Detoxification

I have been hearing a lot lately about "detoxing". Every radio station, TV commercials, books, all contain the “latest and greatest” on this phenomenon. I’m actually considering it myself.

Dictionary.com defines “detox” (short for detoxification) as the act of detoxifying; the metabolic process by which toxins are changed into less toxic or more readily excretable substances.

I don’t know about you, but I like the idea of making “toxins” less “toxic” or more able to be excreted from (taken out) my body – assuming I have “toxins” to begin with.

Let’s explore the word “toxin” for a moment – any poison produced by an organism…”  The way the information on detoxing puts it, we ALL have poisons raging throughout our bodies  that are causing a number of medical ailments – high blood pressure, diabetes, OBESITY, CANCER, the list goes on, and on, and on.

But, what if we think about detoxing our SOULS – assuming we have “toxins” to begin with (yes we do). Poisons rage throughout our souls – negativity, envy, hostility, outbursts of anger, selfishness, insecurities – the list goes on, and on, and on, and, on, and on. “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and the life to come.”  1 Timothy 4:8.

If we are going to start “detoxing our souls”, we need to start with scripture – the word of God. “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech. Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.” Proverbs 4:23-27

In the scriptures, you will find all of the words of encouragement and the answers that you need to “detox” your soul. Don’t just read the word, but study the word and place it in your heart. “The Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8

To continue to “detox” our souls, we should make some changes in our prayer lives.  “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Phillippians 4:6 We should get in the in the habit of “breath prayers”. It does not take a lengthy prayer to say thanks or to make a request. We can breathe a prayer in just a moment:

When getting up – “thank you Lord for last night’s slumber”.

When getting in the car – “praise God for gas!”

When standing in a line – “Lord, please place the will and know how upon these employees to allow this line to move more swiftly.”

When responding to a request – “Please, Lord, help me to make a decision that is pleasing in your sight.”

When we get in the habit of regular communication with our Father which is in heaven, we allow the toxins to be excreted from our souls to make room for the blessings our Father has for us.

There has been proven benefits of detox programs that have been communicated throughout the media by sponsors of various programs – lose  weight, more energy, improved hair, skin and nails, for example. There are many more benefits to “soul detoxification”.  Increase in faith and knowledge of the word – and more importantly, a relationship with God, our maker, who will help us through any type of “detox” we need.

A second definition for the word “detox” is “a period of medical treatment, usually including counseling, during which a person is helped to overcome physical and psychological dependence on alcohol or drugs”. Remove the words “medical” and “usually”; and replace the words “alcohol or drugs” with whatever dependency you have. Your soul’s detox definition might read as follows:

“A period of treatment, including counseling, during which I am helped to overcome physical and psychological dependence on money or sex”.

Allow Jesus Christ to be your counselor, study God’s word, communicate with him through prayer, and allow the Holy Spirit to detox your soul.