As promised, Lesson One: God cares for your soul.

At first glance, this may sound like a no brainer. However, I am afraid many of us as Christians do not understand this truth in the way we claim to.

Somewhere along the way, many of us have come into agreement with the belief that God would rather use us than care for our souls. We have unknowingly partnered with low self-esteem, low self-worth, and other distorted beliefs that diminish both God’s character and our own value.

What does that mean?

It means that deep down, we have believed something false about ourselves and about God. We have believed that God only wants our output and does not care about the well-being of our mind, will, emotions, or body.

This is not about becoming self-centered or turning inward in unhealthy ways. Healing and service can coexist, but the misuse of service to avoid healing is what must be addressed.

Many of us want to be used by God, and that desire is honorable. But we forget that the process of healing is paramount to being used by Him. Healing takes time. It requires sitting down with God regularly. It requires engaging in healthy and in therapeutic relationships (e.g., a therapist) and refraining from relationships that are unhealthy. It requires caring for the soul, tending to the mind, and stewarding the body well.

If this process is skipped, the people you are called to lead will receive poison alongside the prophetic words you give. Your attitudes, your mindsets, and even the phrases you habitually speak will be off. Please hear me. No matter how clear you believe you see in the spirit, unhealed trauma can shape offense, control, emotional reactivity, and rigidity, thereby distorting discernment. This is how cycles continue. False perception = Deception.

As Pastor, Darryl Dozier said, “I cannot go into another year expecting change when there is no change in me.”
Let’s be intentional about our healing.

I once heard a deeply broken person who had habitually hurt others say that they were not supposed to focus on their soul wounds because focusing on themselves was a distraction. They believed their only responsibility was to ” pastor the people God had called them to”.

While this may sound honorable on the surface, there was deception beneath it. What appeared to be sacrifice was actually avoidance. This person was using service to bypass healing, and without confronting those wounds, the harm would simply continue to spill over onto others. Unaddressed pain does not disappear when ignored. It reproduces.

This is one reason why the fivefold ministry is suffering. We have treated healing like a joke because many people are afraid to explore the depths of their brokenness and sit with God long enough to heal them. The shame they carry often will not allow them to do so.

You may be called to shepherd others, but it is vital to allow God to shepherd you first, so you do not wound the flock you are meant to protect.

Healing is not a detour from your calling. It is an essential part of your process.

We see this clearly in Joshua chapter 5. Before the children of Israel crossed over into the Promised Land, Joshua circumcised all the men at Gilgal. This process was symbolic of consecration and dedication unto the Lord that took place before movement. But look at what happened next.

“And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole.”
Joshua 5:8 (KJV)

They stayed put until they were healed.

Unhealed wounds have a way of shaping how we show up for others, whether we realize it or not. Do not hurry into relationships or leadership roles without intentionally addressing what God is healing in you and establishing stability at home. This is an act of stewardship toward yourself and an act of love toward those you are meant to serve. They do not deserve your poison.

This is not a call to perfection or isolation. Healing is an ongoing, intentional process, not a prerequisite for human connection. The issue is not whether you are fully healed, but whether you are aware, accountable, and actively tending to what God is addressing. Relationships can be part of the healing process when entered with self-awareness, boundaries, and accountability.

This is biblical.

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”
Ephesians 4:4–6 (KJV)

This is why healing matters. Unity cannot be sustained where wounds are ignored. Peace cannot be guarded where pride refuses correction. Calling cannot be walked out rightly when the soul is neglected.

God is not in a rush the way we are. He is not impressed by movement without obedience. When the Lord pauses us, it is not punishment. It is protection.

Some delays are mercy. Some seasons of stillness are God keeping you from bleeding on people you are called to love. Some no’s are Him preserving your integrity until your inner world matches the weight of the assignment.

May we not be stubborn like the horse or the mule.
May we not spiritualize (make seemingly “spiritual” excuses for) cycles God has called us to break.
May we submit to instruction so we can be trusted with direction.

God cares for our souls, not just my service.

Healing is an essential part of the journey, not a distraction from it.