Detoxing the Soul

In high school I ate chips, candy, and a pop for lunch and didn’t think twice. Now I eat my veggies and drink hot tea like it’s my job. Even though my taste buds have matured and my body has grown strong, I still felt the need to detox. So before my 34th birthday I chugged purple liquid filled with antioxidents in an effort to clear my body of hidden toxins. And I couldn’t help but think, I wish I could drink a magic potion to detox my soul, too.

The toxins

No matter how careful we are, our bodies take in toxins every day from our environment — the air, our food, impure water. Likewise, our souls absorb toxins everyday. Even though we war against them, they attack our soul in the form of bitterness, jealousy, comparison, unforgiveness, greed… sin.

I don’t know about you, but I have had 33 imperfect years to build up gunk. I’ve tried to clear it all out by myself, but that doesn’t work because sin can get deep in our hearts. We need something stronger than our striving to penetrate to the core.

The Antioxident

In order to detox the body, you have to stop eating harmful foods. During that time of rest, you fill your body with things like blueberries, rasperries, and purple carrot that have antioxidents. These powerhouse foods find hidden impurities and cleanse you from the inside out.

He helps us identify and deal with our life toxins not to look better on the outside, but so we truly are healed on the inside.

Our soul antioxident is the Holy Spirit. He helps us identify and deal with our life toxins not to look better on the outside, but so we truly are healed on the inside. But first we have to stop eating the junk. We turn away from our broken ways and rest in the grace of God. We invite his Spirit to search our hearts and minds for impurities and change us from the inside out. This takes some guts. It takes desire for something bigger than ourselves. But it’s worth it.

New Cravings

When you clear out toxins, you start to crave different things. As crazy as it sounds, instead of sugar you want an apple, instead of chips you want real potatos. You crave what you were made to crave — life giving food.

Same is true for our souls. When the Holy Spirit helps us clear out the soul toxins we start to crave more of His goodness. We want to see mercy and love instead of our agenda. We have tasted freedom and love and desire more of it.

When the Holy Spirit helps us clear out the soul toxins we start to crave more of His goodness.

1 Peter 2:1-3 NIV puts it this way, “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

Let the Holy Spirit it to do his work so our life taste buds change. It will require endurance and obedience, but the journey of detoxing the soul will change your life from the inside out.

 

Journal reflection…

What is God telling you to give up? What life junk needs to go to make room for God’s work in your life?

Spend time in prayer asking God to reveal and flush out the impurities in your heart and replace them with His goodness.