An Appointment for Soul Health

Making Space for God to Search, Heal, and Restore Your Heart

By Sandy Mayle

Have you noticed how organs that are usually concealed inside our bodies have been coming out of hiding and auditioning for TV commercials? A unibrowed “Gus the Gut” lifts a window in his teen’s t-shirt to growl his hunger. An animated blue-eyed bladder persistently tugs its person toward the bathroom. And in an exam room, a red heart worriedly watches doctor and patient discuss high cholesterol numbers. The message of these formerly concealed organs? We need you to pay attention to us. Take care of us.

I wonder… if our soul somehow stepped out of our body and took us by the hand, what would its message be? Perhaps I need your attention, or I’m wounded; please help me. But we’d have to be in touch with our soul for that to happen. And many of us… well, we know we have a soul—but what is it? What does it do? And what do we do with it?

The Workup

The soul is that non-physical, never-dying part of us—the deeper self, the inner “us” that includes our minds, hearts, and wills.

Our soul, if healthy, has trusted that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, has asked His forgiveness for those sins, and is allowing Jesus to lead our life. As our soul climbs up on the examining table, the Great Physician notes an outward glow of God-confidence and detects a strong, steady heartbeat of love and a sufficient flow of the Holy Spirit’s power.

But even the healthy soul requires ongoing maintenance and frequent refreshing, for it will meet disturbances and challenges. It will experience pressures and perplexities. And, just like the physical heart, the soul carries a genetic predisposition (Gen. 3) that makes it vulnerable to “viruses”: temptations, stressors, enemy attacks, and other challenges to inner wholeness. So, our souls benefit greatly from our care and attention.

This seems logical… but where do we begin?