70. How to Keep Your Soul Healthy

How is it with your soul?

It's probably not a question anyone else will ask you today.

But it may be one of the most important questions you can ask yourself.

In this reflection on the Psalms, John Ortberg draws from Renovation of the Heart to explore what the soul actually is and why its health affects everything else in our lives.

Dallas Willard describes the soul as an inner stream of water that brings strength, direction, and harmony to the rest of our being.

That's why the Psalms repeatedly use the language of water:

“My soul thirsts for You.”

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You.”

“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.”

John then tells the story of a beautiful village whose life depended upon a crystal-clear stream. When the unseen keeper of that stream was dismissed, everything seemed fine...for a while.

Then the water began to change.

Eventually, the entire village felt the effects.

Our souls can work the same way.

We can neglect what's happening beneath the surface while remaining busy with everything that seems more urgent.

But eventually, everything flows downstream.

So ask yourself today:

How is it with my soul?

The stream is your soul.

And you are its keeper.

In this episode:

•  What is the soul? 
•  Why the Psalms are the great “soul book” 
•  Dallas Willard on the inner life 
•  Why the Psalms repeatedly use water imagery 
•  The soul as an inner stream 
•  How the health of your soul affects everything else 
•  Why unseen spiritual work matters 
•  The parable of the keeper of the stream 
•  What happens when we neglect our souls 
•  How to begin tending your inner life 

Scriptures:
Psalm 121:7 • Psalm 63:1 • Psalm 42:1–2 • Psalm 46:4

#JohnOrtberg #Soul #Psalms #DallasWillard #SpiritualFormation #Prayer #ChristianFaith #InnerLife #BibleStudy #SpiritualHealth

Suggested YouTube Chapters

00:00 How Is It With Your Soul?
 00:33 What Is the Soul?
 00:59 The Psalms: The Great Soul Book
 01:16 Who Is the Keeper of Your Soul?
 01:34 My Soul Thirsts for God
 01:51 As the Deer Pants for Water
 02:20 The Soul Is an Inner Stream
 02:43 How Healthy Is Your Soul Today?
 03:07 What a Healthy Soul Looks Like
 03:34 Where Does Your Soul Get Its Life?
 03:48 The Keeper of the Stream
 04:11 A Beautiful Village in the Alps
 04:35 The Old Man Nobody Noticed
 04:59 The Unseen Work of Tending the Stream
 05:25 What Happens When the Stream Is Neglected
 05:39 At First, Nobody Noticed
 06:02 The Whole Village Begins to Suffer
 06:11 The Life of the Village Depends on the Stream
 06:35 The Stream Is Restored
 06:41 You Are the Keeper of Your Soul