Reviving
the Soul
by
Edward Hersh, M.A.
Everyone experiences difficult
circumstances in life. Some problems are bigger than others, but all problems
cause some degree of emotional pain.
The question we want to look at is, "What do we do with this pain?" Most of us follow one of two remedies to
deal with pain. We try our best to
pretend things are better than they really are or we live to relieve it at all
cost. But whether we deny or
self-gratify, at some point, we become even more painfully aware of our
desperate state of human weakness and inability to effect lasting change
without the supernatural presence of God in our lives.
Living the Christian life is not a
turn-key solution to all our problems, but a journey; a process; a relationship of building trust with a God who is
totally unlike anything else we can experience on earth. Some say obedience to God through Bible
study, prayer, and practicing spiritual disciplines is the ticket to freedom
from pain. Others say healing results by reexamining every wound and hurt in
our past, focusing on the hurt and replacing the painful feelings with
increased self-esteem and self-acceptance.
However, too much self-effort only leads to frustration, and too much
self-examination only leads to introspection.
Both renewing the mind and transforming the heart are necessary for
experiencing wholeness and reviving the soul.
Spiritual maturity involves a balancing
of the mind and heart in life issues. A
person's spirit is threaded through both cognitive and emotional experiences
and therefore connection must be made to both.
The human soul is the meeting place of mind and heart. Engaging the mind challenges inaccurate
beliefs and helps enforce new beliefs necessary for change. Examining feelings
reveals blocked emotions, which contain valuable messages to help interpret
past and present events. Both
contribute to the whole soul in the process of healing.
The Bible contains
many examples of how this process works.
One man who struggled with deep depression and anxiety was King
David. Out of the depths of David's
acquaintance with suffering, came the Psalms, containing much wisdom, comfort
and relevance for today. Many of the
Psalms David wrote reflected the loss and grief experienced by God's people,
and many, such as Psalm 10, are also examples of how David responded to
God. In Psalm 10, the first twelve
verses describe affliction of the worst kind imaginable. David is oppressed and totally defeated by
things completely out of his control.
His loss could not be corrected in any way known to man, and he felt
helpless. Then in verses 12 - 15, David turned his attention to God, and cried
out to Him as helper, deliverer, vindicator, and One who is willing to act on
behalf of the helpless. Finally, verses
16 - 18 displayed David's heart of gratitude and praise for the mighty works of
God. The expression of the human
condition is clear. David's heart
progresses from anxiety and depression to allowing his heart to be wooed by God
and then to the joy of resting securely in God's place of victory.
An interesting item to note, however, is that David wrote almost 4 times
as much text to describe the sorrow in his heart, than he took to describe
God's intervention. Often those who
suffer drag out their affliction by worrying about aspects that are out of
their control, when, as in the example of Psalm 10, the breath of God may be
one heart cry away to invite God's healing presence into their lives. The cares of this life such as health
concerns, financial instability and relationship issues, after doing all we
know humanly possible to resolve them, should be surrendered to God's
sovereignty for resolution.
Identity and destiny (value and purpose) are the deepest inner drives a
human being seeks to resolve. Ultimate
resolution can only be achieved through relationship with our Creator and
loving God. When relationship with God
is fractured or broken, man seeks to fill the void by worshipping created
things rather than the Creator. The Westminster Confession of Faith Shorter
Catechism says the chief aim of man is "to glorify God and enjoy Him
forever." When the first sin was
introduced into the world by Adam and Eve, it left its curse on every person
born into the human race. Each of us is
born with a distorted view of God and our fellow man. We are by nature selfish creatures. Although our loving God accepts us as we are, this selfishness
must be dealt with as we grow in our understanding of God's sovereignty and His
transformation work in our lives.
Sometimes called sins of choice,
empty wells, false refuges, or counterfeit comforts, we develop addictive
tendencies can range from strong cravings to controlling behaviors. Addictions occur when we take common life
experiences to extreme. These include
food (eating disorders), job (work-o-holism), drugs and alcohol (excessive
use), sex, money, appearance, relationships (codependency) and ministry
(service to others). Whenever we are
seeking comfort or fulfillment in a relationship or activity outside the
boundaries set by our loving Creator, we are demonstrating our lack of trust in
God to provide value and purpose in our lives.
Not only is it necessary to deal with the immediate surface issues of
addiction, but we must also identify and abandon false refuges in the heart
where nourishment is sought in an ungodly manner.
We live in a culture marked with
superficiality that minimizes the value of adversity and pain. We are left vulnerable when tragedy strikes
in the form of acts of terrorism, death of a loved one, divorce or separation
in a relationship, or a loss of job, financial investment or other significant
treasure. Whether we feel abandoned,
betrayed, confused, fearful, invalidated, hopeless, overwhelmed, powerless, or
shamed we have a Savior in Jesus Christ who experienced the whole spectrum of
emotions and understands perfectly what we experience. When the hurts come, we must learn not to
trivialize the pain, but face the hurt with courage and allow it to lead us to
root issues that can be healed in the presence of a loving God.
There are depths in our heart that can only be accessed
through brokenness. Brokenness is not being sad about how bad things are (or
could be), but it is an awareness of an awesome God's presence in the midst of
life's deepest valley(s). Isaiah 66:2
says that God esteems "the humble and contrite in spirit." In 2 Corinthians 12:10 Paul says, "for
when I am weak, then I am strong."
God's strength is perfected in human weakness and brokenness before
him. Even when we do everything right
according to 'the Book' things may not always go our way or even the 'right'
way. God is still sovereign; nothing
escapes his notice; and justice is in his hands. A broken heart is a heart that knows this truth
experientially.
Our goal should not be to erase problems. We cannot change events of the past, but our
perspective on the events can change.
By cooperating with God and daring to allow him to break our proud and
self-protective hearts, we have the greatest hope for experiencing relief in
our present pain and revival for our troubled souls.
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If you are someone who could use the
help of a partner to work through something painful in your life, Ed offers
counseling and healing prayer ministry at a modest cost. This could be combined with a stay at the
Bed and Breakfast Ed and his family operate in Millersville, PA