Psalms 23:3 “He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

The Psalmist boldly states that the Lord is the restorer of souls.

The word soul refers to the inner life of man, the seat of his emotions, and the center of human personality. The first use of the word soul in the Old Testament expresses this meaning: "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being (soul)" (Genesis 2:7). This means more than being given physical life; the biblical writer declares that man became a "living soul," or a person, a human being, one distinct from all other animals.

Life can bring challenges that can damage the soul, can challenge one’s beliefs, can make a person question their existence. When these time arise we have a Shepherd who is in the soul restoration business.

The pathway to restoration includes learning to walk in righteousness, but not our own righteousness. True restoration of the soul is accomplished as we learn to walk in the righteousness that comes from Jesus. There is a time of healing of our brokenness and then a time of learning which includes hearing and obeying.

Philippians 3:9 “and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

Anchored by Hope,

Pastor Phil Johnson