In previous blog posts I have mentioned some facts that show the reality of physical body illnesses linked to unrest in the depths of our souls. For example, it has been discovered as many as 61 % of people diagnosed with cancer are found to also struggle with forgiveness. The results of much research supports the Proverb which states, “A tranquil heart is life to the body, but envy rots the bones” (Proverbs 14:30). Many people fail at finding healthy solutions to their dilemma due to trying to ignore or minimize the damaging effects of nursing grudges, harboring bitterness, or canceling relationships instead of seeking reconciliation. By allowing God to search our hearts and deal with unresolved hurts and offenses, we have a much better likelihood of living a healthy and productive life. Merely recognizing symptoms with our cognitive faculties, however, does not automatically translate into seeking heart felt change.
People identifying as Christians may know that forgiveness is a biblical mandate. Somewhere along the way they also may have been warned about the physical, emotional, and spiritual consequences of UN-forgiveness. Maybe they are genuinely grateful for a God who was willing to take on human form and die an excruciating death that they might be forgiven of their sins. What then, is the reason so many people experience inconsistency between their understanding of forgiveness and their willingness to practice it? What keeps them from confessing and repenting of sinful responses related to offenses, and instead holding on to destructive beliefs which rob them of the benefits of releasing the hurts to God?
Robert Jeffress quotes respected counselor and author David Seamands with this answer,
“Many years ago I was driven to the conclusion that the major cause of most emotional problems among evangelical Christians are these: the failure to understand, receive, and live out God’s unconditional love, forgiveness, and grace to other people. We read, we hear, we believe a good theology of grace. But that’s not the way we live. The good news of the gospel has not penetrated the level of our emotions.”
In other words, we don’t properly use the feeling part of our being. As I see it, we fail to make a balanced connection between the thinking part of our being and the feeling parts. Either we over-think our problems and try to intellectualize (“explain away”) the hurts and offenses which usually take the form of blaming someone (or something) else. Or, we under-think our problems becoming overwhelmed by the feelings, which often takes the form of inappropriate indulgence behaviors (addictions, etc.). A healthy mental condition requires facing the true reality of any given situation we find ourselves in. To find the best solutions to problems in life, we must engage the symptoms (often caused by the hurts) and courageously address the denial hiding the root causes.
The medical model of dealing with mental health concerns involves categorizing symptoms to formulate a label. Labeling depression or anxiety, for example, merely as an illness to be treated with medications to alter the physiological makeup of a person, can miss the importance of recognizing the person as a whole: spirit, body, and soul. Many mental health conditions often have spiritual and emotional roots, and research shows that even many physical problems are rooted in emotional and mental health issues. Christians’ treatment of things like depression and anxiety, while not ruling out the helpfulness of science, must seek to remove the obstacles that keep people from following God with their whole heart, soul and mind. Medications may be an appropriate temporary relief of symptoms, but the kind of inner peace God desires for us requires a renewing of our minds (see Romans 12:1-2).
Root Revelation
Some so-called “emotional problems” are not really problems with emotions, but problems with thinking patterns (including core beliefs) which trigger the emotions. Emotions are neither good nor bad, and they can be a powerful tool in exposing and clearing up thinking patterns. Emotions can be messengers–carrying a message to encourage deeper assessment of root issues to aid the process of healing. I write an entire chapter on emotional roots in my book PACE to Peace: Finding Inner Rest in a World of Unrest. Transforming how we perceive God, other people, and ourselves are all critical in working through all sorts of loss and grief in our lives.
The Scripture contains many examples of persons who examined their emotions in helping to overcome disappointments, adversities, and embittered hearts. Perhaps no one is more prolific in describing the emotional turmoil of his inner being than ancient Israel’s King David. David, the Israelites’ second king, is a person who experienced great suffering in order to fulfill God’s purposes for his life. The outcast of his family, David was taunted by his brothers and not even recognized as a candidate for king when Priest Samuel visited their house. Thourh David served king Saul faithfully, Saul (who also suffered from depression) hurled his spear at David, causing him to flee for his life and hide in caves to avoid being hunted down and killed. Once being officially crowned as king, David also suffered scorn and humiliation by the actions of his wives and son. He broke God’s commands by committing adultery with Bathsheba. Then he committed murder in an attempt to hide the sin of adultery. When confronted by the prophet Nathan, David demonstrated genuine repentance before God. Although God forgave David, the consequences of his sin remained for generations. Through his son Solomon, a division in the kingdom developed into a split between Israel and Judah.
Out of the depths of David’s acquaintance with suffering came the psalms, containing much poetic wisdom, comfort and relevance for today. Many of the psalms David wrote reflected the loss and grief experienced by God’s people. Many, such as Psalm 10, are also examples of how David responds to God in his heart. In Psalm 10, the first twelve verses describe affliction of the worst kind imaginable. David is oppressed and totally defeated by things completely out of his control. His loss cannot be corrected in any way known to man, and he feels helpless. He also feels hurt for the oppressed people around him.
Then in verses 12-15, David turns his attention to God, and cries out to Him as helper, deliverer, vindicator, and One who is willing to act on behalf of the helpless. Verses 16-18 display David’s heart of gratitude and praise for the mighty works of God. The expression of the human condition is clear. David’s heart progresses from anxiety and depression to allowing his heart to be wooed by God and then to the joy of resting securely in God’s place of victory. Praising His Creator and acknowledging the truth about who He really is (vv. 17-18), David cooperates with God and his heart is transformed.
Truth Transforms
In Psalm 10 David writes almost four times the amount of text to describe the sorrow in his heart, than he writes to describe God’s intervention.26 As with many other similar psalms, David takes the time to explore and connect with the pain he was feeling. He allowed God to transform his painful feelings into alignment with truthful thinking. Similar to David, many people worsen their affliction and heartache by holding grudges, blaming, critically judging, or worrying about things that are out of their control. God allows David to emote (lament) and patiently listens to his cry. He waits for David’s thinking to change and his experience to come into alignment with the truth. Though the external circumstances didn’t change, his inner person was re-assured of a God who cares, and a God who executes perfect justice and perfect mercy.
As in the example of Psalm 10, the truth of God may be one heart cry away from inviting Christ’s forgiving, healing presence into a struggling person’s health concern or broken relationship. Truth transforms thinking, feelings, and actions. If that sounds like you, take the time right now to talk to God and pour out your heart to HIM.
There is no loss in your life too great to bear. Grief is a natural part of the human experience. God sent his Son to bear our griefs (read Isaiah 53:1-6). Cooperating with God in receiving his Gift of forgiveness, and practicing the forgiveness he has initiated, puts in motion the solution to even the most grievous problems known to humankind. My prayer for each reader is that you will receive the grace God freely offers to experience this for whatever you may be struggling with at the moment. Forgiveness may not be the entire solution, but it certainly opens doors that make the griefing process more tolerable.Surrendering to God the rights of judgment removes the pressure of having to figure it all out on your own.
Drink deep of these words of Jesus, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
Larger Application
Disclaimer: If your heart is deeply wounded and you are still processing what I’ve written thus far, please feel free to ignore the rest of this article. The remainder of this article may be offensive to many, but I believe I need to write it for those seeking truth and understanding for genuine solutions in some specific applications commonly present in our current culture.
When truth is not sought in individuals’ hearts, broader consequences can be serious. Proble’s can become (or remain) systemic, institutional, political, or family-wide. You may have heard it said, “Ideas have consequences, and bad ideas have victims.” When this happens, some degree of hatred gets hidden away in people’s hearts or excused as a legitimate expression for their behavior.
For example, on the topic of socialism, the truth is that socialism (including Marxism) has many people fooled into thinking it somehow benefits the underprivileged persons in society. It has been tried unsuccessfully many times in history. Not only has communism failed every time, but it has caused unimaginable pain, suffering, and death for millions of people. Without room to expound on it here, one source I recommend to discover more is an article Rod Martin has recently written:
(see https://usfuture.org/rod-martin-on-the-true-nature-of-capitalism-socialism-and-the-deep-state/ ).
Socialism dramatically detracts from the individuality God has created in each person. One thing he explains is how socialism institutionalizes “envy.” We see from the quote above that “envy rots the bones” (Proverbs 14:30). I believe at the core of socialism is a hatred for prosperity and well-being. I realize that may be difficult for many socialism advocates to see, but just think about it. Comparing oneself to others is the beginning of all sorts of bad judgment. Our goal should not be “social justice,” but biblical justice.
And for those already convinced that socialism (and other applications below) is a bad idea, let’s remember to resist pride from entering our hearts. Can we be patient enough to not hold their errors in thinking against them as persons? Can we instead remember there is a spiritual force at work holding people captive to delusion (2 Thesselonians 2:11)? Are we able to separate the identity of a person(s) from their thinking and behavior? Sometimes it’s not about the person, but the spirit(s) of darkness having influence in this world (2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 John 4:3). Communism is anti-God by requiring worship of itself as King. As Christians, we worship a King whose Kingdom is not of this world. Our King laid his life down for all to be saved (John 3:16). Jesus came to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10), even those in opposition to his kingship. Jesus is King over all, even those in Islam, the next group I mention below. We must remember, Jesus loves all persons equally, and “except for the grace of God, there go I.”
Another example is Islam. The truth is that Islam is an ideology of conquest, terror, deceit, and control. Submit or die is the only option under Sheria law. Islam is commonly called a religion. Islam is NOT religion. That is also totally opposite of the United States Constitution, so it is NOT a legitimate political ideology in America. At its core Islam is hatred of Jews and hatred for God. Again, if you want to look beyond the lies fed in the legacy TV world, a trusted source would be a Larry Taunton video:
(see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4PHf4RGyfA ).
A primary goal of Islam is to wipe the Jews from the earth. A euphemism might be “anti-semitism,” but “Jew hatred” is a more appropriate way to frame it. I am not a so-called Islamaphobe, and I am not comdemning people who call themselves Muslim. I am merely pointing out facts about the core tenants of Islam. Islam is an existential threat to the USA because of its hatred for the God of the Bible, and its hatred for the liberties we cherish.
Another example shows up in the political leadership arena. So much dislike (outright hatred) is held by so many people towards our current President of the US that it is euphemistically called “derangement syndrome.” Strong emotional sentiments expressed in contempt for a person (as inseparable from policies and decisions the person makes), is clearly hatred and not merely disagreements. Much of what is called political “division” is caused by failure to respect people for who they are and focusing on personalities rather than governmental policies. Again, extreme media bias and fake news is used to deliberately deceive the public. Openness to having this pointed out to you could be a doorway to greater peace of mind for those reading this. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could release our expectations and demands for a person(s) to accept/ share our values/ opinions, and surrender to God the rights of judgment?
The last example I will comment on, is the epidemic of relational cutoffs in family (and close friend) interactions. The 2020 CoVID so-called pandemic brought this to higher degree of practice, but many forces have been brewing for a long time to further divide families. Not least of which is a mental health system filled with so-called professional therapists who advocate cutting off any relationship that makes a person feel less than “emotionally safe” (see my article on “Emotional Safety” elsewhere on this blog site). In rare instances, separating for protection from danger is legitimate. However, cutting someone completely out of your life (especially family) because of a disagreement or uncomfortable viewpoint they may hold, is very unhealthy for all involved. Not to seek reconciliation is not justifiable for anyone claiming to be a Christ-follower. A cutoff involves harboring some form of hatred in a person’s heart. The hatred needs to be surrendered to God. God is all about redemption. Cutting off a relationship with a person, in essence cuts off God. Can anything good come out of being cut off from God?
Other examples could be mentioned, but these are some of the most common I see on a regular basis. It baffles me to see how much effort people go through to try to deny their guilt in holding on to vain symptoms to hide a deeper reality. In many cases, the suffering caused is needless. Genuine transformation begins with self-honesty and humility to recognize where we are hiding behind symptoms to avoid or minimize the truth. Surrendering our hearts to God is all he asks us to do. God changes a willing heart. Following Jesus is the Way to peace. There is no other solution that lasts. It almost sounds too simple, but the first step is most important, “Come ….” (Matthew 11:28-30). Genuine truth seekers will always find a true answer, if they are truly seeking the God of the Bible.