Restoring Our Soul

God desires us to yield our soul—our mind, emotions and will—to Him. He restores our soul and helps us to increase our capacity and grow in wholeness. Our natural mind is argumentative, cynical and inclined to follow the wisdom of the world. It needs to be renewed daily after the mind of Christ (Romans 12:2 and 1 Corinthians 2:16). What does this involve?

Well, first, we use Scripture to examine our thoughts and actions. Then, we apply our mental faculties to move from mere knowledge and facts to spiritual understanding. When we have spiritual understanding, we weigh and measure every dream and word that is given to us. We ask the Holy Spirit to unpack it for us and to grant us His revelation. True wisdom—that is, applied knowledge and understanding—doesn’t come without revelation. Such wisdom is required to know God’s purposes.

When we centre our minds on the Father, the focus is on His love for us. As we do so, we find comfort and security that we are deeply loved by Him. When we continue to meditate on that, His love stabilises us in times of uncertainty and in times of trial. We have the assurance of Isaiah 26:3,

You [God] will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

Second, our minds are also to focus on the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We focus our thoughts on His grace and truth, which are always available for all the needs in our lives. Through the finished work of Christ on the cross, we appropriate this divine exchange. When we know His grace and truth, we are set free from ungodly thoughts.

Finally, our minds must be centred on the Holy Spirit. When we centre our thoughts on the Spirit, the focus is on our communion with Him. He instructs, teaches and guides us daily and continually in every detail of our lives.

Our natural emotions, such as jealousy, fear, anger and our mood swings will reveal many things that stand in the way of the spiritual life. Therefore, we need to bring our emotions under the authority of the Holy Spirit and allow the Spirit to mould them. When we do so, God will temper our emotions to manifest the fruit of the Spirit. We need to learn to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). We need to take the edge off our emotions, by submitting to the Spirit’s leading, such that outward circumstances do not easily offend or hurt us. And we are better able to handle stress, anxiety and fear.

To strengthen our emotional capacity, we must know our own personal makeup. Some of us are more intellectual and more logic-driven; others are more emotional and action-driven. There is no ‘better’ makeup as we are all created uniquely. Once we know our personality makeup, we acknowledge this is how God has wired us and learn to recognise how He speaks and guides us.

Another area is guarding our emotional capacity to ensure that we are emotionally filled or ‘topped up’ all the time. At times, after intense periods of work or ministry, we can be emotionally depleted and drained. Some of the symptoms are being physically fatigued, having low attentiveness and sudden emotional outbursts.

Finally, we need to guard against ‘leakages’ in our emotional energy. Each day, we only have a finite amount of emotional strength and so we should choose which ‘battles’ to engage in. Pastor Daniel says that If he had a long day at work, he wouldn’t engage in discussions that might potentially lead to an argument. People and relationships greatly affect this; if we are constantly emotionally upset with our children, spouses or cell members, we would be emotionally very exhausted and end up feeling drained. These are all distractions that will derail our spiritual walk.

Pastor Daniel says expanding our emotional capacity also involves developing and maintaining emotionally healthy relationships in our roles—as a husband, wife, son, daughter, neighbour, friend or cell group member. All these roles require investments in time, energy and effort. Spending time in serving God does not exempt us from making these efforts to bond and build relationships, and this must first begin from the home. It is useless if we are serving God or doing community work when our own family is falling apart. It is incongruous saying that we care for everybody and then neglect our very own loved ones.

1 Timothy 5:8 states it very firmly,

But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Therefore, we must start with our physical, biological family and then we move on to the next immediate ‘family’, which is the household of God (Galatians 6:10). And then like concentric circles, we move outward to church, country and beyond.

Expanding Our Physical Capacity

Running with horses presents us with an image of a physical challenge. Our bodies would, therefore, need to be strengthened, so we can remain healthy and make sustained efforts to help others around us. This involves protecting our bodies from illness, then keeping ourselves fit. There are three areas we need to pay attention to: nutrition, exercise and rest.

1 Nutrition and Diet

Nutritionists tell us that the basics of a healthy diet are drinking lots of water, keeping intake of fats and sugars low, and eating more fruit and vegetables. There are many useful resources on the Internet, and this is an area we can’t ignore if we want to serve God and others to the best of our ability.

2 Exercise

Regular exercise helps the body to release chemicals known as endorphins, which increases our energy levels and promotes overall well-being. Dr Richard Swenson, author of the best-selling book Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives outlines five aspects of fitness: cardiorespiratory endurance, muscle strength, muscle endurance, flexibility and body composition.

3 Rest

Physical ailments arising from insufficient sleep include obesity, diabetes and heart problems. Research from the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School discovered that insufficient sleep increases the risk of transport accidents by one and a half to two times in Singapore. In America, Dr Swenson also notes that sleep deprivation has become one of the most pervasive health problems. An adult requires about seven to eight hours of sleep each night, while children require more as their brains are still developing.

We need sleep and regular periods of rest, and if the accumulated effects take a toll on our bodies, they keep us from our full capacities of service to God. Good, restful sleep is a gift from Him. Psalm 127:2 advises,

It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep.

God desires us to be healthy in body, soul and spirit. If we are to run with the horses and experience victorious living, we need to seek His guidance and grow in all these areas.

Reflection

What are some ways you can guard and ‘top up’ your emotional capacity? How is your physical health in terms of nutrition and diet, exercise and rest? How can you strengthen your physical capacity in these areas?

Our next episode is the last in this series, Running With Horses: a Road Map to Victorious Living. Come and join us. We will look at “And Elisha Crossed Over: Walking in Victory”.

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