[DAY 18 of 21] "The Journey To Your Restoration ~ Soul, The Time For Your Healing Is Now"

“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. (Genesis 2:7) And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” (1 Corinthians 15: 45)

‘Soul’ – who am I really? ‘How did my soul get to the point of being bound and in captivity, crying out desperately for its’ freedom once again?’ ‘What is preventing me from fulfilling my dreams, my purpose, hence me not reaching to that point in my life to realize my full potential?’ ‘Why do I keep going around in circles and just as I am about to gain my breakthrough, it seems I am hit with another stroke of ‘bad luck?’ ‘Why are my relationships not working out and why is it that only certain kinds of people are attracted to me?’ ‘Why do I no longer have the desire for doing certain things like I used to when I first got saved?’ If you have asked yourself these and other like questions, and you have been on this life changing journey with me, it is neither luck nor chance that you are reading this article today. It is by God’s divine appointment and God will truly honour your faith in Him and bring about the healing and restoration that you so desire.

In answer to these questions though, the foundation of the discussion must first be established. I would do so firstly by looking at what the soul is. I would of course consult experience and the experienced to gain their perspective, but I would also present to you my own understanding of what it is that has been revealed to me. 

Soul, as I have come to know it as, is the very innermost part of a person’s being. It is what you cannot see with the natural eyes and it is what connects the body to the spirit.From the recalls of Genesis 2: 7, The soul is contained within a physical body that God created from the dust of the earth. The soul is the revelation of God ~ being, the breath of life (God) breathed into man’s nostril and life emerges. The soul is the seat of one’s intelligence, conscience, passion and reason and it houses the mind, will and emotions of an individual. Being the life breath, it is the very first thing that leaves man upon death. And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Ben-o-ni, (meaning son of my sorrow)…” (Gen.35:18) 

The Blue Letter Bible recorded an article from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia entitled “Soul,” and written by Marais, J. I. as saying – “Soul, like spirit, has various shades of meaning in the Old Testament, which may be summarized as follows: “Soul,” “living being,” “life,” “self,” “person,” “desire,” “appetite,” “emotion,” and passion.” In the first instance it meant that which breathes, and as such is distinguished from basar, “flesh” (Deut.12:23); from she’er, “the inner flesh,” (Proverbs 11:17)

In the words of Oehler, Old Testament Theology, l, 217, the subject of soul and spirit is described as: “Man is not spirit, but has it: he is soul…In the soul, which spring from the spirit, and exists continually through it, lies the individuality – in the case of man, his personality, his self, his ego.” (end quote)

In laying the foundation even further, I refer to the Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words which gives the Greek translation of the word soul as ‘psuche’ which denotes ‘the breath, the breath of life,’  then “the soul” used in various forms in the New Testament may be analyzed as follows: (a) the natural life of the body eg. (Mat.2:20, Luke 12:22); the immaterial part of man eg. (Mat.10:28, Acts 2:27); the seat of personality eg. (Luke 9:25, Heb.6:19, Heb.10:39); the seat of the sentiment element in man, that which he perceives, feels and desires eg. (Mat.11:29, Luke 1:46, Luke 2:35); the seat of will and purpose eg.(Mat.22:37, Acts 4:32, Eph.6:6, Heb.12:3); the seat of appetite eg. (Rev.18:14) 

In Hebrews 4:12, the penman recorded “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit…..” It appears that there was some difficulty in separating or rather distinguishing between the soul and the spirit as both are in more ways than one alike in their nature and their activities. In general analysis however the spirit is the higher life form, the soul is the lower element. The spirit (pneuma) is the principle thing bestowed on man by God, while the soul (psuche) is the resulting life constituted in the individual, the body (soma) being the material visible organism which both the soul and the spirit animates.

Why This or Why That – Is There Not A Cause?

Every soul belongs to God, and the soul that sin shall die, this according to the word of God. Jesus knew no sin, “yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him…when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin…” (Is.53:10)  Sin is the greatest malady and sickness of leprosy and palsy that can befall the soul of any man. The only possible remedy and the prospects of healing and restoration comes from God alone through the blood of Jesus Christ His Son.

“For as a man thinketh in his heart so is he.” (Prov.23:7) You attract who you are on the inside of you. Like spirits also attract. The only possible way that negative cycles and negative patterns and even negative people would be attracted to you is because of what is in your heart. These factors can cause you not to be able to fulfill your dream, to abort your purpose and can cause you not to realize your full potential. In addition, past hurts and ‘baggages’ from as early as childhood years, toxins such as unrest, confusion and despair are things that can keep a man’s soul bound and in captivity. “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us…” (Heb.12:1) By the foregoing, there appears to be a strong correlation between inappropriate behaviours and past experiences, the effect of which is the ‘junk’ that clutters the soul.

Wilt Thou Be Made Whole? 

There is hope for you today. God wants to heal you. He wants to restore you in body, mind and spirit, but in particular your soul. Job cried out to God. He made known to God what God already knew and that is, “my  soul is weary of my life….I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.” (Job 10:1) His life experiences had led him to that stage, coupled with the snide remarks made by the ones he thought were his friends. The Psalmist David in a similar manner cried out and was sure that the God in whom he had placd all of his trust would not so much as leave his soul in hell, but will come to his rescue, will heal him and then show him the path of life. The make it even all the more glorious, he was certain that after his healing that he could be gauranteed of continuity in the presence of God where there is fullness of joy and pleasures at God’s right hand forever more. (Psalm 16: 10-11) Much has been said about worship in past discussions. And in yet another example, we see how worship indeed brings about your miracle, healing and your victory. “…there came a leper and worshipped him [Jesus], saying, Lord if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” The Father was glorified through the Son in that very moment of worship from this man and so as Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, “I will; be thou clean,” immediately his leprosy left him and he was cleansed. (Matthew 8: 2-3)

The question once again, ‘Will thou be made whole?’ Let your answer be yes today! The time for the healing of your soul is now! The first man Adam was made a living soul, but Jesus the second Adam was made a quickening spirit to heal your soul and breathe life into you once again. (1 Corinthians 15:45)