Restoring the Soul: Finding Refreshment in God

 

Summary

Living with a restored soul is an invitation to experience profound refreshment at the deepest level of our being. This invitation is not just for you, but also for me, as I find myself in need of this restoration. Life's challenges often leave us feeling inadequate and frustrated, but we must remember that while we cannot control the world, we are responsible for our own souls. Our soul is like an inner stream of water, providing strength, direction, and harmony to every aspect of our lives. When this stream is healthy, we are constantly refreshed and exuberant, rooted in the vastness of God and His kingdom.

The soul integrates and holds together all the functions and elements of our being. Engaging in activities like walking in nature or appreciating art can be soul-nourishing, bringing a sense of wholeness and integration. We are meant to be deeply rooted in God, and when we are, we find harmony with God, reality, and nature. A healthy soul is reflected in the life of a child who has been nurtured in all aspects of being.

Only God can restore our souls, as Psalm 23 reminds us. However, we are the keepers of our souls, responsible for maintaining their purity and vitality. Like the keeper of the stream in the alpine village, we must ensure that our soul's stream remains pure and life-giving. This involves staying rooted in God, particularly in our thoughts, and adopting wise spiritual practices that allow God's life to flow through us.

Life is about self-initiating, self-directing, and self-sustaining action. When we lack the energy to initiate or direct our lives, it indicates a problem at the soul level. A vibrant soul enables us to engage in life's battles, work for justice, and live a life filled with love and courage. God, too, has a soul, and the Psalms are a testament to the soul's cries and thirst for God.

To restore your soul, consider taking a walk in nature, listening to uplifting music, or meditating on an inspiring thought. You are the keeper of your soul; let God restore it and do not let the world wither it.

Key Takeaways:

- Our soul is like an inner stream of water, providing strength and harmony to our lives. When it is healthy, we are refreshed and exuberant, rooted in God and His kingdom. This rootedness brings harmony with God, reality, and nature. [01:56]

- Engaging in soul-nourishing activities like walking in nature or appreciating art brings wholeness and integration. These activities align our mind, emotions, and will, allowing us to be fully present and experience the fullness of life. [02:57]

- We are the keepers of our souls, responsible for maintaining their purity and vitality. Like the keeper of the stream, we must ensure that our soul's stream remains pure and life-giving, staying rooted in God and adopting wise spiritual practices. [06:18]

- Life is about self-initiating, self-directing, and self-sustaining action. A vibrant soul enables us to engage in life's battles, work for justice, and live a life filled with love and courage. When we lack energy, it indicates a problem at the soul level. [07:28]

- To restore your soul, consider taking a walk in nature, listening to uplifting music, or meditating on an inspiring thought. You are the keeper of your soul; let God restore it and do not let the world wither it. [10:19]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:37] - Invitation to a Restored Soul
- [01:11] - Struggling with Inadequacy
- [01:56] - The Soul as an Inner Stream
- [02:28] - Nature and Soul Activities
- [03:36] - Rooted in God and His Kingdom
- [04:16] - God Restores Our Soul
- [04:47] - The Keeper of the Stream
- [06:18] - Responsibility for Our Souls
- [07:01] - Defining Life and Its Actions
- [08:05] - Signs of a Troubled Soul
- [08:58] - God's Soul and the Psalms
- [09:46] - Soul Cries and Thirst for God
- [10:19] - Practical Steps for Soul Restoration
- [10:54] - Closing Remarks

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide: Living with a Restored Soul

Bible Reading:
1. Psalm 23:1-3 - "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul."
2. Psalm 63:1 - "O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water."
3. Psalm 42:1-2 - "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."

Observation Questions:
1. According to the sermon, how is the soul described and what role does it play in our lives? [01:56]
2. What activities are mentioned in the sermon that can nourish and restore the soul? [02:57]
3. How does the story of the alpine village illustrate our responsibility for maintaining the purity of our soul? [05:14]
4. What does the sermon suggest is the relationship between a vibrant soul and our ability to engage in life's challenges? [08:05]

Interpretation Questions:
1. In Psalm 23, what does it mean for God to "restore" our soul, and how does this restoration manifest in our daily lives?
2. How does the imagery of a stream in the sermon and Psalm 42:1-2 help us understand the nature of our soul's thirst for God? [09:59]
3. The sermon mentions that life is about self-initiating, self-directing, and self-sustaining action. How does a healthy soul contribute to these aspects of life? [07:28]
4. What does the sermon imply about the consequences of neglecting our responsibility as the "keeper of the stream" of our soul? [06:18]

Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a time when you felt your soul was not at peace. What circumstances contributed to this feeling, and how did you address it? [01:11]
2. The sermon suggests engaging in activities like walking in nature or listening to music to restore the soul. What specific activity can you incorporate into your routine this week to nourish your soul? [10:19]
3. Consider the story of the alpine village. What "debris" might be polluting your soul's stream, and what steps can you take to remove it? [05:14]
4. How can you ensure that your thoughts remain rooted in God, as suggested in the sermon? What spiritual practices can you adopt to support this? [06:18]
5. The sermon mentions the importance of having a vibrant soul to engage in life's battles. Identify a current challenge in your life. How can a restored soul help you face this challenge with love and courage? [08:05]
6. Reflect on Psalm 63:1. In what ways do you currently seek God, and how can you deepen your spiritual thirst for Him?
7. The sermon emphasizes the importance of self-initiating action. What is one area of your life where you feel stagnant, and what first step can you take to initiate change? [07:28]

Devotional

Day 1: The Soul as a Life-Giving Stream
Our soul is like an inner stream of water, providing strength and harmony to our lives. When it is healthy, we are refreshed and exuberant, rooted in God and His kingdom. This rootedness brings harmony with God, reality, and nature. [01:56]

"The Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail." (Isaiah 58:11, ESV)

Reflection: In what ways can you ensure that your soul remains a life-giving stream today? Consider one practical step you can take to nurture your soul's health and vitality.


Day 2: Nourishing the Soul Through Creation
Engaging in soul-nourishing activities like walking in nature or appreciating art brings wholeness and integration. These activities align our mind, emotions, and will, allowing us to be fully present and experience the fullness of life. [02:57]

"For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." (Isaiah 55:12, ESV)

Reflection: What is one activity in nature or art that you can engage in this week to nourish your soul? How can you make time for it in your schedule?


Day 3: Guardians of Our Souls
We are the keepers of our souls, responsible for maintaining their purity and vitality. Like the keeper of the stream, we must ensure that our soul's stream remains pure and life-giving, staying rooted in God and adopting wise spiritual practices. [06:18]

"Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life." (Proverbs 4:23, ESV)

Reflection: What spiritual practice can you adopt or strengthen to guard your soul's purity and vitality? How can you incorporate this practice into your daily routine?


Day 4: The Vibrant Soul in Action
Life is about self-initiating, self-directing, and self-sustaining action. A vibrant soul enables us to engage in life's battles, work for justice, and live a life filled with love and courage. When we lack energy, it indicates a problem at the soul level. [07:28]

"Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord." (Romans 12:11, ESV)

Reflection: Identify an area in your life where you feel a lack of energy or motivation. How might this be connected to the state of your soul, and what steps can you take to address it?


Day 5: Practical Steps for Soul Restoration
To restore your soul, consider taking a walk in nature, listening to uplifting music, or meditating on an inspiring thought. You are the keeper of your soul; let God restore it and do not let the world wither it. [10:19]

"He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake." (Psalm 23:3, ESV)

Reflection: What is one practical step you can take today to allow God to restore your soul? How can you create space in your life for this restoration to occur regularly?

Quotes

i come to you today with an invitation and that is to live with a restored soul to be refreshed at the deepest level of your being and i'll be honest i'm offering that to you today because i need that offer so much i don't know how this may be a great day for you it's not for me i woke up at 2 30 in the morning and nance and i had a conversation with some folks yesterday that left me in the middle of the night experiencing so much anger and resentment and frustration and pain at my own inability to fix things or set things right or see that correct things were done or right decisions got made [00:25:21]

our soul he says is like an inner stream of water which gives strength direction and harmony to every other area of life when that stream is as it should be we are constantly refreshed and exuberant in all we do because our soul itself is then profusely rooted in the vastness of god and his kingdom including nature part of why um doing this talk in this setting is the sight of the green behind me except for the barbed wire is very inspiring to me [01:53:36]

now again the soul is that part of us that integrates that ties together that holds together all the various functions and elements of our being and that's part of why taking a walk in nature or seeing beautiful art is a soul activity or a soul function we'll talk about deep things this way soul music or soul food it's things that when we experience them they bring a wholeness to us we're not distracted our mind is focused and our emotions are in tune with those thoughts and with our wills we consent we want fully to be here and not someplace else we are not willing something else and our bodies are fully immersed in that there's a wholeness and integration that we experience [02:36:48]

we were meant to be profusely rooted in the vastness of god and his kingdom including nature and all else within us is enlivened and directed by that stream therefore we are in harmony with god reality the rest of human nature and nature at large as usual in biblical themes a little child that has been allowed to develop naturally and has been nurtured in all the aspects of its being gives us the best presentation of what a life flooded with a healthy soul looks like [03:36:48]

now of course only god can refresh our soul psalm 23 says of the good shepherd he restores our soul makes us lie down in green pastures leads us beside still waters see restores our soil only god is able to restore the soul but you and i are responsible for our souls not the people around us not my boss not my spouse not my kids not my circumstances [04:14:48]

your soul is your stream and you are its keeper and your job and my job is to make sure that we keep that stream flowing through us that we stay rooted in god particularly in our thoughts and then that we shift our habits using wise spiritual practices so that god's life flows through us so that the words that come out of us will naturally flow from a refreshed and deep soul [06:14:48]

dallas says that life is self-initiating self-directing self-sustain action you put a rock in the dirt it just sits there but you put a seed in there because there's life in the seed it will initiate action it will send out a root and it will direct it it will move that route towards where the nourishment is it will cause the leaves to open up to the sky and it will sustain itself it will take in the nourishment that will allow life to continue day after day [07:21:28]

you were made to initiate and you were made to be directional and you were made to live a life that is sustaining and when that ceases to happen when you don't have the energy to initiate anymore or to direct the aims and purposes of your life and your thought and your relationships and to live a life that is joyfully sustainable from day to day to day then it is because something is wrong at the soul level but it will keep you from having the courage and the vibrancy in the ability to do battle when battle needs to be done to work for justice when justice needs to be worked for [07:51:28]

dallas notes that god has a soul many people are surprised to learn that god too has a soul and even translators of the bible often don't seem to know what to do about it god says be now instructed jerusalem lest my soul depart from thee or shall not my soul be avenged on a nation such as this even though often modern translations don't use that word soul and the idea of this is that god too has a depth of being for which the word soul is the only adequate description [08:52:39]

and now the book of psalms dallas says is the great soul book of the bible and over and over we see the soul crying out we'll get into soul cries a little later on my soul thirsts for thee my flesh yearns for thee in a dry and weary land where there is no water psalm 63 of course there's that stream again that image of the life that flows through us as the deer pants for the water so my soul pants for you o god my soul thirsts for god the living god because there is a river whose streams make glad the city of god [09:35:12]

so what do you need to do today to allow god to refresh to restore your soul maybe it's to take a walk in the woods maybe it's to listen to a piece of music that makes you glad maybe it's to read or even memorize a single inspiring thought such as my soul thirsts for you the living god you have a soul you are its keeper let god restore it don't let the world whatever it does to you wither your soul [10:10:43]

i love you god is with us see you next time [11:02:32]

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Transcript
What was the most surprising thing in this sermon?
Were there any personal stories shared?