How to feed your soul

Do you need to feed your soul today?

The truth is that like your body, your soul needs to be fed every day.
We single people tend to neglect this important requirement, then when the consequences show up, we wonder what's wrong. Spiritual malnutrition is a common condition, but you can easily avoid it.

Plenty of the right kind of food is available.

I've been guilty of trying to meet this need with spiritual junk food. You know the stuff: happy talk TV preachers, Christian writers who put their own words in Jesus' mouth, shallow gimme prayers. It gives you a temporary sugar rush, but it doesn't supply what you really need: a constant, intimate relationship with your Savior.

The world weighs you down. The workplace is no party. Kick in the stupidity of politics and the stresses of modern life and you can feel yourself questioning everything.

But there's good news! Nobody understands life like Jesus, and that's why he sent the Holy Spirit to live within you. He's your spiritual food, the nourishment your soul needs to thrive.

Let's see how.

Feed your soul or feed your body?

First, let's make sure of what's wrong. Sometimes you feel down and don't suspect it may be a physical problem. We singles are notorious for being unhealthy eaters. We eat too much of the wrong stuff and not enough of the right stuff. Or we go on a fad diet, not understanding our individual metabolism may react negatively.

You may also feel burned out if you're not getting enough sleep, or too much sleep. Wanting to sleep all the time is a sign of depression and should be discussed with your doctor.

Anxiety and worry can also deprive you of a restful night's sleep. Put a couple of those tossing-and-turning nights in a row and you're walking around like a zombie.

A medical exam may be called for. Sure, you hate to spend the money, take the time, and go through the embarrassment and tests, but being checked out thoroughly can detect a hidden problem.

Feed your soul with stuff?

Just because shopping malls have become an endangered species doesn't mean we've quit shopping. We just do it online.

Here's a secret worth thinking about:

You can't fix a spiritual problem with a material solution.

It just doesn't work, regardless of what advertisers tell you. That's the fallacy behind the phenomenon I call gift lift. You get a momentary jolt, like a burst of caffeine, but it doesn't last. That's why you have to keep buying and buying, like a drug addict going after a fix.

It takes strong willpower and a discerning mind to see through the commercials and ads that promise you'll feel better if you buy a certain product. The only one who will feel better is that company's shareholders when they look at their bottom line.

Be smart. Stuff can not feed your soul, despite what anyone tells you. That's one of the biggest lies out there, and you are too smart to fall for it.

The discontent you feel is the Holy Spirit telling you something is wrong and you need to tend to it. God misses you and wants you back.

Let's explore how to do that…

Feed your soul with the bread of life

I've gotten myself into this jam of a starving soul many, many times in my life. By painful trial-and-error, I have found out what works and what doesn't.

Here's the key to feeding your soul, right from the Source:

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." (John 6:35, NIV)

You can only get the kind of spiritual sustenance you need from the one who made your soul. That's not me, or some influencer out there. It's Jesus.

How do you "feed" on Jesus?

Accept. If you're not a Christian, accept Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Pray. Prayer is your private hotline to heaven. This phone's batteries never go dead and you never lose your signal. Jesus is our intercessor with God, which means he personally takes your request to his Father who can grant it. As our High Priest, Jesus puts a good word in for you. Check out these prayer tips on how to connect with the Lord.

Read the Bible. This is my favorite way of feeding my soul, because it shows God in action. It tells you how God worked in people's lives in the past, just like he's working today. It feeds you hope where you used to have spiritual hunger. But please, please, please get yourself a good study Bible like the ESV Study Bible or the Life Application Study Bible. They are so much easier to understand that they make Bible reading a joy instead of a struggle.

Meditate. Christian meditation is different from other kinds of meditation. It's basically thinking about Bible passages you have read, or quieting your mind to give God an opportunity to speak to you. You won't hear an audible voice, but you may get a prompting from the Holy Spirit or a new understanding of some problem. This is a time of solitude when you get alone with God. That means no music, phone, radio or television. I like to meditate while walking in a park or some serene natural setting.

Join a Church. God wants us to worship him together. There's something about praying together, singing hymns together, and reading the Bible together that definitely will feed your soul. If you've never attended church before, try it. Let me assure you that you will be welcomed and made to feel at home. These are kind, good people who encourage one another. You will be blessed by going to church.

Take the next step...

Life is confusing, especially if you're single. There's no handbook on how to do it.

Or is there?

Hope for Hurting Singles is a step-by-step guide to tackling the challenges of the single life: loneliness, depression, rejection, anger, bitterness, and low self-esteem.

It was written by a single for singles. Author Jack Zavada put together all the lessons he learned in his 45 years of the single life--good and bad--and condensed them into practical principles you can use, starting today.

There's no other book like this. And with its biblically-based approach, you'll always agree with God's word.

Hope for Hurting Singles is only $10.99 in paperback, $3.99 for the Kindle version. Get your copy today!

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