The ProblemSome things in life cannot be explained logically, rationally, scientifically, or pragmatically. Some things are beyond our understanding. Admittedly, a lot of nonsense is published under the heading "Miraculous Events", but sometime even hard-nosed journalists, agnostics or totally objective scientists run into events that leave them groping for an explanation.
Well documented healings, for example, defy natural explanations. I know of several cases in which observable, appropriately diagnosed cases of cancer have disappeared. I know of cases in which complex psychiatric problems that should have taken months to alleviate disappeared almost overnight, without a scientifically acceptable, logical explanation.
All races of men in all countries, in all periods of history, have acknowledged the existence of a Supreme Being and a spiritual dimension to life. These beliefs have taken thousands of forms, but they have some things in common. One of the common threads is the existence of a spiritual "good" versus spiritual "bad", or spiritual happiness vs. problems. The opposite poles of these belief systems could be arranged like this:
Spritual problems vs. Spiritual blessings
Distance from God vs. Closeness to God
Divine punishment vs. Divine rewards
Unhappiness and fear vs. Happiness and peace
Chaos and death vs. Harmony and life
Almost all human beings espouse belief systems set up along those lines. Those who deny the existence of a spiritual side of life and the truth of that system of beliefs, have to say that mankind, down through all the ages, has been deluded. They also must admit that their own "enlightened" opinions, which appear relatively late in human history, are a radical break from the kind of thought patterns that have existed in the human race since day one. And even psychiatrists who claim that they do not believe in a spiritual dimension to reality must admit that they work every day with patients who do. The fact of the matter is man is a religious being, he always has been, and always will be.
Some scientists and physicians do not assume that they have a "higher understanding" of the question of spiritual reality. Some of us are humble enough to respect mankind's deep-seated belief in a spiritual dimension. Some religious psychiatrists further acknowledge that spiritual problems might exist. Discussing spiritual problems with a patients is, therefore, legitimate, with certain limitations. Many times while working with a patient, I ask the open-ended question: "What are your beliefs?" I am not trying to force him or her into a particular religious mold, and I certainly am not trying to push my own beliefs upon the person. I just want to k now something about the frame of reference of the patient. Religious beliefs can affect almost every sphere of life, so it becomes important to know if there are problems in that area. Most people, I find, do adhere to some system of religious belief. Atheists are rare. Agnostics are more common, although they may come from religious backgrounds and have ingrained religious values.
Many people suffer from vague feelings of spiritual dysfunction. "Things aren't right with God", they might say after some probing. Their religious lives are not satisfying, happy or fulfilling. They might not express the problem that way, but after some discussion it becomes clear that they want something of a spiritual nature that they don't have. The age-old yearning for "Peace with God" creates problems for them. The feelings associated with the left column of the "Spiritual Problems" chart are bubbling up inside of them.
symptoms of this mild form of spiritual dysfunction include:
- Vague feelings of dissatisfaction with spiritual health
- Feelings of guilt
- (Sometimes unexpressed) anger directed at God
- Worry about death and afterlife
Religious values, I find, are good for people. By following them, a person generally promotes physical and emotional health. Rejecting the values often leads to problems that are major or minor, or sometimes remain hidden for years. I'm not talking about small scale guilt reactions, but heavy duty problems that hurt the individual and society. The old Judeo-Christian codes of conduct, as well as the values of many other religions, tap into truths that we do well to follow.
We live in a generation that until recently threw out all the old religious rules about sex. The old idea that marriage was an institution blessed by God, and sex was to be contained within the marriage relationship, was completely written off. Then look at what happened. Recreational sex with many partners was condoned. Extramarital sex was hardly even questioned. Promiscuity was common. What used to be labeled perversions were openly accepted. Pornography seeped into daily life. "Saving yourself until marriage" became antiquated, laughable concept
People in positions of leadership stood by while all this was happening. Because they, too, ignored the old religious norms, the did not have a foundation for moral judgments. It was hard to argue against free sex from a physical or social standpoint. Only the conservatives, "outdated" spiritual prophets, preached against sex outside of marriage. No one listened to them. The sexual revolution, which was really nothing but surrender to biological instincts, swept through the Western countries.
Today we see that there was some good in the old spiritual mores after all. Killer diseases that are transmitted by sexual contact have spread rapidly through many Western and African countries. A subclass of fatherless, hopeless children is growing up in many Western urban areas. Women who sacrificed unborn babies to convenience and expediency now find that strange emotional hurts surface years after the surgical procedures were performed. Jaded sexual revolutionaries now find that normal sexual activity has lost its attraction - they need bizarre kicks.
Traditional religious values that emphasize the permanence of the marriage bond are gone. (Again, it seems that only the "old-fashioned" religious people try to fight for Biblical values.) But now we pay the price. We are seeing more and more desperate single mothers trying to raise children and hold down jobs at the same time, men who become shiftless drone bees, lacking family relationships and self-esteem, and latch-key children who grow up with no fathers, absentee mothers, and plenty of contact with the television in the living room.
Religious values usually promote the worth of each human being, hospitality to strangers, and kindness to the weak. Many of those values are now gone. In Western lands we now see child abuse, spreading child pornography, increasing rape, street crime, attacks on women and children in isolated locations, child abduction, and serial murders. They tell me that during the 1930's many housewives used to give food and odd jobs to wandering "hobos" who knocked on their doors. Today, a housewife doesn't dare open her triple-locked door when a stranger knocks. In some parts of Chicago, a single woman won't bring her automobile to a full stop at a stop sign - she keeps plenty of space between her car and the one ahead of her so she can gun the engine and escape from "smash and grab" thieves.
Spiritual values have broken down. Too many people reject spiritual laws, the laws of the state, or even simple human decency. They no longer feel accountable to God. And now we all suffer in many ways. 
Relief for spiritual suffering starts with a simple childlike trust in Jesus. It's not complicated, really. Even a little child can participate in it. I recommend Jesus to you as a wise counselor and the greatest psychiatrist who ever lived! At the risk of oversimplifying spiritual problems, I present he following list. Please be aware that a problem may be more complex than it appears, and that solutions are sometimes more complicated than we can cover on a chart such as this. But as an overall approach to spiritual healing, I think this chart can be beneficial. Some cures are, in fact, very simple. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit intercedes for those who pray, turning foolish, unacceptable prayers into "sweet smelling incense" before the Father. For that reason, even stumbling, hesitant steps toward "getting right with God" are honored by the Father.
Disobedience.
Unbelievers are troubled less by disobedience to God's rules than believers. Believers, the Bible says, have the laws of God stamped on their hearts. Disobedience creates unrest, unhappiness, and spiritual pain. Look carefully at your life. Is there some disobedience that you are not trying to change? Are there dark closets in which you hide some sins? The Bible says clearly that obedience is better than sacrifice and all kinds of ritual worship.
Impatience.
We human beings are often slave to time. But the Bible teaches that god does things in His own time. Quiet patience is always recommended as a Christian virtue. God is able to see past the rush of life in this world and see eternity stretching forever, and He seems to delight in teaching us to wait for Him.
Heartbreak and intense spiritual pain.
Why does God allow a loved one to die without salvation? Why does a wayward child refuse to come back to the Lord? Why does God make me suffer? God's ways are not ours. Jesus Christ himself marched through the worst heartbreak and pain imaginable. He understands it. He is powerful enough to alleviate it if He chooses. But He sometimes allows it to continue. Read the beautiful chapters at the end of the book of Job in the Old Testament to see how God's ways are so far above our ways that we cannot understand hem. He knows about our sorrows. We must trust Him and look beyond our sorrows to His salvation. A change of attitude is in order.
Temptations.
Again, Jesus knows all about great temptations. He fought against the strongest ones ever devised by Satan. He used Scripture to combat temptations. In God's Word is great power that we can tap into. Read the Bible. Memorize verses. Meditate on the Bible.
Bitterness and Betrayal.
People often fail - even people we regard as brothers and sisters in Christ. Sometimes a husband or wife brings great pain into a life. (We probably cause more suffering to people around us than we realize, too!) As a general policy, putting undue trust in human beings is dangerous. If a friend or a spouse becomes the anchor of our life, the relationship is not healthy. For a Christian, the only anchor is Jesus. Relationships with husbands and wives, close friends, and parents must be secondary to that spiritual relationship.
Inability to Forgive.
Long-lasting feelings of anger do more harm to the "wronged" person that to the object of the anger. These feelings also lead to deeper problems: hatred, revenge, and "murder in the heart", if not reality. Jesus commanded His followers to forgive those who wrong us, time after time. His command to continually forgive not only keeps society from flying apart violently, but it makes life much easier for the person who doesn't need to bear grudges.
Lack of Love.
God's love is so vast that it is like an infinite ocean. We cannot even comprehend its strength. As we learn to love, we exercise love as a "commitment", not a feeling. True love is unconditional, not attached to a system of laws or fulfillment of rules. God's love is always there if we can become more sensitive to it.
Distance from God.
The Christian solution for peace with God is establishing a true relationship with God. This begins with humbly realizing that we are able to live the kind of life God wants - we are sinners, doomed to destruction. Forgiveness is available as a free gift of Jesus, who took on Himself punishment for our sins. Salvation is also a free gift, and the believing Christian begins to walk with God as a "Child of God".
At times fellowship with God is broken, even though God does not take back His promise of salvation. Sins, worries, carelessness and many other people-centered problems seem to create distance between us and God - although the feelings of distance are false. God is always available to forgive, listen, understand, and provide strength for living. Prayer, meditation, Bible study, and a renewed desire to serve God help restore close fellowship with God.
Ineffective prayer.
Again, the formulation of this problem is false. God always hears the prayers of believers. His response is sometimes immediate, sometimes out over a long time, and sometimes different from the answer that we want. There are times when, in His wisdom, God withholds a specific answer and instead provides strength to bear the problem. God delights in patient, long-term prayer. Keep praying.
No answers to prayers.
Sometimes the problem with not feeling that God hears and answers our prayers is the fact that we don't listen. We must develop the habit of quietly listening to God during prayer time. He often speaks in a "still, small voice". Have you ever kept a prayer diary? Sometimes reading over several weeks or months or entries in such a diary demonstrates that God does indeed answer prayers - we are just too blind, short-sighted and forgetful to see how He is answering prayer!
God's will is not evident.
We often want God to respond to our needs immediately. We work ourselves up into an emotional state and expect God to reveal something to us almost like a general issuing commands to soldiers. However, God often lets believers use natural means - including their own intelligence and judgment - to plot a course of action.
When God's will does become evident, it will often be after much prayer, through circumstances, through personal reflection and sometimes personal feeling, through advice from trust Christian counselor. It is important to know that God's will always coincides in every detail with the truths of Scripture. He will not go against anything He has revealed in the Bible.
Inability to trust God completely.
What are your true goals in life? Be honest with yourself. Are you reaching for goals that God might not put at the top of His list? As you gather your money and other resources, are you depending too much on your own strength to get where you want to go?
sometimes, complete trust in God is learned in the refiner's fire. Just when we think we have our lives planned carefully, they can fall apart into a million pieces. And it is at that time that we are forced to fall on our knees and trust God. People who step out in faith learn to trust God. Is He call you for a particular step of faith?
Lack of interest in God.
A Christian can stagnate if he or she doesn't grow. Christians who do not read the bible, pray, assemble regularly with other Christians, and seek to grow spiritually can be stunted spiritually, or else slide backwards until they no longer have an interest in spiritual matters. Take a good look at the way you spend time, your daily habits, and your priorities. Have spiritual matters slipped far down the list? By changing habits and by purposefully allotting more time to God, interest will be renewed. Prayer is vital to regeneration of a spiritual life.
Anger.
Yes, bad things happen to Christians. Yes, unfair things happen to Christians. Christians suffer, and they even die. Whatever story of suffering you could tell, someone else probably has one that is worse. Jesus Himself suffered more than anyone else. We simply don't have answers to all the problems that beset mankind. But the Bible is clear that God loves us and is in control of everything. sometimes honest anger is worthwhile, if we can get it in the open and deal with it. Deep-seated unresolved anger is like poison. Hidden anger directed against God will bubble up to the surface someday, perhaps manifesting itself in physical or emotional problems. Pray often and listen to God's response. Emphasize trust rather than question why.
Doubts about salvation.
Doubts do afflict even good Christians. The mere presence of doubts is not a sign of spiritual doom. The Bible teaches that salvation is a free gift that is not withdrawn. We can trust God, even if we spend years in the dregs of sin. His love is immense and His forgiveness is unlimited. Feelings about spiritual matters are often misleading. Concentrate on verses such as 1 John 5:11,12 as facts. Then raise your attention from doubts about yourself to serving others. I find that Christians who reach out to others see their internal spiritual troubles shrink steadily.
|
