Your Body Listening to Your Soul

So a while back, my brain was spinning in a hamster wheel, circling the concept of the soul-body connection. It’s like I was standing on the edge of understanding something big, almost grasping it, only to have it keep blipping out. But it finally clicked, ya’ll.

As I read through different verses in the Bible, I noticed how often God addresses our human nature, our tendency to be scared, carry anxiety, and worry. And how, when we let those things pile up, they don’t just weigh down our ability to think. There is also an effect on our physical bodies.

The more I read, reread, and really absorbed what the Bible was saying, the more I began to see a pattern as things clicked upstairs. 

What God tells us to do for our spiritual health is often exactly what we need for our emotional, mental, and physical health as well.

That’s when everything started to make sense.

I realized the human body and the soul aren’t separate after all. I used to believe, and was even taught, that the physical body and the soul existed apart from each other. Kinda like a jar with smoke in it, two different elements put together, but not integrating into each other. I never thought to question it. 

The more I’ve reflected, the clearer it’s become: every person is a unique combination of dust and soul. That’s what makes us who we are. There isn’t just a “physical you” or just a “spiritual you.” 

There’s just you. One whole living, breathing being.

In learning this, I’ve come to realize that my spiritual health is way more important to tackle first than my physical health. That's not me saying I don’t care, or that God doesn’t, but a sick soul leads to a sick body.

When I’m struggling physically, I do pray for that, but my focus is now shifted. I pray for strength and peace in my heart. I pray that I continue to follow His lead despite what may be going on. 

He cares about the physical pains, He really does, but we cannot let our body be the only thing we are praying for; we can’t allow our body to drown out the health of our soul. I hope that makes sense.

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22

“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” Proverbs 14:30

“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7

My prayer life, my relationship with God, and my physical health got better once I stepped beyond just the needs of my body and how things of this world affected me, and I prayed for the health of my soul and my relationship with God. 

Once I realized that my soul needed as many band-aids, if not more than my body, was when everything fell into place. Our faith, emotions, and physical bodies are deeply intertwined. 

When we nurture one, we nourish the other, too.

© Jane Isley

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