John Eldredge talks a lot about soul care.

We are so hard on our souls.

We tear ourselves down instead of filling ourselves with more of Jesus.

It leads to shattered images of ourselves. We look in the mirror and see a shattered image of God because we are made in God’s image, but we have distorted the view of ourselves to be what is on the outside and not the inside.

Just as I mentioned last week as I talked about our shattered image and the agreements we make with Satan about our outward appearances. As Proverbs 31 tells us….”Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” Proverbs 31:30

It’s the inside that matters….yet…

We don’t fill up with what will satisfy. Think about food. If you eat a lot of chips, desserts, and junk food, you will not be satisfied and will most likely feel horrible. If you eat good, healthy food, it sustains you for a bit.

But…you have to keep going back and filling up with healthy food to keep going. It’s how our bodies are made. We aren’t made to not eat or drink forever. If we don’t fill up….eventually we will die.

The same is true about our souls, but how often do we neglect filling those up with what is good and nourishing to them?

We fill them with social media, phone scrolling, tv, news, sports, music, and any other mind numbing things.

I do it.

Everyone does it.

But we were made for more.

Made for a relationship with Jesus and our Heavenly Father. He wants to fill us up and satisfy our souls.

Your true identity.

Your deepest longing.

Your hurts.

Your weariness.

Your worry.

Your anxiety.

Your losses.

Your grief.

Your everyday, mundane tasks.

He wants to fill it all with Himself. We aren’t made to do this life on our own, or we get tired.

No, if I’m tired, I can take a nap and feel better. We get depleted.

Depleted because we don’t fill up on what lasts.

So, let me challenge you with what I have challenged myself. How will I take care of my soul? When will I fill up? I must be intentional about it. Mark it on the calendar if I have to of when I will spend time with Jesus. Just like you mark any important date, meeting, or outing with a friend down. Be intentional about when you will get into God’s word and BE with Him.

Let me pause there. Ouch…that hurts, right?! I mean, as I was feeling the prompting of the Spirit to write that last paragraph, I was thinking, “I don’t want to write that down.” Because I don’t do that really right now, but I see it as God prompting me to make that more of a common occurrence.

If you don’t plan it – it likely won’t happen. Look at all the time we spend in our society planning events, weddings, birthdays celebrations, graduation, lessons, job interviews, and so much more. We seem to plan and make time for everything but time with the one relationship that we need to sustain us.

So, I challenge you and myself to be intentional about filling up with God’s word and spending time with Him. Ask Him what that will look like for you and what He has in mind. Then….listen.

Yep, stop and listen.

Father God,
Help me be more intentional about my soul care. It is what will last forever and I want to be intentional about filling up with what will last – which is You and Your Word. Show me what this looks like and how to do this so I don’t let the things of this world drain me out and deplete me. Thank you for always being so faithful, and forgive me for neglecting my soul and what You wish to do to keep my “tank” full.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen

Read more about soul care in John Eldredge’s book: Get Your Life Back (This is not an affiliate link and you can Google and find copies on Ebay or thriftbooks for fairly minimal price. I just share because I truly think it is worth a read. I’m on my third time through it. )

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