Did you know that we are all caretakers? God gave us the task and privilege of caring for our world, the people in it, and our own souls. The word for soul in scripture is sometimes translated as “life or living being.” The Word of God reminds us that our Creator gave us our soul, our life, both spiritual and physical. They are a gift. But how do we take care of our souls? Proverbs 19:8 says, “The one who attains wisdom loves their own soul and the one who keeps understanding will find good”.
Proverbs 3:18-19 tells us that, “Wisdom is a Tree of Life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly. The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens.” We know from John 1:1 and Colossians 1:13-17 that all things were created in heaven and on earth by Jesus. He is our Tree of Life. Isn’t it incredible that the One who created heaven and earth resides in us when we accept Him as our Savior? He wants His Tree of Life to grow in you and me. But growth requires attention.
What are you pursuing?
Attention starts with remembering what Jesus said was the most important commandment: to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and soul. When we love God who is Wisdom, we are loving our soul. Throughout the book of Proverbs, the father implores his child through many words and examples to pursue wisdom with two important reminders. First, Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7). The Hebrew word translated fear is yir’ah. It conveys reverence, respect, and awe for the greatness and power of God as well as terror. And second, “The beginning of wisdom is ‘acquire wisdom.’ And in your acquiring get understanding. Prize her and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.” (Proverbs 4:7-8) Over and over, the writer of Proverbs implores us to seek wisdom as a prize. He uses active, intentional words like pursue, seek after, hold fast, guard, incline your ear, embrace, and many others. What this tells us is we must be deliberate. Growing in Wisdom doesn’t just happen; we must actively nurture it.
We tend to our soul, our life, and all that makes it up like a gardener tends to their garden. We must be intentional by asking, “Is our soul flourishing?” or “Is it beginning to dry up, become brittle, or perhaps too mushy because something unseen is beginning to rot from the inside?”
Outward appearance can be deceiving
Recently, my son, the family gardener, tried to convince me to take down a large branch that hung over my patio. I didn’t want to. It was beautiful and shaded my patio. He kept telling me there was something wrong. But it was still thick and had lots of green leaves, so I protested. Finally, I asked an arborist to come and look at it. The first words out of his mouth were, “This branch is about ready to split, it is rotting inside and must come off before it falls off.” Ouch! He showed me how the outer bark peeled off easily because it was no longer securely attached to the branch. Additionally, the arborist could move the large branch up and down because it was so weak and lacked the inner strength to hold it in place. I hadn’t noticed because I was happy with the outer appearance, which was deceiving me. My tree was in poor health, rotting internally. We can allow our souls to become ill when we don’t tend to the wisdom provided through Jesus, our Tree of Life.
If I treat my soul like a garden, I will cultivate it with scripture and prayer. I will pull out the weeds of unforgiveness and bitterness from the root, not just the top. I will water my soul with praise and thanksgiving. I will prune it with confession.
When we allow bitterness and anger to go unchecked, they can begin to eat away at us from the inside out, causing our hearts to become hard. Or they can cause our hearts to lack strength because we haven’t consistently worked our spiritual muscles, making us flabby and shaky anytime we are hurt or disappointed.
Guard the gift of your soul
God knows how frail our souls are. This is why He wants us to guard our souls, for they are a precious gift. It is no wonder that the book of Proverbs is devoted to pursuing, attaining, holding on to, and growing in wisdom. Proverbs remind us to avoid foolish thoughts, actions, conversations, and even people who try to draw us away from the Lord. These admonitions are not to deprive us but to protect us.
In the months ahead, I encourage you to read through Proverbs and make a list of all the ways you are encouraged to love your soul by attaining and growing in wisdom. Give praise to God for all the ways He encourages you to be a master gardener of your soul.
I would love to hear what intentional choice you made to love your own soul in the weeks ahead.
Blessings,
Personal Parables Practices
- What specific act will you do today to nurture and love your soul?
- Name the areas in your life that are challenging and difficult to nurture.
- Ask the Lord to reveal why they are difficult. Surrender them to Jesus.
Please Pray with Me
Today, Lord reveal to me when I leave the garden of my soul unattended. Help me be proactive in removing the roots of any thoughts or actions that may be unhealthy. I want my soul to thrive and reflect your goodness. Amen.
Scripture for Meditation
Genesis 2:7 NKJV – And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
John 1:1-3 NIV – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Proverbs 19:16 NASB – One who keeps the commandments keeps his soul.
Music for Reflection
