Ministering to a Woman’s Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength预览

DAY 3: Tending to Your Soul

One of the things that makes us unique as image-bearers of God is that God breathed life, breathed a soul, into us at creation (Gen. 2:7). Additionally, we have the ability to have a relationship with our Maker. These two realities are fundamental and essential truths: we are unique as women and men because we have a relational and immortal soul—something that other living things in the created order do not have.

How is your soul getting along? 

While we often use different words for this concept, our 'soul' is our inner being, and in large part, it relates to a woman's relationship with the Lord and spiritual maturity. These things are of utmost importance to God. As we consider ministering to women in these realms, often this is what naturally comes to mind when we think of discipleship: how we can teach others about the Lord and help them walk with him.

Sometimes we approach spiritual ministry to others on a surface level. We think, “Well, she says she’s a believer and she prays, so what more is there?” Yet, as Paul writes in Ephesians 3:17-19, “I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” 

A woman’s soul should long for the depths of God’s love; as we minister to her soul, we can point her in this direction. Ministering to the women around us can certainly include all sorts of things—practical solutions for problems in their marriage, their parenting, their work, and so on—but if the aid we give does not include spiritual help, we aren’t ministering well.

How do you know if your soul is in the right place? The following things will be evident in our own lives and in the lives of any woman we are leading:

You will seek the Lord in your life and decisions. 

You will love God supremely.

You will abide with Christ and practice living in the presence of God.

You will rest in the Lord. 

So often, we focus on the outward physical signs of wellness, or even the check-listed formula of spiritual disciplines to determine our soul health. But, what if we gauged the health of our lives by our relationship with the Lord? What if we gauged our overall health with the health of our souls? 

Our soul is the innermost, hidden, spiritual facet of our beings that points us toward the Lord. It is the motivator for seeking him, loving him, worshipping him, and resting in his presence. A right relationship with the Lord allows us to stay in step with his Spirit, avoid the sinful desires of the flesh, and rightly order our priorities and lives. 

Reflect: 

• What are some practical ways that you abide with the Lord and stay in step with His spirit? What are some new ways you could do this?