A Magnolia's Heart Beats

In "Other" Words Tuesdays - Soul Wounds

Esthermay at The Heart of a Pastor's Wife is hosting In "Other" Words Tuesdays this week. She has given us a great quote to think and ponder on.

“For most of this century we have wrongly defined soul wounds as psychological disorders and delegated their treatment to trained specialists. Damaged psyches aren’t the problem. The problem is disconnected souls.”
by Larry Crabb - Connecting:Healing Ourselves and Our Relationships

Can You Define Me?

I think it is important for us to gain a biblical understanding of two important words found in the Bible. Four times throughout the Psalms in the NIV Bible, the phrase downcast soul is used. Psalm 42:5, Psalm 42:6, Psalm 42:11, and Psalm 43:5. It seems the Psalmist knew a thing or four about hurting, hmmm?

In each case, the Hebrew word for downcast is shachach. This verb is transliterated to mean:

1) to bow, crouch, bow down, be bowed down
a) (Qal)
1) to be bowed down, be prostrated, be humbled
2) to bow (in homage)
3) to bow (of mourner)
4) to crouch (of wild beast in lair)
b) (Niphal) to be prostrated, be humbled, be reduced, be weakened, proceed humbly, be bowed down
c) (Hiphil) to prostrate, lay low, bow down
d) (Hithpolel) to be cast down, be despairing

Downcast does not refer to separation. The soul mentioned in the verses above isn't cast out, it feels cast down.

The Hebrew word for soul used in all four of the verses above is nephesh. This noun is transliterated to mean:

1) soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion
a) that which breathes, the breathing substance or being, soul, the inner being of man
b) living being
c) living being (with life in the blood)
d) the man himself, self, person or individual
e) seat of the appetites
f) seat of emotions and passions
g) activity of mind
1) dubious
h) activity of the will
1) dubious
i) activity of the character
1) dubious

Obviously the soul refers to every living aspect of a person here. I would lean more toward inner than outer, but the definition does mention life and breath, so I think it's a very encompassing word to describe the center of our being as humans.

Is Your Soul Wounded?

Going back to the quote above, what would you say are soul wounds? I haven't read the book, but I would venture to say that it refers to a spiritual pain. Obviously it speaks to the damage our souls receive in relation to disconnecting from God.

Sin is the main cause of the feeling of separation from God. We came into this world damaged by the sin of the Curse given by God to Adam, Eve and the earth in the beginning, referenced in Genesis, when sin entered the world. However, we were redeemed by the blood shed on the Cross for our sins when we believed in Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." ~ John 3:16-17 (NIV)

Is Spiritual Disconnection Possible?

I would highly agree that spiritual disconnection is possible for those who have not accepted Christ as their personal Savior, but once we are His, we are His forever. I submit that we feel disconnect rather than become disconnected.

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" ~ Jeremiah 17:9 (NIV)

I learned a long time ago not to trust my feelings. My soul may feel spiritually disconnected, but God's Word tells me that this can never happen.

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand." ~ John 10:27-29 (NIV)

So What's the Problem?

I would venture to say anything that causes harm or a feeling of discontent or downcast, if you will, to the soul as in the above-mentioned definitions based on the Word of God is a soul wound.

Are soul wounds and damaged psyches be the same thing? Based on the definition above, our souls can be harmed by psychological disorders like depression or by the damage inflicted upon our hearts and minds from abuse. Abuses to us on any level damages not only our psyche but our souls in the form of feeling hurt and pain and anguish on very personal levels. We may be told to get over it and live in the now but unless you've been through it and walked out on the other side, you don't know how long it takes to get there. What takes one person eleven months to recover from may take another eleven years. What injures you day in and day out for eleven years may be healed after a moment of prayer or it may be the thorn in your flesh forever. It may be the thing God uses to keep you where He wants you or He may heal you from it in days, weeks, months or years after beginning counsel.

Although these abuses may be one of the causes of a feeling of spiritual disconnect, is not the only cause. Sin in our own lives is the main cause of disconnected souls. We know the remedy for that. (If you don't, please email me at sisterchick1@yahoo.com)

Is There a Doctor in the House?

To call soul wounds psychological disorders is like calling gray charcoal. It depends on how you see it. I believe our souls are wounded when we feel separated from God, feeling that disconnection, no matter what the cause. Whether it's psychological or a crisis of faith, the feeling remains.

How do we treat it? The only remedy for both is reconnection to God.

Today I am going to the doctor for a knee injury I sustained sometime last week. I'm not seeing a dentist for it. He couldn't help me. By the same token, I wouldn't expect my pastor to be able to fix my knee nor my doctor to be able to counsel me on how to repent of my sins and ask forgiveness. The one thing I have in common between the two is God. I can go to Him for all matters involved and trust that He will work His will in my life.

Does this mean I neither seek the counsel of doctor or pastor? No! It means that I supplement it, not out of distrust to God but out of the wisdom He has given me to utilize the gifts and skill He has given man.

I suffer from depression. I cannot blame this depression on my alcoholic father (he's recovered now) and I can't blame feeling separated from God on my injured knee. It's likely that the depression is a result of a chemical imbalance in my body that was diagnosed at the age of 9. Emotional and verbal abuse were just gravy. It's likely that my lack of quiet time is because I spent too much time watching NCIS and reading for pleasure (not that spending time with God isn't a pleasure but you know what I mean...). Sin. Not that NCIS and reading for pleasure are sin, but I didn't put God first. Instead I ate fried rice and relaxed my knee. Sin. I don't need my psychiatrist to tell me that I've sinned, but I don't need my pastor to tell me that I have depression, generalized anxiety disorder, fibromyalgia, IBS and fibrocystic disease. It would be a waste of each one's time to counsel and treat me in what they are not specialized in. Not to mention my own. My pastor has better things to do than listen to me go on about how my older sister has abandoned the family and how that makes me feel. My doctor really wants to hear more about my knee injury than my questions on why bad things happen (illnesses) to good, very good people.

What's Your Point?

Oh, I do seem to be rambling, don't I?

I'm wrapping it up. Bear with me.

When we're feeling spiritually disconnected we aren't. Nothing can separate us from Christ. The truth is that we have just moved to a point to where we aren't communicating with Him and seeing Him at work in our lives. When this happens, we need to find out why. Is it because of sin or is it because of something hurting our souls more on a realm of a physical nature? Making use of the proper resources God has given us will go a long way in rectifying the matter. If you aren't sure where to start, start with your husband, then your pastor. If your pastor recommends counseling for depression or seeing a doctor for a check-up, glean from that wisdom. But if you know in your heart of hearts, your soul, that you are depressed or experiencing an emotional trauma not relating to your relationship to God, by all means, make a doctor's appointment and feel good about it. Remember: Luke was a doctor. He attended Paul through many of his travels and I'm sure he provided great counsel and friendship to him as well as medical treatment.

This was a hard post to write. I have so many feelings regarding this issue that it's impossible to put in one post. I was probably about as clear as mud but I would really like to read this book to get a better idea of where the author was coming from. It is so going on my TBR list!

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