Luke 12:31
(2009 – 7)
Bob Rakestraw
One of the biggest concerns in our lives is money. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but the concern becomes corrosive when money becomes the principal thing. Jesus taught more about money than any other topic—more than he taught about heaven, hell, the new birth, hypocrisy, worship, loving one’s neighbor, or the great commission. But he never taught that money is evil. He said, “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed” (Luke 12:15), and “You cannot serve both God and Money” (Matthew 6:24). And the apostle Paul, a faithful disciple of Jesus since they met on the Damascus Road, warned that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (I Timothy 6:10). It is covetousness, or greed, not money itself, that corrupts peoples’ souls and often ruins their lives. Trust in God and contentment with the necessities of life is the fundamental teaching of Jesus and his disciples toward material wealth (Luke 12:13-21; I Timothy 6:5-10).
The Necessity of Money…and Work
To say that money is one of our greatest concerns is not to say something necessarily negative about human beings. In fact, money—or some system of bartering or otherwise obtaining provisions for life—is essential for survival. All of us should be concerned about money to some extent, since each of us needs to pay our way in this world. I was struck a while ago when I re-discovered several warnings in the apostle Paul’s letters concerning those who considered themselves believers yet did not earn their own living. This seems to have been a considerable problem among some early Christians (I Thessalonians 4:11-12; 5:12-14; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15; see also Acts 18:3; I Corinthians 4:12; 2 Corinthians 12:13-15). Paul gave the early Christians this rule: “Anyone unwilling to work should not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).
Most people in Jesus’ day, and most people today, instinctively know that they need to work on a regular basis to support themselves. A small percentage are quite wealthy and need not work in the traditional sense, but they still need to manage their assets wisely and regularly. Another small percentage are lazy and decide to opt out of the work world, and become a drag on their families, friends, and society. Generally, however, we know that we need to work and that we need money to live decent lives.
The Foolishness of Worry
Because many of us, perhaps most, have limited resources, we very much need the words of Jesus about worry recorded in both Matthew 6 and Luke 12. Just like the disciples, we tend to be anxious about our financial needs, even though we usually do not, as in their case, experience the literal, day-by-day uncertainty about tomorrow’s food—or even today’s (“Give us this day our daily bread,” Matt. 6:11).
In Luke 12:22-30 Jesus warns us six times about worrying and anxious striving. “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear” (v. 22). “And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them” (vss. 29-30).
The Promise of Almighty God
After teaching how God feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field, Jesus presents the words that have encouraged millions of believers for two thousand years: “Instead, strive for his [your Father’s] kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well” (v. 31).
These are incredibly comforting words, but they are also stern words. They contain a twofold exhortation—not to worry, and to strive for God’s kingdom and righteousness. The result is not something we have to do anything about—just receive the blessings: “all these things will be given to you as well.” However, there are conditions to this remarkable promise as there are in the classic words of Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (NIV). Just as Romans 8:28 is often stated without careful thought, so are Luke 12:31 and Matthew 6:33. The qualifying elements in these promises are not meant to frighten us away or discourage us, but to prompt us to love God and strive for his kingdom. In fact, this is why Luke 12:31 is followed immediately by these amazing words: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (v. 32).
As we strive for God’s kingdom, God is pleased to give us his kingdom, and that kingdom will include our daily food, drink, clothing and necessities of life. God is not promising next week’s food or the money for next week’s electric bill today, but he is obligating himself to meet your daily needs. He is not promising all of our wants, however, but he is promising our needs—and his kingdom, forever!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Jesus and Money: Hope from Day to Day
Luke 12:31
(2009 – 6)
Bob Rakestraw
Who of us has not been affected in some way by the current worldwide economic turmoil? In whichever country you live you have likely been impacted, if not directly, then indirectly. Some of you may have lost jobs, or have had your work hours reduced, or you may have had pay cuts or income lessened in some other way. Perhaps you have been touched indirectly, because you know those who have been affected financially and are now living a more sparse existence, perhaps having lost homes, health care, or adequate nutrition. We all need to be praying for others as well as for ourselves, because we are all in this together.
John Donne wrote the classic, always-applicable words that fit the current situation especially well:
“No [one] is an island, entire unto itself. Every person is a piece of the continent, a part of the mainland. If a clod is washed away by the sea, Europe [or Asia, Africa, the Islands, Latin America, North America] is diminished, just as if the sea had washed away a mountain or one of your friend’s grand houses. Any person’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in humankind. Therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for you” (John Donne, Religious Poetry and Prose, ed. Henry L. Carrigan, Jr. [Brewster, MA: Paraclete, 1999], p. 91).
Donne’s words apply not only to death, but to the numerous ways people around the world face adversity and hardship. He writes, “By [the] consideration of another’s danger I begin to contemplate my own, and I secure myself by making my recourse to God, who is our only security” (p. 91)
Growing Up Limited
I have been thinking of economic matters since I was young, because our family had relatively little of this world’s goods. Money was always scarce, but I do not regret having to save, work hard as a child and teenager, and spend carefully. My brother and I each saved $12.50 to buy the only bicycle we ever owned, a simple used two-wheeler that we took turns sanding, painting, riding, and repairing. I bought my first car at the age of 17 for $175.00 – a mint-green 1953 Ford. (It was definitely cool!) Judy and I started married life with a strict budget of $7.00 a week for food and grocery-store items.
Financial stringency is not, in itself, a hardship. Jesus grew up in a land of very meager incomes, and the vast majority of the early Christians were from among the lower economic classes. While some of these were poor (and while poverty always involves hardship and stress), living economically due to tight fiscal circumstances is actually an opportunity for blessing rather than a burden. While God loves equally the wealthy and those of moderate or meager means, depth of character and respect for hard work are more likely to result from austerity the prosperity.
Greed and Grace
Most of the people Jesus ministered to were financially pressed, and they listened eagerly whenever he spoke about money. Some of the wealthy also heard Jesus speak of material wealth, and were struck forcefully by the simplicity and seriousness of his words. In the Gospel of Luke, just before the passage we will be considering, Jesus said, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15, NRSV). He then told a parable about a rich man who said to himself, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” God called him a fool (Luke 12:16-21).
Jesus then spoke more directly to his disciples, who had an opposite set of circumstances from the rich man. Because of their meager financial means, he instructed them about worry, fear, and anxious striving about their daily necessities. Luke 12:22-34 is one of the most tender, yet firm, discourses of Jesus in the Gospels. While he rebukes them gently for their “little faith,” he reminds them that their Father knows that they need daily food, drink and clothing. He adds one of the most loving sentences in all of the Bible, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).
Striving for the Best
It is from this context that I lift out the verse that I wish to focus on for The Benediction Project. After exhorting his disciples not to worry and not to strive anxiously for their daily necessities, he says, “Instead, strive for his [God’s] kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well” (Luke 12:31). Some of you may be more familiar with the wording in Matthew’s gospel: “But strive [seek] first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). I memorized and have quoted the verse from Matthew all of my Christian life, but for this discussion I wish to work primarily from the Lukan context because of the unique words of Jesus following Luke 12:31.
I started this piece by referring to the likelihood that all of us are affected in some way by current economic patterns. Before the next posting I encourage you strongly to read and think about Luke 12:13-34, especially the words of Jesus given directly to his disciples (vss. 22-34). In the Gospels Jesus speaks much about money. Scholars say that it is the single most discussed topic in all of Jesus’ teachings. Whether you are wealthy or poor, or somewhere in-between, you probably have money on your mind frequently. Jesus’ encouragement to “strive for his kingdom” is the most sure way to keep your priorities in order, and to keep your mind and heart stable in these turbulent times. Let me bless you, in closing, with a refreshing translation of our key text.
“[Your Father] will give you all you need from day to day if you make the Kingdom of God your primary concern” (Luke 12:31, New Living Translation).
(2009 – 6)
Bob Rakestraw
Who of us has not been affected in some way by the current worldwide economic turmoil? In whichever country you live you have likely been impacted, if not directly, then indirectly. Some of you may have lost jobs, or have had your work hours reduced, or you may have had pay cuts or income lessened in some other way. Perhaps you have been touched indirectly, because you know those who have been affected financially and are now living a more sparse existence, perhaps having lost homes, health care, or adequate nutrition. We all need to be praying for others as well as for ourselves, because we are all in this together.
John Donne wrote the classic, always-applicable words that fit the current situation especially well:
“No [one] is an island, entire unto itself. Every person is a piece of the continent, a part of the mainland. If a clod is washed away by the sea, Europe [or Asia, Africa, the Islands, Latin America, North America] is diminished, just as if the sea had washed away a mountain or one of your friend’s grand houses. Any person’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in humankind. Therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for you” (John Donne, Religious Poetry and Prose, ed. Henry L. Carrigan, Jr. [Brewster, MA: Paraclete, 1999], p. 91).
Donne’s words apply not only to death, but to the numerous ways people around the world face adversity and hardship. He writes, “By [the] consideration of another’s danger I begin to contemplate my own, and I secure myself by making my recourse to God, who is our only security” (p. 91)
Growing Up Limited
I have been thinking of economic matters since I was young, because our family had relatively little of this world’s goods. Money was always scarce, but I do not regret having to save, work hard as a child and teenager, and spend carefully. My brother and I each saved $12.50 to buy the only bicycle we ever owned, a simple used two-wheeler that we took turns sanding, painting, riding, and repairing. I bought my first car at the age of 17 for $175.00 – a mint-green 1953 Ford. (It was definitely cool!) Judy and I started married life with a strict budget of $7.00 a week for food and grocery-store items.
Financial stringency is not, in itself, a hardship. Jesus grew up in a land of very meager incomes, and the vast majority of the early Christians were from among the lower economic classes. While some of these were poor (and while poverty always involves hardship and stress), living economically due to tight fiscal circumstances is actually an opportunity for blessing rather than a burden. While God loves equally the wealthy and those of moderate or meager means, depth of character and respect for hard work are more likely to result from austerity the prosperity.
Greed and Grace
Most of the people Jesus ministered to were financially pressed, and they listened eagerly whenever he spoke about money. Some of the wealthy also heard Jesus speak of material wealth, and were struck forcefully by the simplicity and seriousness of his words. In the Gospel of Luke, just before the passage we will be considering, Jesus said, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15, NRSV). He then told a parable about a rich man who said to himself, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” God called him a fool (Luke 12:16-21).
Jesus then spoke more directly to his disciples, who had an opposite set of circumstances from the rich man. Because of their meager financial means, he instructed them about worry, fear, and anxious striving about their daily necessities. Luke 12:22-34 is one of the most tender, yet firm, discourses of Jesus in the Gospels. While he rebukes them gently for their “little faith,” he reminds them that their Father knows that they need daily food, drink and clothing. He adds one of the most loving sentences in all of the Bible, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).
Striving for the Best
It is from this context that I lift out the verse that I wish to focus on for The Benediction Project. After exhorting his disciples not to worry and not to strive anxiously for their daily necessities, he says, “Instead, strive for his [God’s] kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well” (Luke 12:31). Some of you may be more familiar with the wording in Matthew’s gospel: “But strive [seek] first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). I memorized and have quoted the verse from Matthew all of my Christian life, but for this discussion I wish to work primarily from the Lukan context because of the unique words of Jesus following Luke 12:31.
I started this piece by referring to the likelihood that all of us are affected in some way by current economic patterns. Before the next posting I encourage you strongly to read and think about Luke 12:13-34, especially the words of Jesus given directly to his disciples (vss. 22-34). In the Gospels Jesus speaks much about money. Scholars say that it is the single most discussed topic in all of Jesus’ teachings. Whether you are wealthy or poor, or somewhere in-between, you probably have money on your mind frequently. Jesus’ encouragement to “strive for his kingdom” is the most sure way to keep your priorities in order, and to keep your mind and heart stable in these turbulent times. Let me bless you, in closing, with a refreshing translation of our key text.
“[Your Father] will give you all you need from day to day if you make the Kingdom of God your primary concern” (Luke 12:31, New Living Translation).
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Tests and Temptations: Personal Reflections
(2009-5)
I Corinthians 10:13
Bob Rakestraw
With this posting I will conclude our study in 1 Corinthians 10:13. I continue to stand amazed at the simplicity and profundity of the text and its promise of great hope for all of us who are tested and tempted by sufferings and trials of many kinds. Here is the verse from The Message.
“No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.”
Remember the context of this verse, as we pointed out earlier. The Corinthians had just been warned against desiring evil, idolatry, self-indulgence, sexual immorality, putting Christ to the test, and complaining (see verse 6-10). They are warned in the verse just before our passage: “So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.” And they are urged in the verse just after our text: “Therefore, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols.” These are the verses that frame our famous Bible verse, and seem to suggest that both spiritual pride and idols in our lives are sources of major temptation and testing. I have found this to be the case in my life.
In this posting I want to itemize briefly some aspects of “the way out” that I have discovered in my current situation. My chief test and temptation, at the present time, is to give up, give in, and give out. In other words, discouragement over my terminal health condition, and the limitations and symptoms I face daily. While I just celebrated five years of living with my heart transplant, my health is poor. The anxiety has crept back in, and I must rest in God continually with it. (I wrote about this in the two January entries on this blog.) With the great hope that something I say will be helpful to one or more of my readers, I offer these thoughts. (In this and other postings I usually quote from the New Revised Standard Version.)
The Example of Jesus
1. The “way of escape” pertains not only to individual moments of test or temptation (although these necessarily occur), but to long-lasting tests, such as chronic illness, singleness for one who desires marriage, unfavorable employment circumstances (or no job at all), or a needed change in living circumstances.
2. Jesus asked for a “way of escape” and he received it. In Hebrews 5:7 the scriptures record that “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission” (see also vss. 8-9). Jesus’ true humanity has been a powerful example to me, but the point that strikes me most here is the statement that the cries of Jesus were heard, and the “way of escape” for him came not by rescue from harm but by death and resurrection. This reminds me that the “way of escape” may be something quite different from what we expect, or what we are asking for.
3. It is crucial to remember that God does not promise to take away the test or temptation, but he does promise to provide a “way out” in the midst of it. God’s “way out” for you may not be a divorce, a different job, or a dramatic healing, but God will never allow more than you are able to bear, and he will always provide a way of escape at the moment you need it. He is more deeply concerned for you than you are for yourself, and he is as deeply concerned for your character development as for your immediate crisis ( Romans 5:3-5).
Not a Great Mystery
4. If someone asks you or me what the “secret” is to finding the “way of escape,” we need to mention that this is God’s business primarily, not ours. He is the one who promises to “provide the way out.” We need to recognize it when it comes, with our spiritual and physical senses as alert as possible, but God knows how weak and ignorant we are, and doesn’t keep this aspect of life a mystery to us. The important truth is that God is faithful, and “he will not let you be tested beyond your strength.” God does not intend for there to be some great mystery or secret that is beyond the grasp of humble, earnest Christians.
5. Even though we are not to be frantically searching for a way out, we ought to be doing what we know to do to help us in our time of testing. A recovering alcoholic knows not to walk home past the bar. A recovering sex-addict knows to escape immediately from any websites that are even a little bit questionable.
6. I have found that, in my situations of severe anxiety, a major part of the “way of escape” has been to meditate in the scriptures, resting in their glorious truth, speaking gently with God (“I trust you Lord,” “I love you Lord”), floating not fighting, as I described in my January postings. Meditating on my “top twelve” scripture texts of 2008, especially 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (“I will boast or glory in my sufferings, that the power of Christ may rest on me”) and Philippians 4:19 (“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”) has been enormously helpful.
The Help of Others
7. Seeing two doctors was helpful. I take some medications that are beneficial, but I try not to view them as a permanent “way of escape.” They may be part of the way, but God’s operations through my mind and will are more significant. I have mentioned previously the book recommended by my doctors, Hope and Help for Your Nerves. I cannot overestimate the importance of this book in my life, even though it is not written from a Christian perspective.
8. Call or write at least one person to pray for or with you, if only over the phone, computer or text messaging, at the moments of most severe testing. Never forget the open invitation in James 5 to call for the elders of the church. (The word for “sick” in verse 14 also means “weak” or “without strength”—just how we feel at the moment of temptation. This scripture is not only for the physically ill.)
Scripture, Prayer and the Spirit
9. What was Jesus’ way of escape when tested by Satan in the wilderness? For each temptation he had a scripture text ready. How did Jesus “escape” the test in the Garden of Gethsemane? He offered loud cries and tears to his Father, then he rose and went to his chosen assignment. In between these two momentous events he often went apart from the others and rested and prayed. His was the only perfect life, not because he was God and could not sin, but because he was human and did not sin, relying instead on the same resources available to you and me. This is why he can be our example (Hebrews 2:14-18; 4:14-16; 5:7-9). I have found much victory over the years in testings and temptations by focusing on the remarkable human example of the man Jesus, leaning hard on the Holy Spirit to strengthen him, just as we may.
10. Spend time in the epistle of First Peter, and think about and pray for Christians around the world who are suffering (and who have suffered over the centuries) in numerous ways. This has helped me greatly over my lifetime. Somehow my trials seem more bearable. The book of Hebrews and the precious Psalms may also become very valuable to you.
11. In your time of testing call upon God to work in his way, not necessarily your way. “And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him” (1 John 5:14-15). This is a truly remarkable promise. You may not know if it is God’s will to give you a different job, but you do know that he wants to give you the fruit of the Spirit in whatever job you have (Galatians 5:22-23). It is always good, however, to ask for what you want—a new job, a better car, a spouse, a physical healing, a raise in salary, a sphere of ministry. But keep the attitude, “according to his will.” He knows better than you do what you really need in the light of eternity.
The Compassion of God
12. Remember that our heavenly father is exceedingly kind, merciful, and gracious. He does not use us in ways that are bad for us. As a wise father, he always seeks our good—for now and eternity. An older Bible translation, that of Rotherham, offers comfort in low moments: “The soul of the wounded calleth for help, and God doth not regard it as foolish” (Job 24:12). Amy Carmichael’s comment on this word is priceless. (She was a missionary to India who became an invalid for twenty years.)
“The soul of the wounded may call for help, and God will not regard it as foolish. Quick upon the call will come deliverance. Something will occur to break the monotony—if nothing outward, then something inward. Some little candle will be lit; the dull fog will lift; it must be so….’I am in a manner imprisoned and grievously [chained] until (blessed until) you refresh me with the light of your presence.’ And then? But who can tell it? Who can tell what you are, O Lord? Who can tell what you know? Who can show to another what your large grace can be?” (Rose from Briar, Christian Literature Crusade, 1973, pp. 140-41).
Do Your Part Well
13. Avoid three things like the plague: complaining, worry, and unbelief. Really believe that there is a way out, as our text says. Never feel that your particular test is unbearable. Hans Conzelmann says so well, “The measure of the bearable cannot be theoretically determined. It shows itself on each occasion in the measure God appoints” (in Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians [Eerdmans, 1987], p. 461, n. 54).
14. Keep busy with profitable activities—those tasks that are beneficial to you and others. Stay away from things that waste your time. (One of my biggest complaints with television is not so much how bad the content may be—and it often is—but how it wastes valuable time.) Whatever else you do, get involved with your local church fellowship, not only on Sunday mornings. Volunteer also at local mission agencies in your area. Get close to mature people of God. Ask God to provide these (at least one) in your life, and be willing to approach them for spiritual interaction.
To all who suffer from tests and temptations (and that includes all with a biblically—informed conscience) I offer this benediction from the earthly brother of Jesus.
“Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 24-25)
I Corinthians 10:13
Bob Rakestraw
With this posting I will conclude our study in 1 Corinthians 10:13. I continue to stand amazed at the simplicity and profundity of the text and its promise of great hope for all of us who are tested and tempted by sufferings and trials of many kinds. Here is the verse from The Message.
“No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.”
Remember the context of this verse, as we pointed out earlier. The Corinthians had just been warned against desiring evil, idolatry, self-indulgence, sexual immorality, putting Christ to the test, and complaining (see verse 6-10). They are warned in the verse just before our passage: “So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.” And they are urged in the verse just after our text: “Therefore, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols.” These are the verses that frame our famous Bible verse, and seem to suggest that both spiritual pride and idols in our lives are sources of major temptation and testing. I have found this to be the case in my life.
In this posting I want to itemize briefly some aspects of “the way out” that I have discovered in my current situation. My chief test and temptation, at the present time, is to give up, give in, and give out. In other words, discouragement over my terminal health condition, and the limitations and symptoms I face daily. While I just celebrated five years of living with my heart transplant, my health is poor. The anxiety has crept back in, and I must rest in God continually with it. (I wrote about this in the two January entries on this blog.) With the great hope that something I say will be helpful to one or more of my readers, I offer these thoughts. (In this and other postings I usually quote from the New Revised Standard Version.)
The Example of Jesus
1. The “way of escape” pertains not only to individual moments of test or temptation (although these necessarily occur), but to long-lasting tests, such as chronic illness, singleness for one who desires marriage, unfavorable employment circumstances (or no job at all), or a needed change in living circumstances.
2. Jesus asked for a “way of escape” and he received it. In Hebrews 5:7 the scriptures record that “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission” (see also vss. 8-9). Jesus’ true humanity has been a powerful example to me, but the point that strikes me most here is the statement that the cries of Jesus were heard, and the “way of escape” for him came not by rescue from harm but by death and resurrection. This reminds me that the “way of escape” may be something quite different from what we expect, or what we are asking for.
3. It is crucial to remember that God does not promise to take away the test or temptation, but he does promise to provide a “way out” in the midst of it. God’s “way out” for you may not be a divorce, a different job, or a dramatic healing, but God will never allow more than you are able to bear, and he will always provide a way of escape at the moment you need it. He is more deeply concerned for you than you are for yourself, and he is as deeply concerned for your character development as for your immediate crisis ( Romans 5:3-5).
Not a Great Mystery
4. If someone asks you or me what the “secret” is to finding the “way of escape,” we need to mention that this is God’s business primarily, not ours. He is the one who promises to “provide the way out.” We need to recognize it when it comes, with our spiritual and physical senses as alert as possible, but God knows how weak and ignorant we are, and doesn’t keep this aspect of life a mystery to us. The important truth is that God is faithful, and “he will not let you be tested beyond your strength.” God does not intend for there to be some great mystery or secret that is beyond the grasp of humble, earnest Christians.
5. Even though we are not to be frantically searching for a way out, we ought to be doing what we know to do to help us in our time of testing. A recovering alcoholic knows not to walk home past the bar. A recovering sex-addict knows to escape immediately from any websites that are even a little bit questionable.
6. I have found that, in my situations of severe anxiety, a major part of the “way of escape” has been to meditate in the scriptures, resting in their glorious truth, speaking gently with God (“I trust you Lord,” “I love you Lord”), floating not fighting, as I described in my January postings. Meditating on my “top twelve” scripture texts of 2008, especially 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (“I will boast or glory in my sufferings, that the power of Christ may rest on me”) and Philippians 4:19 (“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”) has been enormously helpful.
The Help of Others
7. Seeing two doctors was helpful. I take some medications that are beneficial, but I try not to view them as a permanent “way of escape.” They may be part of the way, but God’s operations through my mind and will are more significant. I have mentioned previously the book recommended by my doctors, Hope and Help for Your Nerves. I cannot overestimate the importance of this book in my life, even though it is not written from a Christian perspective.
8. Call or write at least one person to pray for or with you, if only over the phone, computer or text messaging, at the moments of most severe testing. Never forget the open invitation in James 5 to call for the elders of the church. (The word for “sick” in verse 14 also means “weak” or “without strength”—just how we feel at the moment of temptation. This scripture is not only for the physically ill.)
Scripture, Prayer and the Spirit
9. What was Jesus’ way of escape when tested by Satan in the wilderness? For each temptation he had a scripture text ready. How did Jesus “escape” the test in the Garden of Gethsemane? He offered loud cries and tears to his Father, then he rose and went to his chosen assignment. In between these two momentous events he often went apart from the others and rested and prayed. His was the only perfect life, not because he was God and could not sin, but because he was human and did not sin, relying instead on the same resources available to you and me. This is why he can be our example (Hebrews 2:14-18; 4:14-16; 5:7-9). I have found much victory over the years in testings and temptations by focusing on the remarkable human example of the man Jesus, leaning hard on the Holy Spirit to strengthen him, just as we may.
10. Spend time in the epistle of First Peter, and think about and pray for Christians around the world who are suffering (and who have suffered over the centuries) in numerous ways. This has helped me greatly over my lifetime. Somehow my trials seem more bearable. The book of Hebrews and the precious Psalms may also become very valuable to you.
11. In your time of testing call upon God to work in his way, not necessarily your way. “And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him” (1 John 5:14-15). This is a truly remarkable promise. You may not know if it is God’s will to give you a different job, but you do know that he wants to give you the fruit of the Spirit in whatever job you have (Galatians 5:22-23). It is always good, however, to ask for what you want—a new job, a better car, a spouse, a physical healing, a raise in salary, a sphere of ministry. But keep the attitude, “according to his will.” He knows better than you do what you really need in the light of eternity.
The Compassion of God
12. Remember that our heavenly father is exceedingly kind, merciful, and gracious. He does not use us in ways that are bad for us. As a wise father, he always seeks our good—for now and eternity. An older Bible translation, that of Rotherham, offers comfort in low moments: “The soul of the wounded calleth for help, and God doth not regard it as foolish” (Job 24:12). Amy Carmichael’s comment on this word is priceless. (She was a missionary to India who became an invalid for twenty years.)
“The soul of the wounded may call for help, and God will not regard it as foolish. Quick upon the call will come deliverance. Something will occur to break the monotony—if nothing outward, then something inward. Some little candle will be lit; the dull fog will lift; it must be so….’I am in a manner imprisoned and grievously [chained] until (blessed until) you refresh me with the light of your presence.’ And then? But who can tell it? Who can tell what you are, O Lord? Who can tell what you know? Who can show to another what your large grace can be?” (Rose from Briar, Christian Literature Crusade, 1973, pp. 140-41).
Do Your Part Well
13. Avoid three things like the plague: complaining, worry, and unbelief. Really believe that there is a way out, as our text says. Never feel that your particular test is unbearable. Hans Conzelmann says so well, “The measure of the bearable cannot be theoretically determined. It shows itself on each occasion in the measure God appoints” (in Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians [Eerdmans, 1987], p. 461, n. 54).
14. Keep busy with profitable activities—those tasks that are beneficial to you and others. Stay away from things that waste your time. (One of my biggest complaints with television is not so much how bad the content may be—and it often is—but how it wastes valuable time.) Whatever else you do, get involved with your local church fellowship, not only on Sunday mornings. Volunteer also at local mission agencies in your area. Get close to mature people of God. Ask God to provide these (at least one) in your life, and be willing to approach them for spiritual interaction.
To all who suffer from tests and temptations (and that includes all with a biblically—informed conscience) I offer this benediction from the earthly brother of Jesus.
“Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 24-25)
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tests and Temptations: What is the “Way Out”?
(2009-4)
I Corinthians 10:13
Bob Rakestraw
The classic scripture text before us, and the one we have been writing about—in some form or another—during the previous three postings, is 1 Corinthians 10:13. I want to quote it with the verses before and after it, because this immediate context will help us to see the broader implications of the passage.
12.”So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. 13. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. 14. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols” (NRSV).
As I stated in a previous posting, the Greek word translated “testing” may also be translated “tempting” or “temptation.” One version in my library (Wuest) actually translates the word in this text as “a testing time or temptation.” Every test or trial we go through has some element of temptation in it, such as complaining or rejecting God’s grace, and every solicitation to sin is certainly a test of our character and will.
Common to Everyone?
The first words of our verse are striking: “No testing [or temptation] has taken or overtaken or seized you (plural) that is not common to everyone.” The last three words are one word in the Greek language: anthropinos. The word literally means “human,” but the idea is “common among people.” The Good News Bible (GNB) translates this word “normally comes to people.” Take heart, dear friends, you are not alone in your temptations and testings!
In light of the above, is Paul teaching that everyone experiences the same kinds of temptations? If so, how literally do we understand this? Does everyone experience being “seized” or “overtaken” by a temptation to steal, lie, dishonor our father and mother, and covet our neighbor’s goods. I believe it is accurate to say that all humans are tempted to break all of the commandments of God, and most likely, in one way or another (if only in the mind) we have broken them. This does not mean that everyone is tempted in the same way (and, remember, the verse is talking about temptations and testings, not sins). Nor is everyone tempted to the same degree. Those who have yielded little to a specific kind of temptation in the past may not experience intense temptation in that area now. The opposite is true as well. Those who have fallen often in a certain way may find it very difficult to overcome that tendency even today. Fortunately, the all-powerful and all-forgiving grace of God can change the worst liar or thief into a godly, radiant, truthful and honest person. So with each of us with our temptations and sins.
The Faithfulness of God
The important part—one of the most important doctrines in all of the Bible—is that God is faithful (consistent, steady, loyal) and “he will not let you be tested beyond your strength”—beyond what you are able to bear. “Whereas pagan writers emphasized human will, Paul emphasizes God’s faithfulness” (Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament [InterVarsity, 1993], pp. 473-74).
I have had to look at this statement directly, over and over again. I have asked myself if it is really true. If it is (and I believe strongly that it is) it is one of the most powerful tools or weapons in the arsenal of the Christian. No matter what you or I are going through right now, it is not more that we can endure by the grace of God. Yes, I have sometimes said, “I can’t take it anymore,” but I have been wrong every time.
I am grateful, however, that the verse does not stop there. The apostle Paul—one whose life was filled with severe testings, temptations, sufferings, beatings, and numerous other calamities—goes on to say, by inspiration and by experience, “but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”
The Example of Jesus
Several items in the original language call for attention. One is that the word “but” is a sharply contrasting word. The author wants us to see how God’s strength is superior to our strength. A second point is that God works with the test or temptation. He does not ignore it, but uses it, working all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). Remember, testing and temptation are not sinful. Jesus experienced every major type of temptation during his earthly life (Hebrews 2:17-18; 4:15-16; 5:7-9), yet he never sinned once—by thought, word, action, omission, commission or disposition. He experienced these testings as a fully human person, assisted by the same Spirit of God you and I have. He did not switch over to his “deity” mode when a temptation came to him.
Communal and Personal Testing
Another notable feature is the definite article “the” before “way out.” While it is possible to translate this as the NIV does, “he will also provide a way out,” the NRSV, which we have been using, keeps the literal Greek wording, as does the NASB: “will provide the way of escape also.” Either translation is acceptable, as long as we keep in mind that the way of escape will always be suited to the nature and severity of the test or temptation. It is “the way out” for you or me at that time, not necessarily the same way for everyone at all times. Of course we can say that Jesus is “the way out” for everyone, always, but something more specific seems to be in Paul’s mind. Fred Fisher says it well: “The expression [‘the way’] assumes that every temptation has its own way of escape. The temptation and the way of escape go in pairs” (Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians, [Word, 1975], p. 159).
We said above that the pronouns “you” in verse 13 are plural. The references are also plural in verses 14 and 15. This indicates, in part, that a whole group (such as the Israelites in the wilderness) can be liable to testing or temptation of a similar kind, and all must stand for God, in solidarity with one another. You or I are not expected to endure the testings alone, but in close fellowship with God and his people. Yet verse 12, just before our classic text, has singular pronouns. “So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.” Even though we may sometimes be tested as a group (think of some young adults planning an upcoming weekend party), we must stand on our own two feet, strengthened by God, to be able to avoid sinning and to be able to lead others in the right direction.
The Way Out
What is “the way out”? Whatever it is, God is said to always be faithful, and therefore he will always provide “the way of escape” (NASB), so that we may be able to endure the test. In some cases it might be flight: “flee youthful lusts” (2 Timothy 2:22). In some cases it may be fight: “Fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12). In some cases it may be float: “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7). But it should never be fright: “Fear not, little flock” (Luke 12:32). (All four citations are from KJV.) The “way out” is very personal and individual for each person, on each occasion, even though these tests and temptations are common to everyone. We are all urged to receive this powerful word of deliverance. The “way out” may be a combination of things, and may need to be provided for you fifty times a day. But God is always faithful, and he promises to open the way every time you are tested or tempted. In the next posting I hope to write of specific aspects of the way out that I have experienced.
I Corinthians 10:13
Bob Rakestraw
The classic scripture text before us, and the one we have been writing about—in some form or another—during the previous three postings, is 1 Corinthians 10:13. I want to quote it with the verses before and after it, because this immediate context will help us to see the broader implications of the passage.
12.”So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. 13. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. 14. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols” (NRSV).
As I stated in a previous posting, the Greek word translated “testing” may also be translated “tempting” or “temptation.” One version in my library (Wuest) actually translates the word in this text as “a testing time or temptation.” Every test or trial we go through has some element of temptation in it, such as complaining or rejecting God’s grace, and every solicitation to sin is certainly a test of our character and will.
Common to Everyone?
The first words of our verse are striking: “No testing [or temptation] has taken or overtaken or seized you (plural) that is not common to everyone.” The last three words are one word in the Greek language: anthropinos. The word literally means “human,” but the idea is “common among people.” The Good News Bible (GNB) translates this word “normally comes to people.” Take heart, dear friends, you are not alone in your temptations and testings!
In light of the above, is Paul teaching that everyone experiences the same kinds of temptations? If so, how literally do we understand this? Does everyone experience being “seized” or “overtaken” by a temptation to steal, lie, dishonor our father and mother, and covet our neighbor’s goods. I believe it is accurate to say that all humans are tempted to break all of the commandments of God, and most likely, in one way or another (if only in the mind) we have broken them. This does not mean that everyone is tempted in the same way (and, remember, the verse is talking about temptations and testings, not sins). Nor is everyone tempted to the same degree. Those who have yielded little to a specific kind of temptation in the past may not experience intense temptation in that area now. The opposite is true as well. Those who have fallen often in a certain way may find it very difficult to overcome that tendency even today. Fortunately, the all-powerful and all-forgiving grace of God can change the worst liar or thief into a godly, radiant, truthful and honest person. So with each of us with our temptations and sins.
The Faithfulness of God
The important part—one of the most important doctrines in all of the Bible—is that God is faithful (consistent, steady, loyal) and “he will not let you be tested beyond your strength”—beyond what you are able to bear. “Whereas pagan writers emphasized human will, Paul emphasizes God’s faithfulness” (Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament [InterVarsity, 1993], pp. 473-74).
I have had to look at this statement directly, over and over again. I have asked myself if it is really true. If it is (and I believe strongly that it is) it is one of the most powerful tools or weapons in the arsenal of the Christian. No matter what you or I are going through right now, it is not more that we can endure by the grace of God. Yes, I have sometimes said, “I can’t take it anymore,” but I have been wrong every time.
I am grateful, however, that the verse does not stop there. The apostle Paul—one whose life was filled with severe testings, temptations, sufferings, beatings, and numerous other calamities—goes on to say, by inspiration and by experience, “but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”
The Example of Jesus
Several items in the original language call for attention. One is that the word “but” is a sharply contrasting word. The author wants us to see how God’s strength is superior to our strength. A second point is that God works with the test or temptation. He does not ignore it, but uses it, working all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). Remember, testing and temptation are not sinful. Jesus experienced every major type of temptation during his earthly life (Hebrews 2:17-18; 4:15-16; 5:7-9), yet he never sinned once—by thought, word, action, omission, commission or disposition. He experienced these testings as a fully human person, assisted by the same Spirit of God you and I have. He did not switch over to his “deity” mode when a temptation came to him.
Communal and Personal Testing
Another notable feature is the definite article “the” before “way out.” While it is possible to translate this as the NIV does, “he will also provide a way out,” the NRSV, which we have been using, keeps the literal Greek wording, as does the NASB: “will provide the way of escape also.” Either translation is acceptable, as long as we keep in mind that the way of escape will always be suited to the nature and severity of the test or temptation. It is “the way out” for you or me at that time, not necessarily the same way for everyone at all times. Of course we can say that Jesus is “the way out” for everyone, always, but something more specific seems to be in Paul’s mind. Fred Fisher says it well: “The expression [‘the way’] assumes that every temptation has its own way of escape. The temptation and the way of escape go in pairs” (Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians, [Word, 1975], p. 159).
We said above that the pronouns “you” in verse 13 are plural. The references are also plural in verses 14 and 15. This indicates, in part, that a whole group (such as the Israelites in the wilderness) can be liable to testing or temptation of a similar kind, and all must stand for God, in solidarity with one another. You or I are not expected to endure the testings alone, but in close fellowship with God and his people. Yet verse 12, just before our classic text, has singular pronouns. “So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.” Even though we may sometimes be tested as a group (think of some young adults planning an upcoming weekend party), we must stand on our own two feet, strengthened by God, to be able to avoid sinning and to be able to lead others in the right direction.
The Way Out
What is “the way out”? Whatever it is, God is said to always be faithful, and therefore he will always provide “the way of escape” (NASB), so that we may be able to endure the test. In some cases it might be flight: “flee youthful lusts” (2 Timothy 2:22). In some cases it may be fight: “Fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12). In some cases it may be float: “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7). But it should never be fright: “Fear not, little flock” (Luke 12:32). (All four citations are from KJV.) The “way out” is very personal and individual for each person, on each occasion, even though these tests and temptations are common to everyone. We are all urged to receive this powerful word of deliverance. The “way out” may be a combination of things, and may need to be provided for you fifty times a day. But God is always faithful, and he promises to open the way every time you are tested or tempted. In the next posting I hope to write of specific aspects of the way out that I have experienced.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Tests and Temptations: Common to Everyone
(2009-3)
I Corinthians 10:13
Bob Rakestraw
During the twelve months of 2008 I sent out postings covering the twelve most influential scripture passages from the forty-five years of my Christian life. As the year moved along, I struggled with how to cover all of my favorite texts in just twelve months, studying one scripture passage per month. The result is now history and the postings are available in the archives of this blog, but there are numerous Bible texts that I wanted to discuss yet could not. Now I am free to consider some of these additional passages.
One such text which, when added to the original twelve and thus giving us a “baker’s dozen,” is 1 Corinthians 10:13. In my two January, 2009, postings on anxiety and fear, I referred briefly to this Bible verse. I did so because it had become such a big help to me with my anxiety, and I wanted to at least call attention to the amazing truth of this passage. (By the way, I need to say a major “Thank You” to all of you who prayed for me during the very bleak months of December and January. Through your prayers and friendship, some medications, a book by Claire Weekes [see most recent posting], the help of my doctors and numerous hope-giving scriptures from the Spirit, I have had a significant recovery. While I face daily challenges regarding my health I am extremely grateful for the stability God has given me.)
Trials and Enticements
Before I quote I Corinthians 10:13, I need to mention one word in the verse, the Greek word peirasmos. It means both a test or trial, as well as a temptation or enticement to sin. The context of a particular usage determines which meaning predominates. In our scripture text, both senses are valid, because every temptation is surely a test of our character, and every time we are tested or tried, there is an element of temptation in it, for example, to complain against God, to blame someone else for the trial, or even somehow to “cheat” in the middle of the test.
Some translations use the word “tempt,” while others use “test.” Here I quote the New Revised Standard Version, which uses “test.”
“No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it” (I Corinthians 10:13).
As always, there is a need to look at the broader context. While this text, like many others, serves as a “stand-alone” truth from God’s Word, the verses before and after, and the broader historical situation, help us to understand Paul’s thoughts more fully.
The Corinthian Context
The apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians around the year 55, near the end of his three-year stay in Ephesus. He knew the Corinthians well, having stayed with them for a year and a half, teaching them the scriptures and seeing many of them come to Christ (Acts 18:1-18). He also knew the city of Corinth well, and its damaging effects, in many ways, on the Christians in Corinth.
The city, with some 650,000 people in Paul’s day (but only about 10,000 today) was a major commercial and cultural center of Greece. It was also known for its religious emphasis (Corinth had at least twelve temples) and for its sexual immorality. The worship of Aphrodite, goddess of love, at one time involved 1,000 sacred prostitutes who served in her temple, high above the city on the Acro-Corinth—a prominent tribute to the goddess and the debased way of “worship” associated with her. The immorality of Corinth was so widely known that the Greek verb “to Corinthianize” came to mean “to practice sexual immorality.” This way of life, not surprisingly, infiltrated the Christian community at Corinth.
Other problems that this young church faced, and which Paul had to address in this first epistle to the Corinthians, included divisions among the Christians, pride in human wisdom and philosophy, divorce and remarriage, lawsuits between believers before pagan courts, disrespect toward the Lord’s Supper, abuses of spiritual gifts, and a general lack of maturity and holiness. In other words, it was much like many churches today!
Warnings from the Past
With this background in mind, Paul’s words in chapter ten become much more vivid. In fact, our focal text—verse 13—comes as the climax of a section (10:1-13) titled “Warnings from Israel’s History” (NIV). The Exodus of God’s people from Egypt, and the wilderness wanderings for the next forty years, are presented as examples to the Corinthians to not depart from the Lord. After all crossed over the Red Sea on dry land, and after all “drank” of the same “spiritual rock” who accompanied them—Christ himself, most of the people died in the wilderness, never entering the promised land.
Before Paul writes his famous verse about testing and temptation, he warns the Corinthian Christians not to set their hearts on evil things. He then warns them specifically against some of the sins during the Israelites’ wilderness wanderings: idolatry, pagan revelry, sexual immorality (for which 23,000 died in one day), testing the Lord, and grumbling. Paul then repeats his statement that these warnings from Israel’s history are given as examples so that the Corinthians—or any of us today—do not fall in the same way. Then, just before verse 13, Paul writes, “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall” (I Corinthians 10:13, NIV).
This warning against spiritual pride is the crucial lead-in to our classic text. It indicates that an attitude of satisfaction with one’s spiritual life is a dangerous frame of mind to have. “Be careful,” he says, “that you don’t fall.” Apparently some of the Corinthians, perhaps most of them, were not wantonly going after the sinful lifestyle in their notorious city, but they were in danger of the pride—including spiritual pride—that goes before a fall. With this background, Paul then speaks of tests, temptations, and the way of escape.
The Remarkable Promise
Once again, I will close this posting with 1 Corinthians 10:13, having prepared the ground, I trust, for its further unfolding in our next entry. This time, however, I will quote from the Good News Bible. This is a marvelous promise and a rich blessing for all of God’s people, in any age or place.
“Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.”
I Corinthians 10:13
Bob Rakestraw
During the twelve months of 2008 I sent out postings covering the twelve most influential scripture passages from the forty-five years of my Christian life. As the year moved along, I struggled with how to cover all of my favorite texts in just twelve months, studying one scripture passage per month. The result is now history and the postings are available in the archives of this blog, but there are numerous Bible texts that I wanted to discuss yet could not. Now I am free to consider some of these additional passages.
One such text which, when added to the original twelve and thus giving us a “baker’s dozen,” is 1 Corinthians 10:13. In my two January, 2009, postings on anxiety and fear, I referred briefly to this Bible verse. I did so because it had become such a big help to me with my anxiety, and I wanted to at least call attention to the amazing truth of this passage. (By the way, I need to say a major “Thank You” to all of you who prayed for me during the very bleak months of December and January. Through your prayers and friendship, some medications, a book by Claire Weekes [see most recent posting], the help of my doctors and numerous hope-giving scriptures from the Spirit, I have had a significant recovery. While I face daily challenges regarding my health I am extremely grateful for the stability God has given me.)
Trials and Enticements
Before I quote I Corinthians 10:13, I need to mention one word in the verse, the Greek word peirasmos. It means both a test or trial, as well as a temptation or enticement to sin. The context of a particular usage determines which meaning predominates. In our scripture text, both senses are valid, because every temptation is surely a test of our character, and every time we are tested or tried, there is an element of temptation in it, for example, to complain against God, to blame someone else for the trial, or even somehow to “cheat” in the middle of the test.
Some translations use the word “tempt,” while others use “test.” Here I quote the New Revised Standard Version, which uses “test.”
“No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it” (I Corinthians 10:13).
As always, there is a need to look at the broader context. While this text, like many others, serves as a “stand-alone” truth from God’s Word, the verses before and after, and the broader historical situation, help us to understand Paul’s thoughts more fully.
The Corinthian Context
The apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians around the year 55, near the end of his three-year stay in Ephesus. He knew the Corinthians well, having stayed with them for a year and a half, teaching them the scriptures and seeing many of them come to Christ (Acts 18:1-18). He also knew the city of Corinth well, and its damaging effects, in many ways, on the Christians in Corinth.
The city, with some 650,000 people in Paul’s day (but only about 10,000 today) was a major commercial and cultural center of Greece. It was also known for its religious emphasis (Corinth had at least twelve temples) and for its sexual immorality. The worship of Aphrodite, goddess of love, at one time involved 1,000 sacred prostitutes who served in her temple, high above the city on the Acro-Corinth—a prominent tribute to the goddess and the debased way of “worship” associated with her. The immorality of Corinth was so widely known that the Greek verb “to Corinthianize” came to mean “to practice sexual immorality.” This way of life, not surprisingly, infiltrated the Christian community at Corinth.
Other problems that this young church faced, and which Paul had to address in this first epistle to the Corinthians, included divisions among the Christians, pride in human wisdom and philosophy, divorce and remarriage, lawsuits between believers before pagan courts, disrespect toward the Lord’s Supper, abuses of spiritual gifts, and a general lack of maturity and holiness. In other words, it was much like many churches today!
Warnings from the Past
With this background in mind, Paul’s words in chapter ten become much more vivid. In fact, our focal text—verse 13—comes as the climax of a section (10:1-13) titled “Warnings from Israel’s History” (NIV). The Exodus of God’s people from Egypt, and the wilderness wanderings for the next forty years, are presented as examples to the Corinthians to not depart from the Lord. After all crossed over the Red Sea on dry land, and after all “drank” of the same “spiritual rock” who accompanied them—Christ himself, most of the people died in the wilderness, never entering the promised land.
Before Paul writes his famous verse about testing and temptation, he warns the Corinthian Christians not to set their hearts on evil things. He then warns them specifically against some of the sins during the Israelites’ wilderness wanderings: idolatry, pagan revelry, sexual immorality (for which 23,000 died in one day), testing the Lord, and grumbling. Paul then repeats his statement that these warnings from Israel’s history are given as examples so that the Corinthians—or any of us today—do not fall in the same way. Then, just before verse 13, Paul writes, “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall” (I Corinthians 10:13, NIV).
This warning against spiritual pride is the crucial lead-in to our classic text. It indicates that an attitude of satisfaction with one’s spiritual life is a dangerous frame of mind to have. “Be careful,” he says, “that you don’t fall.” Apparently some of the Corinthians, perhaps most of them, were not wantonly going after the sinful lifestyle in their notorious city, but they were in danger of the pride—including spiritual pride—that goes before a fall. With this background, Paul then speaks of tests, temptations, and the way of escape.
The Remarkable Promise
Once again, I will close this posting with 1 Corinthians 10:13, having prepared the ground, I trust, for its further unfolding in our next entry. This time, however, I will quote from the Good News Bible. This is a marvelous promise and a rich blessing for all of God’s people, in any age or place.
“Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.”
Friday, January 30, 2009
Breaking the Fear Cycle
(2009-2)
I Corinthians 10:13
Bob Rakestraw
In the previous posting on this blog (“In the Grip of Anxiety”) I described and started to analyze some horrific times of fear I had recently experienced. (I use the word “horrific” deliberately.) These were truly frightening times, and I have been learning lately that many people have them.
Because I have been so helped by a certain book—in addition to the prayers and encouragement of God’s people, my doctors, medications, and my lifetime experience with God and the Bible—I felt it may be helpful to hand on some of the insights from the book to you for possible use either now or in the future. Even if you never face this awful scourge (and I hope you never do), the following materials may be something you can use to help yourself or others in the practical business of daily living.
First I will summarize briefly the four steps for dealing with serious anxiety presented forty years ago by Dr. Claire Weekes in her excellent work (with a somewhat archaic title), Hope and Help for Your Nerves. Her book is still considered by some mental-health professionals to be one of the best of the lot in this type of literature. Here are her steps.
1. Facing
Look at yourself and your emotions, and note how tensely you are fighting the fears rising within you. Do exactly the opposite. Sit comfortably and do not shrink from the upsetting sensations. Face and examine the awful feelings. Don’t fight them. By your anxiety you are stimulating an excessive flow of adrenaline which then produces the very sensations that are troubling you. Face the fact (for it is a fact) that most people with this problem eventually find the cure from within themselves, with the guidance of an outside helper or helpers.
2. Accepting
Be prepared to accept and live with your illness for some time. Your body has quite likely been through some very serious episodes, and your nerves have been highly sensitized. Small triggers may set off your sensitized nerves very easily, so be sure that you truly accept (not “put up with”) your physical illness and symptoms. This means 100% acceptance (not 99%) at the very peak of your crisis experience!
Try to live and work with your symptoms without paying them too much attention. Weekes says, “Symptoms can be intensified only by further fear and its resulting tension, never by facing and accepting.” The reason acceptance is key to recovery is that with this attitude adrenaline and the sympathetic nervous system are not being triggered, hence there are no symptoms.
3. Floating
“To float is just as important as to accept, and it works similar magic,” according to Weekes. Let “float” not “fight” be your slogan. Just as a person, floating on smooth water, lets him or her self be carried this way or that by the gentle movement of the water, so should the anxious person let his body “go with the flow” of his anxious feelings instead of trying to withdraw from them or force his way through them. When a person “floats” through the most intense crises, he or she will sense relaxation, not panic. Let the terrifying thoughts float away—picture them leaving your body. Realize they are only thoughts; don’t be bluffed by them.
Stop holding tensely onto yourself, trying to control your fear. This simply generates more fear. Don’t even strive to relax. “Simply let the thought of relaxation be in your mind, in your attitude toward your body,” says Weekes. “The very act of being prepared to accept your tenseness relaxes your mind, and relaxation of body generally follows. You don’t have to strive for relaxation. You have to wait for it.” Calm breathing, where you allow your abdomen to move out and in with each breath, helps tremendously. In fact, in stress clinics, patients often say that the most helpful exercise they learn is abdominal or “belly” breathing, whether sitting or lying down.
4. Letting Time Pass
Despite your new approach to your illness, your symptoms will almost certainly continue to return for some time—perhaps, at first, as acutely as before you learned these techniques. Weekes says that “your adrenaline-releasing nerves will continue to be fatigued and sensitized for some time longer, in spite of your new approach.” Instead of finding yourself disappointed and depressed for days after learning how to help yourself, your “understanding and willingness to let more time pass finally work the miracle.” Weekes adds: “Do no think I expect you to do this without the help of a sedative,…[but] you must have a doctor’s help in choosing the type and dose of sedative.”
It is important to stay occupied even while the troublesome symptoms and feelings are present. But do not feverishly seek occupation in order to forget yourself. This is running away from fear, and you can’t run far from fear. Calmly accept what is happening, and the fear gradually subsides. Every short respite from fear helps to calm your nerves in a very real, physical way, so that they become less and less responsive to stimulation and your sensations become less and less intense.
Resensitization of nerves may occur at some future time, but because you have developed an inner core of confidence and strength you will pass through the fear. “Because this confidence has been born the hard way, from your own experience, you will never quite lose it. You may falter but you will never be completely overwhelmed again.”
Parallels to Everyday Living
My guess is that you have already spotted in the above a number of parallels to life experiences apart from the specific problem of serious anxiety episodes. So many experiences in life tend to make us fearful, worried, sad, discouraged, depressed, lonely, impatient, angry, frustrated, or seeking escape in harmful ways. The four steps given by Weekes can be helpful in dealing with each of these disturbing conditions, whether you are a religious person or not.
However, if you are a follower of Jesus, and desire to live faithfully as his disciple, you have an enormous body of additional material (the scriptures) and a powerful indwelling presence (the Holy Spirit) to comfort, guide and sustain you through the most awful episodes of nerve sensitization or other mental-health conditions. You even have the assurance that God the Son and God the Spirit are actively praying (interceding) for you in your trials (Romans 8:26, 31, 34). We also have the community of God to encourage us and pray for us, as we do for them.
The four steps given above—facing, accepting, floating, and letting time pass—apply very helpfully to the struggles, temptations, anxieties, and other spiritual battles of the Christian life. For example, when you are tempted to make an angry phone call or send an angry e-mail, the four steps may help you choose a wise course of action.
Face the Problem
Admit you are angry—even furious. Allow yourself to fume and don’t stuff your emotions. Sit down comfortably, breathe deeply, and ask God for his gracious help to keep you stable. Thank God for allowing you to experience this situation even though you detest the circumstances.
Accept the Problem
Fully admit that this is a serious situation—to you at least. Your nervous system is highly charged, and you need to become calm by accepting this difficulty as from the hand of God. Not that God inspired any wrongdoing on the other person’s part or yours, but he is letting you go through this so that you will be stronger—to develop your character (Romans 5:3-5; Hebrews 12:4-15). The scriptures say not only to give thanks in everything, but for everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18; Ephesians 5:20). Ask God for the grace of acceptance, with gratitude that he is willing to give it to you, “for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Float with the Problem
Don’t keep fighting the battle in your mind. It is understandable to review the circumstances that led to this crisis, and to consider possible courses of action, but invite God to guide you and guard you from erroneous thinking and acting. After a while, take a break. Do something else, take a walk, talk to someone, listen to some calming music. Take a nap.
Don’t strive to relax, but ask God to give you thoughts of peace and relaxation. Quote Bible verses in your mind, such as Isaiah 26:3: “You will keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is stayed on you.” Tell God you trust him in this situation, and thank him for his understanding of every detail of your life. Continue to breathe with abdominal or “belly” breathing, not with rapid, shallow breaths into your upper chest only.
Let Time Pass
The above three steps may take two hours or two days. Before you make any decision (and remember, sometimes the best action is no action), read James chapter one carefully and prayerfully, asking God for wisdom to do what is most honoring to him. When you arrive at a tentative decision, let some time pass before you take any action. Ask God to rest your troubled soul. Set a time, such as 2 p.m. today, when you intend to act, and then let your tentative decision marinate for a while. Try not to visit it every five minutes. Above all, when 2:00 p.m. arrives, let neither sinful anger nor cowardice motivate you, but the love of God for your neighbor. Sometimes love must be tough, but it should never be nasty. It should always be kind.
Once again I leave this theme for now without delving into the powerful scripture from 1 Corinthians 10:13. I do want to quote it here, however, to encourage you to ponder it in the light of these last two postings on anxiety and fear. If you read it as I do, you see how the text bristles with insights on our topic. Next time I trust to be able to examine this remarkable verse.
“No testing [or temptation] has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it” (NRSV).
I Corinthians 10:13
Bob Rakestraw
In the previous posting on this blog (“In the Grip of Anxiety”) I described and started to analyze some horrific times of fear I had recently experienced. (I use the word “horrific” deliberately.) These were truly frightening times, and I have been learning lately that many people have them.
Because I have been so helped by a certain book—in addition to the prayers and encouragement of God’s people, my doctors, medications, and my lifetime experience with God and the Bible—I felt it may be helpful to hand on some of the insights from the book to you for possible use either now or in the future. Even if you never face this awful scourge (and I hope you never do), the following materials may be something you can use to help yourself or others in the practical business of daily living.
First I will summarize briefly the four steps for dealing with serious anxiety presented forty years ago by Dr. Claire Weekes in her excellent work (with a somewhat archaic title), Hope and Help for Your Nerves. Her book is still considered by some mental-health professionals to be one of the best of the lot in this type of literature. Here are her steps.
1. Facing
Look at yourself and your emotions, and note how tensely you are fighting the fears rising within you. Do exactly the opposite. Sit comfortably and do not shrink from the upsetting sensations. Face and examine the awful feelings. Don’t fight them. By your anxiety you are stimulating an excessive flow of adrenaline which then produces the very sensations that are troubling you. Face the fact (for it is a fact) that most people with this problem eventually find the cure from within themselves, with the guidance of an outside helper or helpers.
2. Accepting
Be prepared to accept and live with your illness for some time. Your body has quite likely been through some very serious episodes, and your nerves have been highly sensitized. Small triggers may set off your sensitized nerves very easily, so be sure that you truly accept (not “put up with”) your physical illness and symptoms. This means 100% acceptance (not 99%) at the very peak of your crisis experience!
Try to live and work with your symptoms without paying them too much attention. Weekes says, “Symptoms can be intensified only by further fear and its resulting tension, never by facing and accepting.” The reason acceptance is key to recovery is that with this attitude adrenaline and the sympathetic nervous system are not being triggered, hence there are no symptoms.
3. Floating
“To float is just as important as to accept, and it works similar magic,” according to Weekes. Let “float” not “fight” be your slogan. Just as a person, floating on smooth water, lets him or her self be carried this way or that by the gentle movement of the water, so should the anxious person let his body “go with the flow” of his anxious feelings instead of trying to withdraw from them or force his way through them. When a person “floats” through the most intense crises, he or she will sense relaxation, not panic. Let the terrifying thoughts float away—picture them leaving your body. Realize they are only thoughts; don’t be bluffed by them.
Stop holding tensely onto yourself, trying to control your fear. This simply generates more fear. Don’t even strive to relax. “Simply let the thought of relaxation be in your mind, in your attitude toward your body,” says Weekes. “The very act of being prepared to accept your tenseness relaxes your mind, and relaxation of body generally follows. You don’t have to strive for relaxation. You have to wait for it.” Calm breathing, where you allow your abdomen to move out and in with each breath, helps tremendously. In fact, in stress clinics, patients often say that the most helpful exercise they learn is abdominal or “belly” breathing, whether sitting or lying down.
4. Letting Time Pass
Despite your new approach to your illness, your symptoms will almost certainly continue to return for some time—perhaps, at first, as acutely as before you learned these techniques. Weekes says that “your adrenaline-releasing nerves will continue to be fatigued and sensitized for some time longer, in spite of your new approach.” Instead of finding yourself disappointed and depressed for days after learning how to help yourself, your “understanding and willingness to let more time pass finally work the miracle.” Weekes adds: “Do no think I expect you to do this without the help of a sedative,…[but] you must have a doctor’s help in choosing the type and dose of sedative.”
It is important to stay occupied even while the troublesome symptoms and feelings are present. But do not feverishly seek occupation in order to forget yourself. This is running away from fear, and you can’t run far from fear. Calmly accept what is happening, and the fear gradually subsides. Every short respite from fear helps to calm your nerves in a very real, physical way, so that they become less and less responsive to stimulation and your sensations become less and less intense.
Resensitization of nerves may occur at some future time, but because you have developed an inner core of confidence and strength you will pass through the fear. “Because this confidence has been born the hard way, from your own experience, you will never quite lose it. You may falter but you will never be completely overwhelmed again.”
Parallels to Everyday Living
My guess is that you have already spotted in the above a number of parallels to life experiences apart from the specific problem of serious anxiety episodes. So many experiences in life tend to make us fearful, worried, sad, discouraged, depressed, lonely, impatient, angry, frustrated, or seeking escape in harmful ways. The four steps given by Weekes can be helpful in dealing with each of these disturbing conditions, whether you are a religious person or not.
However, if you are a follower of Jesus, and desire to live faithfully as his disciple, you have an enormous body of additional material (the scriptures) and a powerful indwelling presence (the Holy Spirit) to comfort, guide and sustain you through the most awful episodes of nerve sensitization or other mental-health conditions. You even have the assurance that God the Son and God the Spirit are actively praying (interceding) for you in your trials (Romans 8:26, 31, 34). We also have the community of God to encourage us and pray for us, as we do for them.
The four steps given above—facing, accepting, floating, and letting time pass—apply very helpfully to the struggles, temptations, anxieties, and other spiritual battles of the Christian life. For example, when you are tempted to make an angry phone call or send an angry e-mail, the four steps may help you choose a wise course of action.
Face the Problem
Admit you are angry—even furious. Allow yourself to fume and don’t stuff your emotions. Sit down comfortably, breathe deeply, and ask God for his gracious help to keep you stable. Thank God for allowing you to experience this situation even though you detest the circumstances.
Accept the Problem
Fully admit that this is a serious situation—to you at least. Your nervous system is highly charged, and you need to become calm by accepting this difficulty as from the hand of God. Not that God inspired any wrongdoing on the other person’s part or yours, but he is letting you go through this so that you will be stronger—to develop your character (Romans 5:3-5; Hebrews 12:4-15). The scriptures say not only to give thanks in everything, but for everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18; Ephesians 5:20). Ask God for the grace of acceptance, with gratitude that he is willing to give it to you, “for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Float with the Problem
Don’t keep fighting the battle in your mind. It is understandable to review the circumstances that led to this crisis, and to consider possible courses of action, but invite God to guide you and guard you from erroneous thinking and acting. After a while, take a break. Do something else, take a walk, talk to someone, listen to some calming music. Take a nap.
Don’t strive to relax, but ask God to give you thoughts of peace and relaxation. Quote Bible verses in your mind, such as Isaiah 26:3: “You will keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is stayed on you.” Tell God you trust him in this situation, and thank him for his understanding of every detail of your life. Continue to breathe with abdominal or “belly” breathing, not with rapid, shallow breaths into your upper chest only.
Let Time Pass
The above three steps may take two hours or two days. Before you make any decision (and remember, sometimes the best action is no action), read James chapter one carefully and prayerfully, asking God for wisdom to do what is most honoring to him. When you arrive at a tentative decision, let some time pass before you take any action. Ask God to rest your troubled soul. Set a time, such as 2 p.m. today, when you intend to act, and then let your tentative decision marinate for a while. Try not to visit it every five minutes. Above all, when 2:00 p.m. arrives, let neither sinful anger nor cowardice motivate you, but the love of God for your neighbor. Sometimes love must be tough, but it should never be nasty. It should always be kind.
Once again I leave this theme for now without delving into the powerful scripture from 1 Corinthians 10:13. I do want to quote it here, however, to encourage you to ponder it in the light of these last two postings on anxiety and fear. If you read it as I do, you see how the text bristles with insights on our topic. Next time I trust to be able to examine this remarkable verse.
“No testing [or temptation] has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it” (NRSV).
Thursday, January 22, 2009
In the Grip of Anxiety
(2009-1)
I Corinthians 10:13
Bob Rakestraw
My warmest Minnesota greetings to each of you reading this today. I know how some of you are faring so far in 2009, but with most of you I don’t know. I truly wish you well in the ways that matter most. I do know that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It’s a good thing, because we certainly do change, and so do our circumstances.
Five Days from the Pit
The first five days of 2009 have been, as far as I can recall, the most awful time of my life, health-wise. I have never known such anxiety. To back up a bit, my health began to take a further downward turn in the fall, leading to a bad month of December, and culminating in the frightening days of January 1-5. A combination of decreasing strength and increasing fear led to some truly awful episodes of anxiety. (I am using the words “anxiety” and “fear” as synonyms, although generally fear is understood as being tied to a realistic threat from one’s environment, whereas anxiety is not. I find both words necessary to convey my thoughts and emotions.)
Even though I have struggled with anxiety both before and after my heart transplant of 2003, I have lived most of my life with no major problems with it. I do confess that during our honeymoon, when I was 23, I had to have some serious talks with God about my fears concerning the financial challenges of the months and years ahead (after all, I had now “taken to myself a wife”). But I never knew how real and frightening serious anxiety could be until recent weeks.
What Was Going On?
It is hard, with words, to convey the terror of those days. (I say “those days” because, praise God, my last really bad day was January 5.) I’m not sure how to understand it all. But I began to experience terrible fear within me—gripping my chest and abdomen, but definitely centered in my thoughts: thoughts of great apprehension, fear, and fear of fear. The “episodes” basically involved my sitting or standing in a completely overwhelmed state, feeling as though I was not only losing control of a sound mind, but had actually lost it. I would cry, and say to Judy, “I can’t take this any more.” I wasn’t banging on anything, or shouting out loud (but I was shouting in my mind) and didn’t have any external symptoms except my frightened words and cries. Inside I was a wreck—crying to God for help but feeling under the grip of a terrifying force that seized me at the most vulnerable edge of my fears.
What fears did I have? In part, the accumulation of 25 years of heart problems, especially the past five since my heart transplant, with no medical hope of improvement—only a heart attack or attacks predicted to end it all quite soon—began to settle in me. But why now? I don’t know for sure, although I have some ideas.
I do know that the fear had a lot to do with the future—not the far-off future, not standing before the Lord at the end of my life, not even the rather unpleasant scenario I’ve been told to expect that will end my life, but the fear of the immediate day itself, or the portion of the day still before me. I became terribly anxious about how I would spend my time. What would I do all day long? With my lack of energy becoming more of a problem each day, I can do less and less.
I had been having trouble sleeping, and would wake as early as 2:00 a.m. To look forward to the long hours ahead would create such a sense of panic within me that I felt out of control. Each episode—lasting from 15 minutes to an hour or so—reinforced the apprehension about the next episode. I learned later that this was a classic pattern of fear-adrenaline-further apprehension-fear. Adrenaline was pumping furiously during this cycle, and the more I fought the fear, the more I became filled with fear.
What to Do?
During some long, cold, lonely nights and days I spent a lot of time reading the scriptures on anxiety, praying for some understanding of this “enemy” (or “thorn in the flesh”) that seemed to be lurking around each corner of the house (actually, lurking within my mind), waiting for the right moment to pounce. I said to Judy several times, “Something has to change. I don’t believe God wants me to go on like this.” I sensed strongly that something would soon change.
Finally, I did two things. One, which I had done several times before, was to follow James chapter five and call for the elders of the church to come to our home and pray for me. Another, which I had never done before, was to visit a mental health professional to discuss what was happening to me. Between the elders’ prayers, the doctor’s guidance and medications, a truly marvelous 40-year-old book the doctor recommended (Hope and Healing for Your Nerves, by Dr. Claire Weekes, Signet paperback), and the prayers of many others, I began to understand and conquer the awful, awful fear.
Is There a Purpose Here?
Why am I writing this piece? Purely out of desire to help someone. If there is one reader, or the friend or acquaintance of some reader, who is suffering from anxiety, or will at some time in the future, and will find help in this writing, I will be totally grateful. This is why I write. I hear accounts of how someone has forwarded an item from this blog to someone in need, and God has used it to strengthen that person, and I am filled with thanksgiving. This gives me a reason to live, which, as some of you know, I have struggled with significantly.
It is interesting to read my January, 2008, blog posting on—of all things—anxiety, and the relevance of Philippians 4:6-7. What I have experienced recently makes the personal testing part of last year’s writing seem mild by comparison. I know those experiences were not mild, but recent events have challenged me at a much deeper level—at the very core of my being.
I have not discussed a scripture text in this piece. This is very unusual for me. There are basically two reasons for this. First, I am still so overwhelmed by the Bible passage from December, 2008 (2 Corinthians 12:7-12), that it continues to be a powerful help in sustaining me now as it did during the recent very bleak days. Second, the scripture I want to comment on next will “fit” better after this piece and the next, so I will simply offer it to you now as a remarkable promise from God for 2009.
“No testing [or temptation] has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it” (I Corinthians 10:13, NRSV).
I Corinthians 10:13
Bob Rakestraw
My warmest Minnesota greetings to each of you reading this today. I know how some of you are faring so far in 2009, but with most of you I don’t know. I truly wish you well in the ways that matter most. I do know that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It’s a good thing, because we certainly do change, and so do our circumstances.
Five Days from the Pit
The first five days of 2009 have been, as far as I can recall, the most awful time of my life, health-wise. I have never known such anxiety. To back up a bit, my health began to take a further downward turn in the fall, leading to a bad month of December, and culminating in the frightening days of January 1-5. A combination of decreasing strength and increasing fear led to some truly awful episodes of anxiety. (I am using the words “anxiety” and “fear” as synonyms, although generally fear is understood as being tied to a realistic threat from one’s environment, whereas anxiety is not. I find both words necessary to convey my thoughts and emotions.)
Even though I have struggled with anxiety both before and after my heart transplant of 2003, I have lived most of my life with no major problems with it. I do confess that during our honeymoon, when I was 23, I had to have some serious talks with God about my fears concerning the financial challenges of the months and years ahead (after all, I had now “taken to myself a wife”). But I never knew how real and frightening serious anxiety could be until recent weeks.
What Was Going On?
It is hard, with words, to convey the terror of those days. (I say “those days” because, praise God, my last really bad day was January 5.) I’m not sure how to understand it all. But I began to experience terrible fear within me—gripping my chest and abdomen, but definitely centered in my thoughts: thoughts of great apprehension, fear, and fear of fear. The “episodes” basically involved my sitting or standing in a completely overwhelmed state, feeling as though I was not only losing control of a sound mind, but had actually lost it. I would cry, and say to Judy, “I can’t take this any more.” I wasn’t banging on anything, or shouting out loud (but I was shouting in my mind) and didn’t have any external symptoms except my frightened words and cries. Inside I was a wreck—crying to God for help but feeling under the grip of a terrifying force that seized me at the most vulnerable edge of my fears.
What fears did I have? In part, the accumulation of 25 years of heart problems, especially the past five since my heart transplant, with no medical hope of improvement—only a heart attack or attacks predicted to end it all quite soon—began to settle in me. But why now? I don’t know for sure, although I have some ideas.
I do know that the fear had a lot to do with the future—not the far-off future, not standing before the Lord at the end of my life, not even the rather unpleasant scenario I’ve been told to expect that will end my life, but the fear of the immediate day itself, or the portion of the day still before me. I became terribly anxious about how I would spend my time. What would I do all day long? With my lack of energy becoming more of a problem each day, I can do less and less.
I had been having trouble sleeping, and would wake as early as 2:00 a.m. To look forward to the long hours ahead would create such a sense of panic within me that I felt out of control. Each episode—lasting from 15 minutes to an hour or so—reinforced the apprehension about the next episode. I learned later that this was a classic pattern of fear-adrenaline-further apprehension-fear. Adrenaline was pumping furiously during this cycle, and the more I fought the fear, the more I became filled with fear.
What to Do?
During some long, cold, lonely nights and days I spent a lot of time reading the scriptures on anxiety, praying for some understanding of this “enemy” (or “thorn in the flesh”) that seemed to be lurking around each corner of the house (actually, lurking within my mind), waiting for the right moment to pounce. I said to Judy several times, “Something has to change. I don’t believe God wants me to go on like this.” I sensed strongly that something would soon change.
Finally, I did two things. One, which I had done several times before, was to follow James chapter five and call for the elders of the church to come to our home and pray for me. Another, which I had never done before, was to visit a mental health professional to discuss what was happening to me. Between the elders’ prayers, the doctor’s guidance and medications, a truly marvelous 40-year-old book the doctor recommended (Hope and Healing for Your Nerves, by Dr. Claire Weekes, Signet paperback), and the prayers of many others, I began to understand and conquer the awful, awful fear.
Is There a Purpose Here?
Why am I writing this piece? Purely out of desire to help someone. If there is one reader, or the friend or acquaintance of some reader, who is suffering from anxiety, or will at some time in the future, and will find help in this writing, I will be totally grateful. This is why I write. I hear accounts of how someone has forwarded an item from this blog to someone in need, and God has used it to strengthen that person, and I am filled with thanksgiving. This gives me a reason to live, which, as some of you know, I have struggled with significantly.
It is interesting to read my January, 2008, blog posting on—of all things—anxiety, and the relevance of Philippians 4:6-7. What I have experienced recently makes the personal testing part of last year’s writing seem mild by comparison. I know those experiences were not mild, but recent events have challenged me at a much deeper level—at the very core of my being.
I have not discussed a scripture text in this piece. This is very unusual for me. There are basically two reasons for this. First, I am still so overwhelmed by the Bible passage from December, 2008 (2 Corinthians 12:7-12), that it continues to be a powerful help in sustaining me now as it did during the recent very bleak days. Second, the scripture I want to comment on next will “fit” better after this piece and the next, so I will simply offer it to you now as a remarkable promise from God for 2009.
“No testing [or temptation] has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it” (I Corinthians 10:13, NRSV).
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