| Kristi and I have learned a variety of ways to guard against toxins in our environment. We drink purified water and eat organic food. We take an immune booster if we’re exposed to sickness. In our house, we use an air purifier and remove any mold that appears.
Similarly, we need to protect our souls from toxins.
This Soul Shepherding email is the fourth of five in our “mental health detox” series of devotionals this May (Mental Health Awareness Month).
God has made the human soul sensitive so we can absorb the life-giving nutrients of his grace and truth through Scripture, prayer, nature, and loving relationships.
But this means our souls are also sensitive to spiritual and emotional contagions.
Often our souls absorb toxins without us even realizing it:
- Stress may sneak up on us and escalate until we get sick in body or soul
- Vicarious trauma from caring for hurting people depletes our energy
- Consuming media that’s violent or lust-filled erodes our well-being
- Being around a negative or irritable person drains our souls
- Satan lies, attacks, and tempts us to sin to disconnect us from God’s love
How can we protect our souls? What can we do to flourish in grace and truth?
Here are three tips and a guided prayer to detox your soul:
1. Accept that your soul is sensitive
Even strong personalities have a sensitive soul. Many of us judge ourselves if we feel hurt, anxious, needy, or angry. But sensitivity is not weakness—it’s part of how God made us to love him and others deeply.
When we accept our limits, it helps us to set boundaries on unholy and unhealthy influences. It helps us ask our Savior for what we need. It guards our souls from compassion fatigue and burnout.
2. Meditate on Scripture to pray quietly
When we’re over-stressed or running helter-skelter, we get disconnected from our inner selves.
Slowly meditating on a Scripture quiets the noise inside. It helps us get in touch with our deeper hurts and needs and share openly with God. It renews and strengthens our minds (Romans 12:2).
3. Rely on Jesus’ empathy
“Jesus wept” (John 11:35). He felt deeply for Mary and Martha as they grieved, and he feels just as deeply for you. He is Immanuel, God with us.
Receiving God’s empathy, whether through prayer or sharing with a Christian friend, is cathartic. It detoxes our soul by releasing pent-up pain, distress, and sin. It clears the way for us to receive God’s healing mercy and comfort.
For these insights to change us, we need to set aside quiet moments to pray with an open and earnest heart. Here’s a Scripture to guide us now:
“Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you” (Psalm 116:7).
Yes, Lord Jesus, thank you for being good to me…
I rest quietly in your loving presence…
Help me notice whatever is distressed in my soul…
I release my concerns and burdens to you…
I trust that you are caring for me and strengthening me today…
Amen.
Blessings,
Bill |
