Fourth Pathway – Painstakingly Acquiring Faith –
Part VI
Depending upon shifting circumstances,
it is easy to abandon faith and lapse into fear. Repeated defeats naturally coalesce in
depression and demoralization. Disciples
often quote Proverbs 3:5-8 which directs them to trust God and subordinate
their preferences to God’s will. He will
direct their paths and lead them toward the best possible choices. Negativity and fear are understandable
responses when these verses fail to materialize. How do disciples respond when God’s favor and
direction do not emerge? They question
the worth of prayer and other spiritual disciplines. Self-reliance seems preferable to faith in
God. God’s silence leaves disciples to
fend for themselves. Instead of seeing
the light at the end of the tunnel, bleak situations hurl disciples
backwards. Everything again appears
dismal and old fears immediately arise.
Feelings of abandonment by God recur.
Isolation. Desolation. Captured.
Imprisoned. Tortured emotionally
with hopelessness yet imagining walking freely into the brilliant
sunlight. The range of these thoughts
and feelings yield a startling, frightening and horrible conclusion. “My life is a cruel joke by day and an
endless nightmare by evening.”
Abandoning faith in God seems appropriate to God’s apparent
abandonment. These volatile eruptions of
fear displace faith. I suggest disciples
honestly embrace these emotional tempests.
Attempting to quiet them with church clichés equates with using a garden
hose to put out a raging California wildfire.
Retreating to affirmation and meditation keenly resolve spontaneous
injuries of mind and heart. Affirming
heartfelt desires, clarifying gut-level intentions and mediating upon creative
ways to achieve them eradicate unexpected fear and return you to the pathway of
healing.
Listening to music is a practical
pathway to healing. An author
illustriously notes, “Life is at once beautiful and painful.” This dualism expresses truths within human
experience. Childhood trauma while
exceedingly painful equally hold many memories of love, compassion and
inexpressible beauty. The taste of
favorite childhood foods never leaves your palate. I attempt to replicate my late beloved
paternal grandmother’s sweet potato pie because the first bite reminds me of
her unconditional love and graciousness.
Memories of our house filled with people, food, games and laughter
during the holidays comprise a sacred space in my heart. The sight and smell of sunflowers are very impressive. I recall how those flowers withstand the
blistering heat of July in South Carolina.
As a kid, I thought, “How amazing and wonderful that these beautiful
flowers remain pretty despite the brutal heat!” They are my most favorite flowers as they
remind me of the beauty that my African American Southern, religious and humble
upbringing contained notwithstanding its formidable challenges. Chief amongst the most healing reflections is
the music of my childhood. Weekly, I
retreat to the dog days of summer as I listen to gospel, jazz, soul and R &
B songs of yesteryear. Every Saturday,
regardless of what I am doing or where I am, I find a radio station that plays
this music. My inner person travels at
the speed of light to joyful childhood innocence and bliss. That music reminds me of the best of my
cultural heritage. On the first Sunday
of each month, my soul hurries to our family pew in the church of my rearing. With perfect remembrance, I participate in
the observance of Holy Communion as the ritual rehearses God’s act of
unconditional love in the sacrifice and gift of Jesus Christ. I hear and sing enduring hymns of the
Church.
Three hymns in particular always pull
me out of the quicksand of depression and doubt. “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” is a
prayer to see God’s grace and goodness in every situation. In the final stanza, the lyricist appeals to
God to bind his heart with grace as a fetter to prevent idolatry and his
wandering heart from serving other gods.
“Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah” is a triumphant song that declares a
disciple’s victorious transition to eternal life. Disciples enjoy blessed assurance that the
Lord stands at the shore of the chilly Jordan River to assist any trembling son
or daughter to cross over into heavenly bliss.
As disciples mature in faith, they confidently respond to inexplicable
crises. They cease to allow
circumstances beyond their control to overwhelm them. My most favorite hymn, “It Is Well with My
Soul,” joyously declares “whatever my lot, it is well with my soul.” The lyrics affirms God’s overarching
presence, comfort and grace from cradle to grave and in the afterlife. This is not a song of resignation, accommodation
and defeat. This hymn reflects a
disciple’s steadfast faith in Almighty God notwithstanding difficult and
contradictory circumstances. Its author
penned these words after learning of the death at sea of his entire nuclear
family. Bitterness and cynicism would
have been reasonable and understandable.
Remarkably, that tragedy generates some of the most often sung words in
Christendom. The hymnologist resolves to
trust God. Time, one of the great
healers, is good to this man. Reciting
this hymn is a means of healing from past pain.
A theology professor became paralyzed as resulting from sustained
domestic violence within her marriage.
The verbal and physical brutality which she suffered suspended her
ability to read and write, critical functions of her vocation as a teacher and
scholar. For nearly two years, she could
not engage either activity. Bewilderment
swelled her head and consciousness as she experienced such devastating behavior
from a person claiming to love her.
During a leave of absence, she found healing in taking the Eucharist and
its assurances of God’s unfailing love.
More specifically, she took refuge in the promises of resurrection. The power of Christ’s example in experiencing
two unjust trials, brutal beatings, taunts and crucifixion empowered her to
withstand her trauma. The Christian
concept of resurrection gave her hope to heal and regain her life. In addition, she found great solace in
listening to music. “Music soothes the
savage beast.” That maxim captures one
of the most effective means of her pathway to healing.
Like the previously referenced
professor, many disciples receive illimitable hope from taking the
Eucharist. As 1 Corinthians 11
delineates, celebration of Holy Communion reminds disciples of God’s
sacrificial love in Christ. The
celebrant rehearses Christ’s steadfast love toward humankind. Christ does not flinch but fulfills His
destiny of offering salvation to humankind.
The atoning life and sacrificial love of Christ reflects God’s holy
character. “God is love.” (1 John 4:6)
The Eucharist continually imparts and reaffirms God’s unfailing love for each
disciple. His love is the highest form
of love; it is agape which means redemptive and restorative. Divine love heals human brokenness. The miraculous healings in the Gospels are
acts of God’s love not merely supernatural deeds. Essentially, the Eucharist is a hymn of God’s
love. Participating in this ritual as
often as a disciple can is a pathway to healing.
“Thank you” is a powerful prayer. Gratitude is an empowering and
self-determinative response to difficulty and perplexity. Being thankful that you survived childhood
and formative trauma is one way to heal.
Undoubtedly, many persons are so debased and disheartened by their past
that they are not able to grow beyond it.
They turn to alcohol, drugs, food, workaholism, isolation and other
types of addiction to erase their pain.
These self-destructive behaviors terminate in emotional, psychological,
existential and physical death. Thankfulness
opens the mind to new horizons of consciousness. The ability to create and dream is vital to
achieving a happy, joyous and free life.
Poverty’s most debilitating effect is its propensity to smash the hopes
and ambitions of the unfortunate persons who grow up in its vice. Over the expanse of human cultural, racial,
ethnic and linguistic diversity, we cannot know the countless gifted and
intelligent persons who did not contribute to the betterment of humankind
because poverty viciously broke their imagination and industry. Nevertheless, it is a personal achievement to
give thanks for surmounting these challenges.
You are grateful your past and pain built a formidable character within
you. You are the person who you have
become because your past compelled you to achieve, succeed and refuse to
yield. Willingness to offer thanks in
response to hardship means you did not allow the past to overwhelm you. It signals your personal development and
spiritual growth. It reflects healing
from distant trauma. Being grateful in
all situations is a method of healing and demonstrating faith. Appreciation of the people, experiences and
possessions that enrich your life prepares you to receive more.
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