07122025 He Restores My Soul

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the God who fully cares for us. Today’s phrase from Psalm 23 is “He restores my soul.” This phrase is one of the most meaningful to me, because my soul needs are my deepest needs. They are also the needs that are most obviously the ones that only God can meet. David is no longer speaking figuratively, like in the previous word pictures. This phrase is literal truth; when David’s soul is weak or broken, God restores it to its healed and healthy condition.

David speaks often of God as a general source of strength. Without giving particular applications, he earnestly expresses his belief that God is the one who keeps his soul. God is the one who provides the internal strength to continue day after day. God gives bones and structure to the jellyfish of the soul. “Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation” (Ps. 62:1). “Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul” (Ps. 54:4). “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved” (Ps. 55:22). One response to seeing God as the strength of my soul is to wait on Him, looking to Him and casting my cares on Him, expecting Him to hold me up and keep me firm.

This dependence is not passive. If someone truly believes that his soul’s strength comes from God, he will call out to God and ask Him to keep his soul strong. “From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Ps. 61:2). “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us” (Ps. 62:8). “O God, thou art my God; early will I thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is” (Ps. 63:1). When someone has believed so earnestly that God is the strength of his soul, and when he has fervently called out for God to strengthen his soul, he will find (as David did) that God answers. “In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul” (Ps. 138:3).

David shares three specific scenarios in which God restores the soul. The first of these is after sin. David knew the burden of sin and the tremendous toll on the body and soul. One specific instance was his adultery with Bathsheba. “And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die” (II Sam. 12:13). God healed David’s soul and restored their fellowship. In Psalm 51, David describes the awful burden of his sin, and he cries out to God for restoration. “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit” (Ps. 51:10,12). Whether of the same sin or something different, David cried out similarly to God in other passages. “For thy name’s sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great. The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses. Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins” (Ps. 25:11,17-18). “I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee” (Ps. 41:4).

There was one other significant instance when David needed restoring after sin, and that was when he numbered the people against God’s command. “So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were covered in sackcloth, fell upon their faces. And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed. And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the LORD; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering. And the LORD commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof. At that time when David saw that the LORD had answered him in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there” (I Chr. 21:14, 16-17, 26-28; also II Sam. 24). Again, God restored David’s soul.

David gave testimony to the great blessing of restoration after confession of sin. “For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” (Ps. 30:5). “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:12). These are two beautiful pictures of what comes after restoration: the exuberant morning rejoicing after the dark night, and the knowledge that the sins are forever removed.

The second scenario David shares is restoration of the soul after a time of sorrow. Sorrow over some loss in the life can break down the spirit, but God has a way of healing and restoring. A loving God is near to those whose spirits are crushed. “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit” (Ps. 34:18). God can reverse the sorrow, lifting a believer back to a joyous condition that he may not have thought to be possible ever again. “Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness” (Ps. 30:11). This restoration is a testimony to the goodness of God. “And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD” (Ps. 40:3).

The third scenario David shares is God’s restoration of the soul during times of distress. David faced many of those in his life, and a good number of those distresses came from Saul’s relentless pursuit. Sometimes God uses a human instrument to impart His strengthening of the soul. “And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God” (I Sam. 23:16).

God can also restore the soul when no one around seems to care. “When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me. I looked on my right hand and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul” (Ps. 142:3-4). In these lonely times of sorrow, God is well aware of the situation, and He cares deeply.

God sometimes helps us to encourage ourselves, as we look to Him for our soul strength. David experienced this after the city of Ziklag was attacked, with the families and goods carried away. “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God” (I Sam. 30:6). Whatever the method, the credit for the restoration belongs to God.

Sometimes the healing will be longer in coming, but David counted on his gracious God to be the healer of his soul. “Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed. My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long? Return, O LORD, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies’ sake. Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping” (Ps. 6:2-4,8).

David shares general testimony that God did respond by restoring his troubled soul. “I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities” (Ps. 31:7). “For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell” (Ps. 86:13). David also is so assured of the soul-restoring actions of God that he encourages others to seek God’s healing and strengthening as well. “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD” (Ps. 27:14). “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD” (Ps. 31:24).

The health of the soul belongs to God. He always knows and always cares about the soul’s weaknesses. Whether from sin, from sorrow, or from distress, God is able to restore, heal, and strengthen. He can do that with or without the help of others. While He may delay, He will lovingly and graciously respond to the hurting hearts of those who seek Him.

If your soul is weak or hurting, I pray that God would look on you with compassion and give your soul the strength and healing it needs. Restoration is possible with God!

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA