Bishop of My Soul

The current global landscape, marked by clashing kingdoms and ideological conflict, is also signaling a crucial “reset” for the Church and for individuals. Drawing profound insights from Psalm 23 and the life of King David, this message focuses on the promise of supernatural soul restoration. When life’s accumulated stresses, fears, and wounds lead to internal heaviness or fatigue, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, provides a complete cure, enabling believers to heal, become whole, and effectively “reign in life”.

This teaching emphasizes that the soul, the core of one’s inner man, requires intentional recovery to overcome accumulated trauma and step into the Third Great Awakening.

1. The Necessity of Soul Restoration: Recognizing Inner Fatigue

Just as a nation can feel drained and weary, the soul—the inner life comprising the mind, will, and emotions (Hebrew: nephesh)—can also become tired, heavy, and battered.

A. The Causes and Symptoms of a Tired Soul

A tired soul results from the accumulation of stress and various inner maladies, often creeping in so gradually that the individual might not recognize how heavy their heart has become.

• Accumulated Weights: Soul heaviness is caused by the accumulation of stress, fears, anger, abuse, wounding words, broken relationships, betrayal, broken promises, greed, loneliness, and hope continually deferred. Hebrews 12:1 refers to these accumulated burdens as “weights” on the soul, likened to heavy rocks.
• Consequences: Soul fatigue can lead to making wrong decisions and saying or doing the wrong things—actions that would not be taken if the soul were not weighed down.
• Dysfunction: When the inner being is out of balance and emotions become distorted, the soul does not function properly; the mind becomes foggy, emotions yo-yo, and a persistent “drag on the inner man” replaces the feeling of fulfillment.
• The Shepherd’s Cure: The cure for this depletion is supernatural recovery (restoration) offered by Jesus, the Shepherd.

B. The Hebrew Meaning of “Restoreth”

David’s declaration, “The Lord my shepherd restoreth my soul,” contains the Hebrew word shou.

• Shou: This word means repentance, to return, to come back, to make a comeback, or to turn around.
• Turning the Soul Around: This implies that the soul can sometimes be headed in the wrong direction, requiring God to intervene and “turn around” the mind (which may be off track or blurred), the will (which may be weak), and the emotions.
• Fresh Life: The restoration process involves God anointing and breathing fresh life into dead and dull emotions, causing them to come back to life.

2. David’s Model: Full Recovery from Betrayal and Abandonment

David wrote Psalm 23 during the lowest point in his life—while running for his life, feeling abandoned, and dealing with a heavy soul. His journey serves as a powerful model for supernatural recovery.

A. The Wilderness Experience

David endured immense psychological stress, despite being a fierce, tenacious warrior:

• On the Run: After being anointed as King, David spent months running alone from King Saul, who sought to execute him.
• Isolation: He dwelled in a cave in the hill country of Adullum for 16 months, alone and unsure if his wife, children, or 600 men were alive.
• Emotional Turmoil: During this period, his soul was chafed raw by the whirlwinds of events. His songs (Psalms) reflected his distress, darkness, abandonment, hopelessness, and the unfairness of his enemies prospering while he was deprived.

B. The Sudden Turnaround

Despite feeling abandoned, discouraged, and like the “sun was going down on his life,” David always returned to trust God, resulting in a supernatural turnaround.

• Change of Melody: David’s inner thinking changed, and the “melody inside of him changed”. He began to sing about the recovery God had given his soul.
• Full Recovery: Through divine intervention, David made a full recovery from the emotional, natural, and spiritual warfare. His soul was healed of legitimate wounds, which was necessary for him to reign.
• Supernatural Wealth: David also recovered his lost inheritance and income, accumulating so much wealth supernaturally that he stored it to build the Temple.

3. The Miracle of the Reversed Time (Hezekiah’s Sign)

The spiritual principle of soul restoration is magnified by the story of King Hezekiah, demonstrating God’s ability to perform miracle reversals.

• Death Sentence: King Hezekiah was sick and on his deathbed when the Prophet Isaiah told him to get his house in order.
• The Prayer: Hezekiah prayed for more time. God instructed Isaiah to return and promise him 15 more years of life.
• The Reversal: As a sign of this promise, Hezekiah asked for the sun-dial’s shadow to move backwards 10 degrees. This amazing miracle happened, and the shadow returned (Hebrew: shou) to its former position.
• Spiritual Meaning: This event speaks of the reversal of times and demonstrates that God can miraculously reverse times where the soul is concerned. When the soul feels that “time is running out” and that “if anything was ever going to change, it would have by now,” God can back up the sun and bring the soul back into the sunlight.