A Healthy Soul

1) A Healthy Soul

I want to talk to you today about A Healthy Soul. We spend a lot of time and energy taking care of our physical body, we try to eat right, exercise, get enough sleep. That's all important, we want to feel good, but we don't spend enough time taking care of our soul. We don't realize how much our emotions, our attitudes, our thoughts are affecting us physically. It is necessary that above all things that we succeed and be in good health, both physical and our soul prosper. This links being healthy physically, having energy, vitality, to how healthy your soul is. If your soul is unhealthy, it's going to spill over to the physical. If you're living stressed, worried, bitter, guilty, angry, those negative emotions are not just affecting your relationships, your creativity, how productive you are, but they're weakening your immune system. Your cells not fighting off sickness like they should.

90% of all doctors’ visits to a primary care physician are stress related. You can't sleep at night, your food won't digest, you have ulcers. Much of that goes back to your soul, not being healthy. You're worried night and day about that child, stressed over your finances, holding a grudge over that person that did you wrong. You don't realize, you're making yourself sick. All that negative energy is poisoning your soul. Because your soul is unhealthy, it starts to spill over to the physical.

You wake up in the morning, you wonder, "Why you're still tired? Why you don't have any energy"? It's because your mind worked all night. Your body laid there, but your mind wrestled, wondered, reasoned, "What if? How could I? What may happen"? You're trying to control things that you can't control, trying to fix people that you can't fix, worried about a problem that may not even happen. Or even bitter over something that took place 20 years ago. You can't take in all those toxins and not be poisoned. You can't let anger, unforgiveness, guilt, worry dominate your life. If you'll get your soul healthy, you'll get your energy back. If you'll quit letting the negative emotions rule, then many of these physical ailments will go, it's all interconnected.

I know a young man; he is in his late 20s.  He is son of my close friend. He is like my nephew. He told that redness got developed between his eyes and all around the top of his face, and made his skin flake, and it was very itchy, it looked really bad. He tried creams, lotions, different face soaps, nothing improved. He went to couple of dermatologists; they gave him prescriptions that would help control it. That lessened it, but it never went away. A couple of years later he went to a different doctor, doctor told him, "I know exactly what's causing it. It's stress. You're living to uptight, you have too much pressure. I can give you more medicine, but until you change, until you get more balance, it's not going to go away".

He was young, had all the energy, he thought, "I'm not under stress, I'm fine". Sometimes we can't see what's poisoning us. We have a blind spot. We can look in the mirror and see things, "He had redness, had blemish". We can see the physical, but we can't see what's happening on the inside. Your inner life is more important than your outer life. What's going on in your emotions, how you feel about yourself, what you're allowing to play in your mind, that's affecting what's happening on the outside. He was treating the symptom, but not the cause. He thought, "Just fix the outside, just clear the redness up", but it kept coming back.

He told me, one day he got honest with himself. He looked at all that what he was doing: he was married, that was incredibly great marriage, and it was real, not joke. They had a two-year-old son, expecting another baby. They had moved out of their townhouse; they were remodeling the older home. The young man was working long hours. he didn't realize it, but he was living under pressure and stress. He was putting on himself. 

He liked to go fast, working hard, accomplishing goals. But here's the key: you are responsible for your own emotional wellbeing. It's not up to anyone else. Your spouse can't keep your soul well, your doctor, your friends, your parents, nobody has control over your soul except you. In one sense not even Allah SWT. He's not going to make you forgive, make you not worry, force you to not live angry, offended, guilty. These are choices that we have to make.

[Ar-Ra'd (The Thunder) 13:11 لَهُ مُعَقِّبَاتٌ مِّن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ يَحْفَظُونَهُ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللّهِ إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوءًا فَلاَ مَرَدَّ لَهُ وَمَا لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَالٍ

[thinking that] he has hosts of helpers-both such as can be perceived by him and such as are hidden from him - that could preserve him from whatever God may have willed. Verily, God does not change men's condition unless they change their inner selves; and when God wills people to suffer evil [in consequence of their own evil deeds], there is none who could avert it: for they have none who could protect them from Him.]

[Al-Balad (The City) 90:4

لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ فِي كَبَدٍ

Verily, We have created man into [a life of] pain, toil and trial (struggle). [hard struggle] 

At-Tin (The Fig) 95:4

لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ

Verily, We create man in the best conformation (goodliest mould, best stature, best composition).

We’re either growing or dying every day - either Personal Growth or Personal Death.

Every living organism, organ, or cell is either in the process of growing or dying, nothing in between.]

2) My question today is: is your soul healthy? We can see your looks, your talent, your personality, but what's going on inside? Are you at peace? Are you turning things over to Allah SWT? Do you know that you're valuable? Is your heart free from bitterness, offense? Or is there worry, guilt, insecurity, self-pity? "Look what I've been through, I'm angry. Yes, I have this chip on my shoulder, because these people did me wrong". That's poisoning your soul. Like with me, you may not be able to see it. And sometimes we've gotten used to these negative emotions, we've adapted. We wonder: why we don't have energy? Why can't we sleep? Why we're not creative? You have to get honest with yourself, you have to look inside and ask, "Why am I so jealous? Why can't I celebrate my friend's success? Why am I so easily offended? Why do I argue so much"? Or "Why don't I feel good about myself"?

A lady told me how every time she and husband had the smallest disagreement, she would blow up, get loud and come unglued, and be this huge ordeal. The man couldn't understand why she was so on edge, and so easily angered. Over time it had become too much, their relationship was falling apart. As a teenager she had been in an environment that really hurt her. She felt rejected, like she wasn't good enough. And instead of letting it go, that what people say don't determine who we are, she held on to that offense. It was poisoning her spirit, making her insecure and easily offended.

When you don't let go of things, they never heal. Anytime her husband didn't agree with her, it was like touching a bruise, she would push back and lash out. One day she did what we all have to do: she got honest with herself. She looked side, saying, "Why am I like this? Why do I get upset so easily"? She realized it was from the pains of the past, from things that weren't fair that she hadn't dealt with. She made the decision to get the unforgiveness out, the bitterness, the resentment, the insecurity.

That was the turning point. As she got her soul healthy, her relationships became healthy. Today she and her husband are happy and enjoying life. What am I saying? Pay attention to your inner life. It's easy to adapt to things that are poisoning us, and we don't realize it. We end up going through life just treating the symptoms. If we would get to the root cause, and get our soul healthy, then we will have good health and good success. Now question we need to ask ourselves is, "Am I making myself sick? Am I sabotaging my relationships? Am I limiting my potential, holding myself down because my soul is unhealthy"?

Bitterness is like a tree. A root is underground, you can't see it. But if you let it grow, it's going to spring forth. A bitter root will produce bitter fruit. What's on the inside is going to show up on the outside. We try to fix the fruit, we deal with the symptom, but the fruit is not the real problem. We need to go to the source, and get rid of the root.

3) Let’s guard our heart, for out of it are the issues of life. One of our main responsibilities is to keep the toxins out, keep those roots from springing up. Offenses are going to come, cranky co-workers will come, disappointments, hurts, jealousy, anger. You can't stop it from coming. The question is: are you going to let it take root, get down in your spirit, contaminate your joy, take your energy, open you up to sickness, trouble, defeat? No, keep your soul healthy. You have to be an active gardener. Pull up those roots, pull up that unforgiveness, pull up that insecurity, pull up that guilt and condemnation. Don't let your soul become poison. If your soul is bitter, your life will be bitter. If your emotional wellbeing is contaminated, it's going to affect your physical wellbeing.

Why are you letting that worry take root; losing sleep, living stressed out? You've seen you have been fine in the past, you've seen the ways where apparently there was no way, you've seen how you got helped in a pandemic, give you peace in a storm, safety in the fire. Some power did it back then, He's going to do it again. He didn't bring you this far to leave you where you are. Or why are you holding on to that guilt, beating yourself up over past mistakes? Repent to Allah SWT and forgive yourself? Don't keep reminding Allah SWT about your mistakes, quit reminding Him? World is moving on, you may move on.

Or why are you jealous over that coworker that got the promotion, that friend that you think is more talented, more beautiful, more successful, and now you're finding fault, critical, feeling bad about who you are? Allah SWT is blessing them doesn't mean He's not going to bless you. Allah SWT didn't run out of authority. He didn't forget about you; He has things for you in your future better than you can imagine. But don't let that jealousy root keep you poisoned. Pull it up. Keep your heart pure. Celebrate their success. When your soul is healthy, Allah SWT can trust you with more.

Or why are you still upset over something that happened 20 years ago? Why are you still holding a grudge over who hurt you, who walked away, what you didn't get? That didn't stop Allah SWT's plan. What they did is not going to keep you from your purpose. Allah SWT knows it is going to happen, and he already had a plan to bring you out better, to give you beauty for the ashes, joy for the mourning. Pull up that root of disappointment, resentment, self-pity, that's poisoning your future, that's limiting your potential, draining your energy, weakening your immune system.

Don't just deal with the symptom, get to the root. Learn to live from a place of faith, "O my Creator! I trust you. I know you're in control. You're caring my matters. You can order my steps. You have a good plan for my life. You're my provider, my protector, my way maker, my deliverer, my supporter. My life is in your hands". That's how you keep your soul healthy. On a regular basis you have to pull up the roots, get rid of the toxins, guard your heart.

4) There was this man that owned all these horses. And he was out riding one day, and this large tree branch had fallen across the trail. As his horse went to jump over it, it didn't quite clear, and the horse scraped its back leg very badly. Man took him the barn, cleaned up the wound, put some antiseptic on it, wrapped it up. Couple of weeks went by, and he noticed the horse was still bothered by it. He had the veterinarian come out, take a look at it. He put the horse on antibiotics. He begin to improve, but a few months later the infection came back, the horse could barely walk. They started another round of antibiotics, and like the first time, the leg got better, the wound begin to heal, but three months later the wound was reinfected. This happened again and again.

The owner decided to take the horse to the clinic, find out what was going on. They put the horse under anesthesia, opened up the wound. They found this huge piece of wood, about the size of a golf ball, buried way up in the horse's leg. Every time he went off the medicine, the infection would keep coming back. They were treating the symptoms, but until they went deeper, until they got to the root of the problem, it wasn't going to go away. We treat symptoms because we can see the symptoms, it's obvious. "Have red between my eyes, I need some medicine". We have to go deeper, we have to deal with the root. I can't get rid of this headache, because I'm so worried, I'm so stressed, I'm making myself sick. I can't get along in this relationship, because I'm insecure, I don't feel valuable. Or I'm not reaching my potential, because I'm mad at myself, I'm living in regrets, thinking about where I should be.

Get that infection out, as long as the root is there, the fruit is going to be bitter. The good is: you control what's in your soul. You can't control what happened to you, what someone did, but you can control how you respond, what you choose to dwell on. Is there some infection, some toxins that are keeping you from getting well? Some bitterness, worry, guilt, that's keeping you stuck where you can't flourish? Sometimes we can't get along in a relationship, because we have a root of pride. We think we're right all the time, we won't listen to others opinion, we never apologize, we're hard to get along with, contentious. That's one of those toxins that we can't always see. You have to look deeper, it's under the surface. When your soul is healthy, you're loving and kind, you see the best in others, you're the peacemaker, you let them be right.

Here is a prayer, "O my Creator! keep me from lying to myself". That's one of the most powerful prayers we could ever pray. "O my Creator! give me the real success". "O my Creator! help me to be honest with myself, help me to look in the mirror and see where my soul is not healthy, where I need to change, where I need to forgive, be more kind and understanding, where I need to quit letting people take my joy, where I need to get over what happened three years ago. Or where I need to quit beating myself up, to see myself as valuable, attractive, a professional, a genius". My prayer is, "O my Creator! don't let us go through life lying to ourselves". It's one thing to be dishonest with others, that's certainly not good, but don't lie to yourself, don't sweep things under the rug, make excuses for why you're angry, bitter, jealous hard to get along with. There's no fault in being there, but there is a fault in staying there. It may be your explanation, but don't let it be your excuse.

"Well, my dear, I have this ongoing injury, because I scraped my leg". Get the wood out and move forward with your life. "Well, I'm bitter because my loved one died". Now, pull up that route, and go out, and do great things, make them proud by leaving your mark. "I'm stressed because of my finances, my children, there's pressure at work". You can't control all that. Don't let circumstances be an excuse to live worried, on edge, short with your children. Get back in balance. Get your soul healthy. If you look inside and deal with things that are stealing your peace, taking your joy, causing you to compromise, as your soul gets healthier, physical healing will come, your gifts will come out in greater ways, your relationships will be better, new doors will open. The scripture says, "You will have success and good health as your soul prospers". Notice there's a requirement. Allah SWT says, "If you want success, good health, good relationships, then do your part and keep your soul healthy, your attitude, your thoughts, your emotional wellbeing".

The beauty of Allah SWT is He is merciful, He is forgiving. Allah SWT restored Ayub's health back, his joy back, He went on to fulfill his purpose. Deal with what you know is holding you back, making you limited. As your soul gets healthier, your body is going to get healthier. You're going to have more energy, more capability. Your soul may feel broken today, wounded, hurt from mistakes you've made or from what someone else did. But your soul can be restored. When you get honest with yourself, you release what you need to release - guilt, worry, anger, jealousy - then health will come, joy will come, satisfaction will come.

I believe Allah SWT is restoring our souls. Emotional wellbeing is taking place, relieving from the hurts, the pains of the past, what wasn't fair, the loss, the heartache. Relief from self-inflicted wounds, mistakes we've made, regrets we're living in. Relief from tormenting souls, from mental illness, from anxiety, from depression. Allah SWT is doing a new thing. Forces that have held you back are being broken off of your emotions, your attitudes, your thoughts. You are not going to live wounded; He's restoring your soul. Your latter days are going to be better than your former days. You're about to step into a new level of joy, peace, fulfillment, success. Don't believe those lies that it's too late, you've made too many mistakes, you've been through too much. You know, the best part of your life is still in front of you.

6) We knew a man growing up that loved to draw arts. He was very talented, but he suffered from rheumatoid arthritis (hand numb disease). Over the years it kept getting worse and worse, and got to the point where his fingers were all bent over, like he was making a fist. He couldn't open them anymore. All of his joints were swollen, of course he couldn't draw the arts. He was so discouraged. He used to draw arts for hours, and now that dream was gone. One day he heard a lecture about forgiveness, and how important it is that we don't hold on to these hurts, and how that can poison our life. This man felt convicted. He had held something against his parents for years. He felt like they had done him wrong. And instead of letting it go, and showing mercy, he let that bitterness take root. He wouldn't speak to them, excluded them out of his life. He thought that was the best way to handle it. He didn't realize that was poisoning his soul.

When your soul is unhealthy it can affect you physically. That day he made a decision that he was going to forgive his parents, make things right. Went to their house, his mother was weeping, his father hugged him so happy. It was an answer to their prayer. This man told how he felt this heaviness, this weight lift off of him. He'd gotten used to it, he forgot what it was like to be free, and not have that bitterness in the back of his mind, always poisoning his joy.

It was great that his parents wanted reconciliation, they were happy to have their son back, but there may be times where the people that did you wrong don't want to reconcile, they don't want to have you back in their life, that's OK. You're not forgiving for their sake; you're forgiving for your sake. Forgive so you can keep your own soul healthy. Let it go, so that negative root doesn't spring up and contaminate the rest of your life. They hurt you once, don't let them continue to hurt you by holding onto it. Let Allah SWT be your supporter. He sees what wasn't fair, He knows who did you wrong, and He knows how to make it up to you. He knows how to bring you out better than you were before.

Over the next few months, much to this man's surprise, his fingers little by little started opening up. The swelling started going down. He got better and better. A year later he could sit down and work on the computer, like he'd never missed anything. It's amazing what happens when our soul gets healthy, when we get free from the bitterness, the guilt, the stress, the worry. That's when great things are released. That's when you'll see great success, the support from Allah SWT in new ways. And I realize not all sickness is from a lack of emotional wellbeing, but anytime you face sickness you're going to have to be strong in your emotions, and what you allow to play in your mind.

One of my close friends, when he got sick, he used to write letters to people that he thought he may have offended, asking them to forgive him. He was making sure that there were no toxins in his spirit, that nothing he was doing was poisoning his emotional wellbeing. He knew the emotions affect the physical. He even used to watch such programs that would keep him busy and happy. Happiness is like medicine for heart, being joyful brings health, but a broken soul dries up the bones". If you go around discouraged and defeated, they may say "O man, this medical report is so bad, I don't think I'm ever going to get well", you're helping that sickness, you're giving it life. But when you're cheerful, when you know Allah SWT is in control, when you're thanking Him when you could be complaining, you're laughing when you could be crying, that's sending healthy signals to your body. And I believe many of these diseases would go away: headaches, high blood pressure, digestive problems, if we'd start taking our medicine, laughing, being joyful, good nature.

We focus a lot on the outside, but today I'm asking you to look inside. Is your soul healthy? How are you spending the day: positive, hopeful, grateful? Or are you weighed down with stress, burdens, worry? How can you be creative, when you're using so much energy for the negative? How can your immune system work properly, when you have bitterness, anger, regrets? How can you be the mother, the father, the leader you're called to be, when you have these toxins poisoning your soul? It's time to get honest with yourself. Don't go another year letting something you have control over hold you back. Get your soul healthy, pull up those bitter roots, start turning things over to Allah SWT, release the worry, the hurt, what didn't work out. Keep your heart pure. If you'll do this, I believe and say: because your soul is healthy, you're going to have great success, and great health. New doors are open. Opportunity is going to find you. Success is coming, strength, energy, vitality, the fullness of your destiny, right now?