John Wesley was famous for asking the question, “How is it with your soul?” Such a question requires reflection because the soul resides in the depths of our being. That reflection requires not so much concentration but a quieting of self so that the soul’s condition can be discerned.
When speaking of our soul, we can borrow ideas and language from the Psalms, which show us how to talk about and to our soul. Look at the various states of the psalmists’ soul: the soul is in anguish (see 6:3), is consumed with longing for God’s laws (see 119:20), and is weary with sorrow (see 119:28). Notice the things the soul does: pants for God (see 42:1), thirsts for God (see 42:2; 63:1), finds rest in God (see 62:1), clings to God (see 63:8), longs and yearns for the courts of God (see 84:2), and waits for God (see 130:5).
The psalmist even talks to his or her soul, asking questions:
-Why, my soul, are you downcast?
-Why so disturbed within me? (42:5, NIV)
Then the psalmist tells the soul what to do:
-Put your hope in God,
-for I will yet praise him,
-my Savior and my God. (42:5, NIV)
-Awake, my soul! (57:8, NIV)
-Yes, my soul, find rest in God. (62:5, NIV)
-Praise the LORD, my soul;
-all my inmost being. (103:1, NIV)
Perhaps most touching, the psalmist asks God to say to his or her soul: “I am your salvation” (35:3, NIV).
TODAY’S EXPERIMENT - Ponder how it is with your soul, using questions such as these:
-What state is your soul in (anguish, longing for God’s justice, at rest)?
-What does your soul repeatedly do (pant, thirst for God, wait for God, rail against God)?
-What question would you like to ask your soul? (Why are you downcast? Why are you distracted?)
-What would you like to say to your soul? (Hope in God. Find rest.)
-What would you like God to say to your soul? (I am your hope. I hear you. I come alongside you.)
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