Soul Care

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?
Psalm 43:5a

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, encouraged every small group meeting to begin with a question: How is it with your soul? More probing than our traditional “how are you?” greeting, this question calls us to look beyond the surface and examine how – or if – we are experiencing the presence of God’s grace in the midst of life’s circumstances. How are we doing in that place where the center of our spiritual selves meets with the living God?

We would all be wise to ask ourselves such a question these days. We are approaching the six-month mark since the coronavirus lock-down began. For nearly half a year we have endured disruptions at almost every level of life. Work, home, school, church, sports, travel – nothing feels as familiar and certain as it once did. Families and friends have been isolated from one another. Incomes have been reduced. Jobs have been lost. Routines have been upended. People have died. And it has all been compounded by the daily irritations of having to wear masks and stay six feet apart everywhere we go. Then, as if all that wasn’t enough, we’ve been met by the additional crises of racial strife, social unrest, and the battering effects of a divisive election season. If our souls are feeling a little weary right now, maybe there is a reason for it. 

As Christians, we must give ourselves permission to acknowledge the truth of our emotional and spiritual condition. We may be tempted to think because we are followers of Jesus, we are supposed to rise above it all, but this isn’t so. Psalm 43, along with countless other Scriptures, gives honest expression to the soul-weary state in which we sometimes find ourselves. We can be sure of our salvation and yet still confess that at any given moment our soul may not be in the best place. Six months of a global pandemic could easily be one of those moments.

So, how is our soul these days? Do we even know how to measure such a thing? In a recent video interview, Mindy Caliguire, founder and president of a ministry called Soul Care, offered some helpful tips for beginning to answer such a question. Here are a few indicators that our spiritual health is in need of attention. 

First, we should pay attention if we are having a disproportionate emotional reaction to things that don’t normally evoke such a response. Do we tear up at songs we typically would not rate as “tear-jerkers?” Do we experience guilt when we read Scripture passages that speak of things like joy or peace because we don’t feel those emotions right now? Do we find it hard to laugh at things which should be funny? Such reactions may be our soul’s way of pointing to some sadness we need to acknowledge. 

Second, are we too easily irritated by things we should normally be able to “let slide?” If we blow up or pout because the kids didn’t unload the dishwasher, or because of someone’s social media post, then maybe there is some anger brewing in us we need to confront. Third, are we wrestling with fatigue that won’t go away? We can deal with physical tiredness by getting a good night’s sleep, but soul-weariness tends to linger for days and weeks no matter what time we go to bed. When that happens, it may point to an inability to simply rest in God’s presence and goodness.  While this is not an exhaustive list, these indicators provide a good place to begin the kind of spiritual diagnostics we need to undergo.

Of course, any good diagnosis needs to be followed with appropriate treatment or therapy. How do we tend to and nurture the well-being of our souls in a time of struggle? Here are a few suggestions. First, consider keeping a personal journal. This is for your eyes only, so be completely honest. Reflect on what you are truly experiencing emotionally and spiritually. Avoid the temptation to clean things up or round off the hard edges. Be transparent with yourself. Second, find a spiritual friend with whom you can share your experience without fear of judgment. This person doesn’t necessarily need to have answers or solutions for you. They simply need to be willing to get under the load and bear it with you. Finally, as you grow more comfortable laying your soul bare, invite God into that space. Ask him to remind you of his presence with you, even in those places where you feel raw. Invite him to carry you when you are exhausted. If anything should be obvious to us by now, it is that human wisdom and strength is insufficient to navigate the complex and difficult landscape in which we find ourselves. Learning to rest in him is the balm our souls need during these trying times.

In Psalm 139:23, King David cries, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” Those words not only speak to our experience these days; they also make it clear God stands ready to receive us just as we are.  He already sees and knows what we think and feel, so we have permission to come to him with full honesty. Knowing this gives us the freedom to do the kind of soul-work necessary to navigate this season of crisis and disruption. In so doing, let’s remember the second half of Psalm 43:5 – “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”