today where I can help water another soul and be part of your restoration process. Amen.
You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/2013/06/13/im_landscape-of-the-soul/