Learning to Love the Lord With All Your Soul

Do you love how you have chosen to live your life? In all honesty, I can’t always say I am proud of the way I’ve lived my life. 

I’ve not always honored God in entirety: complaining, grumbling about things, and not always being thankful are examples. But you and I can both change and value the life God has given us. 

To love the Lord with all your soul is to love your life—your existence. You can appreciate the life the Lord has given you. Accepting it all when it comes at you; choosing to love God and his relationship with you. 

You can learn how to love God in this manner.

What Does Soul Mean?

The Hebrew word used for soul in Genesis is nephesh. It means life or being. Your life is precious and God created you purposefully. 

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7, KJV)

You are not an accident, or here by chance. Love God and appreciate that he created you; you exist because of him… and for him. 

Being here for him means you have a purpose and are loved deeply by him. He always wants to take care of you and be in a continuous, ongoing relationship with you that sustains you in every way. He wants you to find everything in him. 

Love the Lord With All Your Soul 

If you want to love the Lord with all your soul you must first recognize your existence is good. You have a purpose and you need to be thankful for it, no matter what your life looks like. 

In both the trials and good times God is good and wants you to praise him. He is journeying with you in it all and growing your character through the hard times, to be more like him.

Difficult circumstances can bring you closer to him when you don’t focus on them but live in appreciation for the life he breathed into you. You can see yourself as valued and made for extraordinary things when you know your life matters. 

Accept that, and know God has great plans for you; walking in them can depend on the appreciation you have for what comes at you, good and bad.

How To Love God With All Your Soul

You have to make a choice to love God with all your soul. It will not always be easy because the enemy doesn’t want you to live the abundant life God has for you. He wants you to grumble and not appreciate things—keeping you oppressed and focusing on the negative. 

You must change your mindset to focus on Jesus first. Below you will find 4 aspects of yourself that you can devote to loving the Lord with all your soul.

1. Your Emotions

You have emotions. They are a part of you. 

Jesus, when he came down to earth, expressed emotions too. He wept with Lazarus and got angry when the temple was being misused. 

It’s ok to express your emotions; but don’t allow them to guide your decisions. 

“‘In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” (Ephesians 4:26-27, NIV) 

You don’t want your feelings to lead you to sin. Jesus should be the one you seek—to help you when you have a decision to make. Go to him. 

Loving God with all your soul means you take your emotions to him and not let them guide you or control you. 

This allows you to follow his will. Giving him your feelings can stop your judgment from being clouded and keep you from hurting others. You can think clearly and with reason when you surrender your emotions to God. 

2. Your Gifts

God gave you individual, unique gifts and talents. Use them for his glory. Loving yourself by surrendering yourself to him and having an appreciation for how he created you is an important part of loving God with all your soul. 

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:10-11, NIV) 

Don’t doubt that he made you in a great way. Acknowledge your existence and yourself as someone who is important and relevant to God and his kingdom. He doesn’t have to use you… but he chooses to, which is so amazing. 

Each and every day, thank God for the gifts he has given you, for how he made you uniquely. Ask him to show you how you can use your gifts to glorify him and further his kingdom.

3. Your Desires

God wants you to desire him over everything. He wants you to crave him and seek him with everything inside you. This is a part of loving him with all your soul. 

We see this in Psalm 42:2: “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” (NIV)

A hunger and desire for him is necessary and should be above all things. This will help you not want what the world offers and to seek his will only. You can live in this way by praying for his will; change your prayers to not always be about seeking the things you want. 

Having this perspective, and knowing that nothing in this world fills you like Jesus, will help you to seek after him always. Stay in his word; evaluate your prayer life. David, in the book of Psalms, demonstrates often how to pray from the heart. 

4. Your Body

Your body is a vessel for your soul. It’s a temple, in which the Holy Spirit resides. 

If you aren’t properly taking care of your body, then your soul will not thrive, hindering you from the things that God is calling you to. You can’t live an active, fulfilling life.

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, NIV)

God wants you to devote your whole self to him, including your body—that it would physically be a living offering to him and be a vessel for him and his purposes. 

He desires that you look toward him when your body is in need—that you find fulfillment in him and not sin. You can do this by offering up your needs to him in prayer and trusting that he will always take care of your spiritual and earthly requirements. Choose to trust him completely. 

Love the Lord with all your soul. You can do this by surrendering your emotions to him and not letting them guide your decisions. By appreciating your gifts and how he made you, and using them for his glory. By making your desires righteous before him and trusting him to meet all your needs.