Talking to Your Soul - Love Does That | Christian Spiritual Director Kari Bartkus

“When our soul is in turmoil, God does not want us to be passive. We must pray, yes. But sometimes we need to stop praying. We need to stop listening to our soul recite its fears. Then is when it’s time to preach to our soul.”

Hey, my friends. Welcome back to Let’s Encourage One Another.

And that quote from Jon Bloom was something I read during a Night of Prayer and Worship at church about six years ago. And it is what started my journey of learning to talk to my soul.

I know, it sounds odd. But, it is actually quite biblical. And in today’s bonus episode, I want to share with you some milestones of when I’ve been reminded of its importance, and then explore how we can incorporate it into our own spiritual practices.

What Talking to Your Soul Means

As we start, let’s explore what talking to your soul really means. In short, it is very much related to the phrase “preaching to yourself.” It’s reminding yourself of the truth of the Gospel, of who God is and what He has done, and what that means for you today.

It is most helpful to practice this sort of preaching to yourself when you find yourself consumed by fear, buried under anxiety, or battling insecurity. You know, those hard moments when you find yourself questioning. Doubting. Blaming.

As I said, I was first introduced to this practice of talking to my soul in an article by Jon Bloom entitled, “If You Feel Overwhelmed, Eat.” I’ll link to it in the show notes below.

He references Psalm 43 verse 5: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”

Then Bloom writes, “This psalmist feels overwhelmed by his troubles. In the first four verses he pours out his soul in prayer to God. But then he stops praying and speaks directly to his soul. When psalmists talk to themselves like this, what are they doing? In every instance, whether in desperation or celebration, they are reminding themselves that their hope is in God.”

Bloom goes on to use the metaphor of God’s promises being the food that the psalmists would eat. Our soul needs hope, and so rather than dwelling on our worries and fears, we feed our soul God’s promises. It’s a beautiful picture.

Starting to Talk to Myself

This wasn’t something I started doing right away, however. It’s something I gravitated toward when I was experiencing a trial of my own. A time when I was frantically worried about something and felt I had no control over the outcome.

I would be awake at night and rehearse to myself everything I knew to be true about God:

God is good.
God loves me.
God loves my daughter.
He will take care of us.
He will strengthen us.
He is right here with us.
We are not alone.

These statements combatted the fears and concerns I had. It was a way for me to fight against, to stand against, the arrows of the enemy that were trying to take me down.

Mind you, it wasn’t that I never had any fears or tears after this. But this was a way to hold onto that hope that I so desperately needed. Hope that could only be found in God.

Oh My Soul

This practice went off my radar until a couple of months ago, when I discovered a song that has introduced me to this practice once again. It’s by Rebekah Dawn and Mary Monari, and it’s called “Oh My Soul,” and like Jon Bloom’s article, she wrote this song based on Psalms 42 and 43, where the psalmist is talking to his soul.

Let me share a few stanzas with you:

Oh my soul, where is your faith?
Where is your hope?
Why are you troubled?
Why are you worried
And anxiously trying to figure out
All that’s to come?

Oh my soul, why do you doubt?
Why do you fear?
Where is your song?
Why aren’t you singing
And thankfully giving Him praise
For all that’s to come?

Has He ever failed you?
Has He ever left you?
Has He ever spoken a promise and not made it good?
He never has, He never will, He never would.

Look back and remember
All that you ever thought was your loss
Has only been gain
He will do it again
He can do it again

As I listened to this song, it reminded me of how important it is to remind myself of who God is and what He has done. “Has He ever failed you?” No. “Has He ever left you?” Never. By looking back over my history with God, He has proven Himself faithful time and again. He has used places of brokenness and loss and redeemed them.

We all need those moments when we’re intentionally placing our hope in God. And this song has helped me to do that.

Ways to Practice Talking to Your Soul

And so, when you find that your soul needs a little talkin’ to, when you need to preach the Gospel to yourself and place your hope in God, what does that look like?

I’ve already shared some ways that I personally have practiced talking to my soul, but here are some other ideas you can try.

First, you can write out God’s promises.

Like Bloom’s article spoke to, remind yourself of God’s promises. If you can’t think of any, do an online search for “promises of God” to get you started. Because God usually doesn’t say, “I promise to…” He just says it.

“I will help you.” (Isaiah 41:13)

“I will guide you.” (Psalm 32:8)

“He is faithful.” (1 John 1:9)

Second, you can remind yourself of what God has done in your life.

How has He healed you? How has He provided for you? How has He blessed you? Write those things down and see that He is present and active in your life.

And if you struggle with this, start by looking through the Bible and identifying how God has shown up for them. See how He rescues them. Note how He loves them. And then see if that triggers any memories of how He has showed up for you.

Third, you can hold tightly to the truth about God.

David does this in Psalm 103, when he quotes Exodus 34:6: “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

What do you know to be true about God? You can make a list of His attributes, or His names, or the images He uses to reveal Himself to us. He is the Good Shepherd. He is Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord that heals. What do you need to call to mind about God and who He is? Write it down. Proclaim it out loud.

Put Your Hope in God

So that has been my journey with learning to talk to my soul. And I know I have a lot more room to grow in this area, but it has already been such a blessing to me. And I know it will be a blessing to you, as well, as you practice putting your hope in God.

I’d like to read a few of those words from the song over you as we end. Would you just pause and close your eyes, and maybe, if you’re comfortable, open your hands to receive them?

Has He ever failed you?
Has He ever left you?
Has He ever spoken a promise and not made it good?
He never has, He never will, He never would.

Look back and remember
All that you ever thought was your loss
Has only been gain
He will do it again
He can do it again

BIBLE VERSES:

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” (Psalm 43:5)
“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” (Psalm 103:8, quoting Exodus 34:6)

RESOURCES:

**Friend, I’d love to encourage you as you encourage others. Here are two ways to get started:**

1. SHOP ENCOURAGEMENT + SYMPATHY GIFTS

These are prayerfully-crafted gifts you can share with those you love as tangible expressions of care. Let your friend know she is not alone.

www.lovedoesthat.org/shop

2. SCHEDULE A SPIRITUAL DIRECTION DISCERNMENT CALL

Interested in spiritual direction? Schedule a complimentary Discernment Call where we’ll talk about what’s weighing on your heart and identify next steps you can take to discern God’s direction.

www.lovedoesthat.org/spiritual-direction/