In his book, Soul Keeping, John Ortberg points out how rarely the word easy is used in scripture. By my count, it us used less than twenty-five times in the entire Bible. Jesus used it when he said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Ortberg goes on to point out that when Jesus used the word, it was a soul word, not a circumstance word or an assignment word. He says, “Aim at having easy circumstances, and life will be hard all around. Aim at having an easy soul, and your capacity for tackling hard assignments will actually grow. The soul was not made for an easy life. The soul was made for an easy yoke” (p.126).

As you look at the life of Jesus, he apparently knew the secrets of a soul at ease or at rest. Regardless of his circumstances or the demands of the crowd he never seemed to be in a hurry and rarely, if ever, let someone else determine his agenda. The secret of his soul-at-ease seems to have been his intimate connection with the Father, which simplified his life and decision making considerably. His statements such as, “I only do what I see the Father doing,” tell us that Jesus moved at the pace ordained by his Father rather than by the world. He sought the applause of only one rather than the multitude. He evaluated his life by one set of heavenly standards rather than the shifting standards of culture. He discovered that his Father’s agenda for his life was more focused and simpler than the agenda the world hands us. Love God. Love one another. Give attention to those I highlight for you or to whom I direct you. Don’t worry much about the rest.

I know my first response to my own words about Jesus is that we live in a different world and just don’t have the luxury of setting our own agendas. To some degree that is true but the tension of life impacts us more when we internalize the demands the world places on us and give those demands legitimacy. A soul connected to God and his purposes is the key to ease.

From a practical perspective we can notice that Jesus has some consistent practices in his life that kept him connected to the Father and that kept his soul healthy. We might want to emulate what Jesus did so here is a bullet point list for my left-brained friends. You can add some other patterns you see in the life of Jesus.

• Jesus prayed a lot and on many occasions prayed for extended periods.
• He enjoyed solitude on a regular basis.
• He spent time outdoors enjoying God’s (and his own) creation.
• He developed a circle of close friends with whom he could share his life and his heart.
• He stored up the Word of God in his heart.
• He took long walks – sometimes on water.
• He engaged in deep, spiritual discussions with friends and sometimes strangers.
• He laughed and sometimes hung out with non-religious people.
• He thought a lot about the kingdom of Heaven.
• He worshipped often in synagogues with other believers.
• He frequently talked to others about God’s love.
• On occasion, he played with children.

Think about doing some intentional things to find ease for your soul and may your soul be at rest today.

Have you ever thought about your soul? What is it exactly? The common definition of soul is something that is a combination of our emotions, thoughts, and will (decision making functions). Dallas Willard, who writes extensively on spiritual disciplines and soul-care, defines it differently. He suggests, “What is running your life at any given moment is your soul. Not external circumstances, not your thoughts, not your intentions, not even your feelings but your soul. The soul is that aspect of your whole being that correlates, integrates, and enlivens everything going on in the various dimensions of the self. The soul is the life center of human beings.”

If you think about it, the usual definition almost attaches soul to our physical processes of feeling, thinking, and decision-making. But if our body is destroyed, our soul goes on apart from any physical connection. The soul then is a spiritual aspect of who we are that coordinates these other facets of the human experience. It doesn’t control those aspects but coordinates them. In the beginning, God’s intention was that a healthy soul connected to him would rule over or direct our thought life, our emotions, and all of our decisions. However, sin corrupted that process and our corrupted minds and emotions began to rule our souls. When we come to Jesus, he begins the process of restoring God’s intended order to our internal world.

John Ortberg suggests that we must move from being self-focused to being soul-focused. We tend to be self-focused where how I feel, what I do, my goals, my happiness, etc. are what life is all about. We read self-help books, go to therapy to explore our thoughts and our needs, and build relationships on the basis of how the other person might benefit or even complete me.

Soul-focus simply pays attention to my connection with God knowing that when my soul is healthy, everything else takes care of itself. When my soul is healthy my internal world will be divinely ordered and nothing (or very little) will block the flow of the Holy Spirit in my life. Then I will be like a tree planted by streams of water that flourishes and bears fruit in every season. The key is for my soul to be centered in my relationship with the Father. An uncentered soul is restless and constantly dissatisfied.

In his book, Soul Keeping (p.100-103), he lists several indicators of an uncentered soul. You might check these out.

• A soul without a center has difficulty making decisions. When our souls are not centered in God, even as believers we may have a great deal of internal debate about whether our decision should serve God or serve our flesh.

• A soul without a center feels constantly vulnerable to people or circumstances. In those moments we feel as if people, what they think of us, or our circumstances determine our well-being rather than God and his provision being the determination of that.

• A soul without a center lacks patience. Think express lane at HEB. When you feel your blood pressure rising because the woman who is paying out in front of you is fumbling for her coupons in a purse the size of Texas that she could have retrieved while she was waiting in line, shift your thoughts from self-focused to soul-focused and ask, “What is God wanting me to do or learn from this moment?” Your chosen focus changes everything.

• A soul without center is easily thrown. Does every little crisis or disappointment in your life cause a spinout? Are you derailed emotionally all day long when things don’t go your way? Did you experience a little road rage on your way to work this morning? Your soul may not be centered.

• A soul without a center finds its identity in externals. Does your car, your clothes, your house, your title, or the people you are seen with define you? Are you constantly thinking about image or the way others perceive you? Think about how much that dynamic steals your peace. The enemy comes to steal. If those concerns constantly steal your peace, then those concerns are probably from the enemy.

I have been challenged lately to think more about my soul than my self. My soul will never find rest until it rests in God. The key is finding that rest now, not just in eternity. Blessing in Him!