he restores my soul

“He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:2-3) To understand this verse, we must start with the question: What exactly is a soul, anyway?  The Hebrew word for soul is nep̄eš.  It comes from the word for breath (nāp̄aš).  So, in essence, a soul is that which is breathed into by God.  Or, as some of the saints of old have said, “The soul is that part of us that receives the in-breathing of the divine.”  And it is that breath that brings us to life.  Thus, when we inhale that divine breath, we are filled with the life and hope and love of the God who breathed us into being.  Which makes us, his people, “the breathed upon.”

The problem is that many of us live our lives in a constant exhale.  And living life in a constant exhale is neither healthy, nor sustainable.  We must make time and space to inhale.  We must give God room to renew and restore that divine breath within us, especially if we ever want to have any hope of him breathing that breath through us to others.  That’s where being made to lie down in green pastures and being led beside still waters come in.  Those are the places and the spaces where God breathes his breath into us.  They are essential for the life and health of our soul.  Neglect them and we do so at our own expense.  Neglect them and we end up in a dark and dangerous place.  Thus, our lives and our ministries depend on us making space and time for God to breathe his divine breath in us.