It's a common fact that we need various nutrients for a healthy lifestyle and to live longer. Water, fruit and food that are high in protein, fibre are needed in order to be healthy and protect our heart. Too much junk food cause an unhealthy lifestyle and cause all sorts of problems like high cholesterol, heart disease etc.

We have a choice to control what we put into our bodies for a healthy or unhealthy lifestyle.

In the same way, we can also control what we feed into our souls. We can either nourish it or damage it.

If we feed our soul with the things of God and display his fruits, we nourish and refresh our hearts and souls.

If we have a positive attitude, bless instead of curse others, these blessings are 'sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.' (Proverbs 16:24). This isn't just for the person on the receiving end of our blessings, but also for us. When we feel blessed and have a positive attitude, it nourishes our soul and gives us peace.

But when we concern ourselves with anger, unforgiveness, lies, negativity, harsh words and things that aren't of God, it changes us and we pollute our souls and destroy it slowly.

None of these things nourish our soul, we don't gain anything from it but unhappiness and unrest.

We can't see the condition of our souls from the outside. But God can see our hearts and into our souls, weather it is healthy and nourished or polluted.

This is because God doesn't look just at our outward appearance, he looks at our hearts. (1 Samuel 16:7).

God can't be fooled by false pretense or masks. He can see what our hearts are focused on. Someone may appear polished on the outside and be rotting their souls on the inside.

Have you ever seen apple maggots, which lay and hatch their eggs inside apples. While the maggot is inside the apple, it causes the insides of the apple to decay and rot to the core. But while the apple is rotting away inside, it looks pretty normal and edible on the outside. You can't even really see how bad the inside of the apple is rotting until someone cuts it open and then you can see the damage. To stop the pesky apple maggots rotting new apples, the apples have to be protected to stop the maggots from entering the core of the apple.

We don't want to rot and decay our souls like maggot infested apples. We can always be renewed and take control over what enters our souls.

We need to be cautious, 'watch and pray so that we don't fall into temptation' (Matt 26:41) and don't allow ourselves to get caught up in things that aren't of God and expose our souls to it.

To get back on track with a healthy, nourished spiritual lifestyle, we need to refocus our minds to the ways and things of God. We can do this by focusing on God's Word and actively implementing it into our daily lives. The Word of God is living and active, sharper than a double edged sword. It can transform our souls and refocus the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts - (Hebrews 4:12).

When we focus on God's Word we also live by his fruits, which are love, joy, peace... (Galations 5:22). These are the nutrients we need in our lives to nourish our souls.

When we are strong in God's Word, we are well protected because God establishes and nourishes our roots in Him. And when we are well nourished, we can 'flourish like a palm tree.' (Psalm 92:12).

Palm trees are unique because their roots are special. They have thick roots which grow deep under-ground and so get nourishments which aren't available over-ground. And the roots can't be easily pulled out and so live much longer than normal trees so it can flourish and stand out!

When we continue to build and strengthen our relationship with God, we will continue to grow with God's everlasting nourishments and flourish so we are protected from attacks which try to pollute and rot our souls.

Esther ♥