Soul Therapy

Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Therapy is one of my favorite flavors of ice cream. It is a delicious treat for the taste buds. I can almost taste it as a write this article. It also seems therapeutic as it soothes and relaxes you after a busy day. I guess that’s why they call it Chocolate Therapy.

As I pondered the joys and benefits of Chocolate Therapy I began to think about soul therapy. What repairs and restores the soul? What soothes the inner tension and heals the soul? Chocolate therapy may have some benefits but soul therapy “holds promise for both the present life and the life to come”(1 Timothy 4:8).

I was immediately drawn to the Psalms. The writers of the Psalms leave no doubt where they found rest for the soul. What follows is a brief list of the different ways they express where they sought restoration and rest for the soul.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want . . . He restores my soul (23:1, 3).

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? … Why are you down cast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God (42:1-2, 11).

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. . . On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me (63:1, 6-8).

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God (84:1-2).

When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul (94:18-19).

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning (130:5-6).

This is just a small list. More could be added, but these are good place to start. There is one passage I must add for I believe it’s the key to all the others. It expresses the key to soul therapy so clearly.

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. . . My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge (62:1-2, 7-8).

The words of this Psalm are found in a song we sing at NCBC. The words of the song come from Aaron Keyes. Here are some of the lines of the song.

My soul finds rest in God alone,
my Rock and my Salvation.
A fortress strong against my foes, and I will not be shaken.

O praise Him, hallelujah, my Delight and my Reward.
Everlasting, never Failing, my Redeemer, my God.

As I walked through the plant at work today these words kept running through my mind. I found it very therapeutic. My troubled mind was soothed and my soul was restored. Why? Because the resting place of the soul is God. He alone can restore the soul. He alone can satisfy the deep longings of our innermost being. He is what we long for and desire above all things.

So I cling to him with all my might. I wait for his provision.

Will you join me? Let us together pour out our cares and anxieties to God. Let us find consolation in him. Let us put our hope in God and earnestly seek him. Let us trust him to sustain us as we seek to serve him in a broken and fallen world. He alone is the never failing refuge that will never crumble or fall.

In Christ Alone,
Jim Gordon