He Restores My Soul
Psalm 23:1-6 (NKJV) The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
1. Their greatest struggle isn’t in their body or spirit but in their soul.
2. We all have a story full of mountains and valleys.
Psalm 147:3 (AMP) He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds [healing their pain and comforting their sorrow].
Isaiah 61:1 (AMP) He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted.
Jeremiah 30:17 (AMP) ‘For I will restore health to you and I will heal your wounds,’ says the Lord…
Psalm 6:3 (NASB) My soul is greatly dismayed…
Psalm 13:2 (NLT) How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart…
Psalm 88:3 (NKJV) For my soul is full of troubles…
Psalm 94:19 (NKJV) In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.
Psalm 107:5 (ESV) Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted…
Psalm 119:28 (NKJV) My soul melts from heaviness…
Psalm 143:12 (NKJV) In Your mercy cut off my enemies, and destroy all those who afflict my soul…
Jonah 2:7 (NKJV) When my soul fainted within me…
2 Peter 2:8 (NKJV) (For that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)…
Psalm 42:5 (NKJV) Why are you cast down, O my soul?
“Cast down” — describes a sheep that has rolled over on its back and cannot get up.
What are some clear indicators that we still carry wounds from our past?
Pay attention to what causes us to be…
-defensive -anxious -combative
-controlling -feel rejected -argumentative
-upset -insecure - frustrated
-angry -shameful -irritable
-jealous -shut down -overreact
-depressed -dishonest -overeat
-critical -manipulative -overspend
-judgmental -offended -addiction
-fearful -bitter -internal conversations
What is the condition of your soul?
Luke 15:3-7 (NLT) So Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’
Psalm 56:13 (NLT) For you have rescued me from death; you have kept my feet from slipping. So now I can walk in your presence, O God, in your life-giving light.
How does God restore our souls?
Isaiah 53:3-11 (NKJV) He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. …6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. …11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
All we have to do is…
-believe it
-stop blaming ourselves
-stop blaming others
-forgive
-release the pain
Psalm 142:7 (AMP) “Bring my soul out of prison (adversity), so that I may give thanks and praise Your name; the righteous will surround me [in triumph], for You will look after me.”
“A relational wound needs a relational balm.”