David said, ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul’ (vv. 1-3 NKJV). A light on a car dashboard will let you know something’s wrong and that it’s time for a check-up. If you ignore it, your car could end up breaking down. Our souls have built-in warning systems too, but we have to pay attention to the signals. We mustn’t wait until we have a spiritual, moral, emotional or relational breakdown before we’ll stop and pay attention. When our souls’ thirst isn’t quenched and their needs aren’t met, they’ll try to find relief some other way – and it might be something that will end up hurting us. We must learn when to say ‘enough’. We need to take breaks that enable us to ‘restore our souls’ – but most of us don’t. We feel trapped by guilt, as if stopping would be irresponsible. Or we fear losing ground because we took a minute for ourselves. One of the hardest things in life to achieve is a sense of balance. So in all our goal-setting and ‘go-getting’, we mustn’t forget our souls. Even God rested (see Genesis 2:2), and if He did, then we also need to – and we don’t have to feel guilty about it. There’s power in rest. It helps make the journey of life easier and more enjoyable. When God ‘makes you lie down in green pastures’, its okay to enjoy them. When He ‘leads you beside the still waters’, it’s to give us refreshment and restoration. So let’s make soul care a habit!
