Fourth Personal Pathway to Healing - Painstakingly Acquiring Faith - Part III

Fourth Pathway – Painstakingly Acquiring Faith – Part III

Job’s rants against God’s injustice for forty-one chapters; he triumphantly dismisses his supposed friends whose inane circular reasoning deepen his torment.  Job did nothing wrong!  As an inexplicable test of his faith, God permits untold wretchedness in Job’s life as he loses his ten children, all financial and material wealth and even his health as boils consume his body.  As he lives through this daily misery, Job understandably and forthrightly questions Almighty God.  How could God allow such an adverse turn of events in Job’s life given Job’s piety, integrity and faithfulness?  Beyond the examples of the patriarchs and prophets, the book of Job depicts a very personal and permissible struggle of someone who genuinely has faith in God.  Job’s character endures as a powerful example to any people of good faith who feel similarly mistreated by God.  Whether a unique Job-like experience or extended period of “dark night of the soul,” this rite of passage is a non-negotiable milestone in anyone’s personal journey of faith.

A gut level question arises when considering Job’s predicament.  Does God have to humiliate a disciple to prepare him or her for a significant task?  Is a life replete with sequentially painful, disappointing and corrosive events the only means of appreciating God’s faithfulness?  An affirmative answer to those questions equates with the logic of insisting that one must be a victim of a car accident to know that it is physically injurious, possibly fatal, legally detrimental and financially damaging.  Job asks, “Where is God as my life wastes away?”  You may ask, “How could Almighty God bless me with multiple talents and endowments but fails to offer me any venues?”  Life can begin to feel as if you are the butt of an unbelievably cruel joke by day and living within an unending nightmare.  From abandonment to poverty to struggling to obtain a formal education to divorce to termination to failed ministry are not a string of pearls.  Rather they are different versions of Hercules’ unending punishment of carrying the weight of the world.  How does a disciple feel joy though he perpetually and daily carries bags of cement?  Consequentially, Job justifiably and boldly asks Almighty God, “Do you have eyes of flesh?  Do you see as a mortal does?” (Job 10:4)

The Johannine evangelist portrays a very human Jesus.  Concerned for the crowd’s hunger after a long day of listening to spiritual teachings in a remote place, Jesus commandeers a little lad’s lunch and performs the miracle of feeding five thousand men not counting women and children.  Encountering a lame man who had suffered with paralysis for thirty-eight years at the pool of Siloam, Jesus shows compassion and heals the man with the stark admonition that he ceases sinning.  Jesus buffers Mary Magdalene from Pharisaical judgment and condemnation.  Before demonstrating the power of God by calling forth Lazarus from the tomb and resurrecting him, Jesus shows a very human side.  Spurned by the frank criticisms of Mary and Martha about His delay in hastening to Bethany upon learning about Lazarus’ near fatal illness, Jesus stands near the tomb and weeps.  Fully God and fully human, Jesus of Nazareth stands among a grieving group of people and cries just as they cry.  In the Garden of Gethsemane on the night on which Judas betrays Him, Jesus becomes exceedingly sorrowful even to the point of death.  With brilliant literary flourish, the Gospel writers describe Jesus sweat as being like drops of blood.  His agony compels Him thrice to petition the Heavenly Father to remove the bitter cup of crucifixion.  Following His final meal with His disciples, this scene is one of the most luminous illustrations of someone undergoing “the dark night of the soul.”  As He receives empowerment of the Holy Spirit, Jesus rises and perseveres through the horrific events that soon follow.

A man with an intense intellect and equal formidable intention to convert the entire Gentile world to faith in Jesus Christ, Paul traverses whatever terrain, weather and conditions he encounters to accomplish his grand missionary ideals.  He details fights with wild beasts, death plots, famine, shipwreck and other harsh situations in his letters to the churches.  Paul resolves these hardships are worthwhile and pale in comparison to the overarching objective of sharing Christ’s love with people who remain unaware of it.  Not surprisingly, Paul lapses into depression after a while (2 Corinthians 1:8-11).  He despairs to the point of death; in fact, he believes that he had been given a death sentence.  Considering Paul’s intention to atone for his misguided missions of eradicating new disciples of Christ as Jewish heretics, he is bewildered that God permits such hardships. 

Mysticism is a component of Christian and spiritual experience in which a disciple or pilgrim embraces hardship and mystery as a means of achieving individual union with God.  St. John of the Cross wrote the prevailing book, The Dark Night of the Soul, the predominant characterization of the spiritual crisis necessary to find God.  Countless volumes collect dust on library shelves throughout the world that record this intimate rite of passage of anyone who genuinely desires to divest from materialism.  Oneness with God necessitates transcending earthly limitations that entangle a person’s mind and soul.  Hence, Jesus of Nazareth exhorts His followers, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:25-34) Rather than being an unjust punishment, “the dark night of the soul” propels a disciple’s toward complete communion with God. 

Two biblical passages illustrate this process.  The prophets allude to God’s use of refiner’s fire to burn dross away from gold, silver and other precious metals to increase their wealth.  To eradicate dross, the refiner heats his oven to temperatures that would singe eyebrows within seconds of opening the door.  He knows the dross has been burned away when he can see a clear image of himself in the metal.  Likewise, God permits trials to determine which disciples He utilizes for major tasks.  By “major,” I do not mean wealthy or famous.  Grandparents who subsist on meager resources in small house but assume guardianship of nine of their grandchildren have done something “major” to expand the kingdom of God.  One of the nine is the author of the author of this blog entry.  My grandparents subordinated their personal desires and needs to embrace the difficult task of rearing the nine of us.  As people who genuinely relied upon God, they accepted this incredible burden of love.  Hence, God looked into their hearts and saw an image of His unfailing love.

Fourth Personal Pathway to Healing - Painstakingly Acquiring Faith - Part IV

Fourth Pathway – Painstakingly Acquiring Faith – Part IV

One of the ways disciples burn dross away from their faith is seriously considering the “masters of suspicion.” Is it surprising that ten books written by atheists become national bestsellers?  I suggest disciples consider three of them; the late Christopher Hitchens’ God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, Religion professor, Anthony B. Pinn’s Writing God’s Obituary: How a Good Methodist Became an Even Better Atheist and scientist, Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion.  These books are combative and polemical in their critique of manipulation of religion to fuel terrorism, injustice, indifference to poor people, xenophobia, classism, militarism and myriad other geopolitical issues.  Well intentioned people of all religions regrettably either ignore these issues or refuse to strive for intellectual coherence within their faith traditions. Some disciples linger in a fog of irrelevancy.  Worthwhile faith can withstand the heat of historical, critical analysis.  Sigmund Freud in his irreverent but substantial condemnation of immature and meaningless religion, The Future of an Illusion, disdains religious adherence to an imaginary perfect parent. Instead, religious people must differentiate themselves from their families and communities of origin.  As holistic adults, disciples should not need an ideal protective parent who forever shields them from danger.  They find internal resources to respond with maturity to daily living.  As questioning is a definite component of maturing in faith, considering opposite positions is equally necessary.  Disciples can learn significantly from persons whom they sometimes label as “opponents and enemies.”  Willingness to converse with committed persons of diverse faiths and even persons who do not affiliate with any faith ironically strengthens faith.  Disciples increasingly acquire knowledge of their own faith traditions as they participate in these dialogues.  To acquire faith sufficiently substantive to withstand life’s turbulence, disciples willingly embrace the masters of suspicion. 

In the second image, the prophets admonish Israel to resist the temptation to mimic Moab’s behavior; “Moab has been at ease from his youth, and he has settled on his lees; and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither has he gone into captivity; therefore, his taste remained in him and his scent is not changed” (Jeremiah 48:11) Wine was a staple in biblical times.  Its process of fermentation offers value symbolic and spiritual lessons.  Beginning with squashing grapes to pouring juice in barrel and then pouring the liquid from that barrel into another barrel to discard the pieces of grape skin, seeds, and other sediments that contaminate the wine, this process demonstrates spiritual growth and personal development.  If the wine were not removed from barrel to discard residue at the bottom, the scum invariably spoils the wine.  Rotten seeds corroded the taste and other dirty particles created an odor as they fermented within the wine.  Periodically, winemakers had to pour the wine as it ferments from barrel to barrel to ensure removal of lees.  This image suggests God utilizes complex and contradictory occurrences to drain lees out of the character of people and transform them into vessels of His love. 

As a pathway for personal healing, faith emerges in irony and mystery.  To reap the benefits of an interpersonal healing process, a disciple discards the ambiguous and archaic models of who God is, who He reveals his purposes and the means with which He imparts faith.  Instead, embracing these difficulties is an effective means of discovering genuine faith.  In Ephesians 3:20, Paul encourages the church, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than you can ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us.”  This verse reminds us of our internal power. Inner reserves of resilience, perseverance and meaningful and rational belief in God equip disciples to withstand unjust situations.  One of the most invaluable gifts of “the dark night of the soul” is the gift of individuation.  The Swiss analytical psychologist, Carl G. Jung, contributes this spiritual, theological and psychoanalytic concept.  In contrast to Freud, Jung posits that religion offers incredible potential to resolve intrapsychic trauma and pathology rather being its source.  Individuation entails progressing toward unconditional self-acceptance of a person’s uniqueness.  Self-acceptance in turn yields self-determination as it relates to employment, education, marriage, family and other personal choices.  Essentially, belief in God fits hand in glove with belief in self.  However, individuation does not emerge within a graduate school seminar or study desk in the library. It is the gift for disciples who journey through the valley of the shadow of death.

Two recent historical examples vividly illustrate “the dark night of the soul.” Historians concur in their characterization of a period of Winston S. Churchill’s life as “the wilderness years.”  He was out of power in Britain.  Churchill experienced two stages of political service.  In the former time, he demonstrated his potential, character and promise.  The latter period witnessed his ascendancy to the premiership of Great Britain in which he led the United Kingdom through the Second World War and beat back the Axis powers’ ferocious assault.  Even casual observers and readers of history can quote a snippet from Churchill’s enduring speech to the British people in which he assured the country that they would never surrender.  Between these two epochs, Churchill was removed from the British Parliament.  Exiled to his residence where he read, painted, smoked lengthy cigars and enjoyed wine and spirits, Churchill utilized that time to examine himself. In this existential wilderness, he found resilience, chutzpah and self-determination.  That time of self-discovery prepared him for the great tasks that lay before him. 

Should your emotions swing between the pendulum of anxiety and anger as well as bleakness and paralysis, you may find encouragement and empowerment from Churchill’s life.  His exilic period allowed him to discover resourcefulness within his character that equipped him for his destiny.  The wilderness is an ideal setting for many lessons.  Its silence compels introspection.  Having to subsist within austere conditions, a person discards unnecessary desires.  Solitude affords mental space to evaluate life’s meaning and purpose.  Examination of personal and professional relationships is necessary to unload unhealthy and incongruent alliances. 

Fourth Personal Pathway to Healing - Painstakingly Acquiring Faith - Part V

Fourth Pathway – Painstakingly Acquiring Faith – Part V

A hard analysis of your previous life determines whether you are living the life you imagined in your youth.  Do you redirect your choices, time and priorities to actualize your heartfelt dreams and goals?  If you made a wrong turn on the road of life, take a detour that leads you back to your chosen path?  Deprivation forces a person to reflect.  I imagine the loss of power compelled Churchill to rethink its privilege and purpose.  What would he do with political power were he to regain it?  How did he lose it?  Does arrogance, fear and tunnel vision explain his defeat?  Is there an overarching purpose to his service that he uniquely would accomplish were providence to grace him with another opportunity?  These questions and any you formulate may prove helpful to you as you live through your version of a wilderness experience.

Shortly after her death and worldwide state funeral, Time published an exposé regarding Mother Teresa’s serious and lifelong doubts in her faith.  David Van Blema’s article, “Mother Teresa’s Crisis of Faith,” appeared in the 23 August 1997 edition.  To a spiritual confident, she writes, “Jesus has a special love for you.  As for you, the silence and the emptiness is so great.  I look and do not see; listen and do not hear.  The tongue moves in prayer but does not speak.”  Van Blema, perused sixty-six years of her correspondence with ecclesiastical associates.  He characterizes her private spirituality, “an arid landscape from which the deity had disappeared.”  The editor of a collection of her letters offers “for nearly the last half century of her life she felt no presence of God whatsoever ‘neither in heart or in the Eucharist.’”

These revelations undoubtedly shock average people of faith.  It is difficult to believe that a saint in the Church experienced such a lengthy period traversing “the dark night of the soul.”  With an open mind, we could learn a tremendous amount about authentic faith which includes hard questions, doubt, irony, mystery and leaven of bewilderment.  Mother Teresa’s interesting life teaches disciples to discard formulaic, simpleminded statements of faith.  Disciples are not parrots.  The walk of faith often involves contradictions wherein Almighty God appears silent and indifferent.  His failure to intervene feels humiliating.  Spiritual platitudes, however prevalent and commercially profitable and religious formulas utilizing assonance and alliteration, do not suffice to empower someone to persevere through these difficult times. 

The Bible allows for Mother Teresa’s perplexing decades of questioning God’s presence and seeking authentic communion with Him.  Ages before she lived, Jeremiah’s questions foreshadowed her questions.  He offers a fierce complaint and lament (Jeremiah 20:7-18); in fact, the prophet curses the day that he was born!  “Cursed be the day that I was born!  May the day my mother bore me not be blessed.”  This passage concludes with a pivotal question for all people of good faith.  “Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?” Sequential hurtful experiences compel that question from anyone who wrestles genuinely for pragmatically significant faith.  Notwithstanding her compelling efforts to enlighten the consciousness of disciples regarding the most vulnerable members in the human family, Mother Teresa understandably became disillusioned as her work paled in comparison with illimitable human needs.  Jeremiah’s dark questions became hers.  Elsewhere Jeremiah asks, “Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable?  You are to me like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails.”

Whether through the lenses of Jeremiah, Churchill or Mother Teresa, disciples can navigate the treacherous terrain of emotional and existential wilderness.  Questioning does not negate faith.  Asking hard questions strengthens a disciple’s relationship with God.  However painstaking, this process of wrestling with God is a certain pathway to healing.

Faith can be intensely practical.  It is regrettable that so many believers exaggerate faith in God.  I recommend we demystify faith.  Unfortunately, leaders of the “Gospel of Health and Wealth” movement speciously speak of having “super faith.” One of these persons once said he had God’s special phone number.  With a financial gift, viewers and listeners of his programs obtain this secret information.  It is more classified than any secrets held by the seventeen intelligence agencies of the United States government. Nonetheless, in absolute contrast, Jesus says faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain. (Matthew 17:20) You essentially need the equivalent of less than a milligram of weight, drop of water or grain of sand to resolve any dilemma.  Simply stated, you need willingness to believe that things can be different.  Are willing to merely entertain the idea that you can surmount any challenge with God’s help.  Will you affirm, “There is a solution?”  “I will not allow any problem to define me.”  “I am victorious in all matters.”  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  (Philippians 4:13) “I am more than a conqueror through Christ who gives me the victory.” (Romans 8:37) “I sought the Lord who heard my cry and delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4)   These affirmations reflect genuine faith in God’s ability to heal.  Believing that healing is possible is necessary to obtain it.  To overcome your childhood and formative trauma, you must have faith that it is possible.  Still, the requisite faith is very practical and commonsensical.  Believing with your whole heart that continual healing will unfold.

Affirmation is a form of practical faith.  Repeatedly, forthrightly and specifically stating your wholehearted desires is a means of demonstrating faith in God’s willingness to intervene favorably in your challenges.  Affirmations arise from the oceans of a person’s heart and psyche.  Lingering in pain motivates a person to seek healing.  Each time a person articulates a desire for healing, he or she prays.  Consistent and daily periods of affirmation are powerful means of achieving healing from past pain.  The opening verses of Genesis reflects the power of the spoken word.  God speaks creation into existence. His words are the manifestation of His architectural plans for the Earth.  Before He speaks, His ideas remain silent and dormant within His mind.  Similarly, many of our dreams and hopes remain unformed in our subconscious. Like undefiled treasure in the ocean, these creative possibilities live within our inner world until we voice them aloud.  Affirming them as your heart’s deepest desires is an act of faith.  Stating positively your heartfelt intention to accomplish your dreams and goals fulfills the intention and meaning of Hebrews 11:1. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen.”  Affirmative words exist as substance of our intentions and evidence of our faith until our desires and dreams manifest physically.  Daily repetition of our intention to achieve our most heartfelt ambitions declares our faith.  These affirmations remove lingering vestiges of victimhood.  They yield self-determination thereby assuring us that we can make proactive choices in daily living.  This liberty results from healing which faith makes possible.

Fourth Personal Pathway to Healing - Painstakingly Acquiring Faith - Part VI

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. 

Fourth Personal Pathway to Healing - Painstakingly Acquiring Faith - Part VII

Fourth Pathway – Painstakingly Acquiring Faith – Part VII

“Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17) The Bible and other sacred literature remain as enduring depositories of faith.  I suggest disciples choose several verses to memorize and recite to strengthen their faith.  Repeat these verses as many times as necessary to allow them to seep deeply within your unconscious.  Be able to recite them silently in your sleep.  The Israelites taught their children to internalize the scriptures.  They told them to recite the Word of God as they left and returned to their houses.  They recalled God’s promises upon awaking in the morning and lying down for sleep in the night.  Within their daily affairs, they surrounded themselves with God’s love and grace as evident in His Word.  As you heal from past pain, adopting several Bible verses as divine promises of restoration strengthens your faith.   

A few verses in Isaiah and a verse each in Deuteronomy and the Psalms reignite the flame of my faith in bleak times.  The author of Isaiah 50:7 speaks with limitless confidence and trust in God.  He says, “Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced.  Therefore, have I set my face like flint; and I know that I will not be put to shame.”    Notice the high opinion of God the author holds.  The theologian, J. I. Packer, posits that disciples who trust God think highly of Him.  Isaiah addresses God as the “Sovereign Lord” thereby characterizing Him as an omnipotent being to whom the prophet appeals to resolve any dilemma.  With the aid of an all-knowing, ever-present, all powerful and benevolent Supreme Being, Isaiah knows disgrace will not befall him.  Colloquially, with God on his side, how could Isaiah possibly fail?  With the blessed assurance of success, Isaiah develops fierce determination to pursue his ambitions and goals.  He describes his resolve as “flint-like.”  Flint is a gray or black stone that looks like glass.  Isaiah’s intention parallels the impenetrable substance and lucidity of this rock.  Accordingly, the prophet repeats, “I know that I will not be put to shame.”  If struck by steel, flint ignites.  Isaiah’s faith enflames his willingness to achieve his goals as he genuinely relies upon God.

Fear impedes healing.  It robs countless persons of peace of mind.  Its turmoil distracts people from their priorities as they preoccupy themselves with myriad problems.  People waste precious time, energy and resources embroiled in unnecessary fights.  Fear of humiliation imprisons disciples in unproductive conflicts.  There are those battles that organically erupt in daily living.  Medical diagnoses can be unfair.  Unjust terminations due to budgetary shortfalls and internal politics occur each day. Other relational and vocational challenges cumulatively create paralyzing fear in the minds and hearts of many disciples.  Yet, Isaiah offers tremendous encouragement: Isaiah 41:10, “So, do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”  The assurance of God’s presence obliterates fear.  The certainty of God’s unfailing love yields healing from substantive relational pain and emotional injury.  With God standing beside them, disciples need not fear anyone or anything.  God tells them to resist despondent feelings.  “Be not dismayed for I am your God.”  He promises to strengthen them and enable them to triumph in any adversity.  Faith in God’s trustworthiness and guidance during a long and seemingly unending challenge destroys fear.

Howard Thurman, premiere African American Baptist mystic theologian of the twentieth century, likens faith during difficult times to headlights on a dark and dreary road.  Consider driving while lost on a Southern dirt road in dense woods.  You long for the main road.  Loudly whistling leaves, hooting owls and wildlife noises increase your heart rate.  Fears of imminent injury or death floods your mind.  With a panting heart, sweat drenched clothing and childlike anxiety, you drive frantically and speedily.  God’s overarching presence and protection are headlights to lead you.  Darkness compels you to draw closer to God.   Isaiah 42:16 says, “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will lead them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough spaces smooth before them.  These are the things that I will do; I will not forsake them.”  This verse offers tremendous growth in faith.  Periodically, disciples face every conceivable challenge relating to health, finances, employment, marriage, family and emotional well-being.  Total darkness eclipses God’s presence and power.  Through Isaiah’s voice, the Lord promises to lead any aimless disciple.  Blind followers will receive divine guidance as they progress through the darkness.  God pledges to lead them along new and previously untraveled paths.  Open-mindedness and creativity are vital spiritual tools in tough times.  That is the time “to think outside of the box.”  It is crucial to explore different passageways to your destiny.  Quite possibly, your previous internal challenges and difficult experiences blinded you from seeing who you are.  Although you planned sought financial gain, material acquisition and noteworthy reputation, you become open to God’s guidance and provision toward a different vocation.  Your time in the wilderness demands your full and undivided attention.  Then, the Lord can instruct you.  He changes your conceptions about ambition, success, fame and money.  You leave the wilderness with a new understanding; in serving other people, you find inner healing and wholeness.  Forsaking a victim’s complex is critical to continual healing.   

Furthermore, God pledges to turn the darkness into light and make the rough spaces smooth.  Faith in God’s ability removes internal obstacles to your growth.  Your life can change in unimaginable ways if you trust God.  Accepting God’s unconditional love affirms your faith in Him.  Seeing yourself as a unique child of God fosters self-acceptance.  The darkness that permeates your soul is a wholesale ignorance of your unique character.  Carl Jung posits everyone remains incomplete until he or she embarks upon the interior journey that reveals “the undiscovered self.”  An interdependent relationship with Almighty God discloses your unique self: the singular, unparalleled, irreplaceable, matchless and distinctive character that you possess as a gift of God.  Each person has a definitive and matchless personality.  Most unfortunately, countless persons expend extraordinary resources of time, money and energy striving to be someone else.  They fall prey to the wizardry of marketing and advertising.  They embark upon useless quests to improve and perfect ourselves.  Clothing, plastic surgery, “makeovers,” cosmetics and other fashion products are the means through which they transform themselves into Cinderella.  They miss the blessing of living unique and incalculable lives that God graciously gives.  They stumble in existential darkness as they remain ignorant of who they are.  Clarity about your “Self” equips you to handle daily struggles and obstacles.  As God reveals the inimitable gifts, He gave you, He equally reveals myriad ways to utilize them.  Hence, God makes the darkness light before you.  God promises He will not leave nor forsake you.  He does not abandon you to your circumstances.  Learning to trust Him is an important component of your relationship with Him.  Though the darkness hides God, His glory remains.  You may not feel Him.  You may not hear Him.  Still, He is with you.  Faith in the healing process means you trust God to carry you when you faint.  Assuredly, God orchestrates your circumstances to yield healing within your brokenness.

Fourth Personal Pathway to Healing - Painstakingly Acquiring Faith - Part VIII

Fourth Pathway – Painstakingly Acquiring Faith – Part VIII

The Psalter concludes the twenty-seventh psalm with a bold declaration of faith.  “I remain confident of this; I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”  (Psalm 27:13) Repeated recitation of this verse is an affirmation that healing emerges unquestionably.  Note the Psalter does not expect it “in the sweet by and by.”  He pronounces his faith in the present tense, active voice and indicative mood.  Definitively, he resolves to experience healing as he acquires tremendous blessings and joys.  The Psalter correlates his confidence with his belief in God’s faithfulness.  He wants his soul to be fully alive.  He refuses to be imprisoned to a hurtful and unresolved history.  He will not live a life beneath his potential and abilities.  He discards demeaning and belittling sayings he heard in early life.  He trusts God to extend grace and kindness to effectuate healing.  Additionally, the Psalter demands these blessings “in the land of the living.”  An indescribable, blissful and illimitable heaven is not imminent.  Thus, it is not acceptable to wait for its unfolding.  To that end, the Psalter affirms God will bestow complete and progressive healing.  In a previous verse, Psalm 27:10, the Psalter proclaims God’s trustworthiness in frank and forthright terms.  “Though my mother and my father forsake me, the Lord will receive me.”  This statement is a divine guarantee of healing.  God assures you that He will comfort and sustain you.  He sees your inner essence.  He knows who you are.  He sees beyond the scars and pain of your past.  He foresees the manifestation of your gifts, abilities and endowments to serve Him.  He uses broken vessels to majestically, magnificently and marvelously share His illimitable grace with humankind.  The Psalter offers a progressive faith in God’s willingness to heal.

Healing is a gift for recipients who believe steadfastly in its possibility.  These persons refuse to allow childhood trauma and formative pain to define them.  They stop complaining about life’s inherent unfairness.  They accept the proverbial cards that God providentially deals them.  They remain true to the dreams, ambitions and ideals of their youth.  They persevere despite any obstacles.  They employ spiritual disciplines to triumph over adversity.  They absolutely refuse to live beneath their potential.  They serendipitously acquire “true ambition” which a spiritual teacher and author defines as “a deep desire to live usefully and walk humbly before the grace of God.”  They comprehend their simple and profound right to be happy in this life. 

Gratitude for the Life and Legacy of Aretha Franklin

Gratitude for the Life and Legacy of Aretha Franklin

Today, as we celebrate her life and seminal contribution to music, I am grateful for the life and legacy of Aretha Franklin, the undisputed “Queen of Soul.”  I woke up hearing “Respect” and “Natural Woman.”  Then, I recalled two of my favorite Aretha songs, “Muddy Water” and “Rock Steady.” I paused and considered how deeply I along with countless others am so deeply affected by her death.  It signifies the passing of a generation of distinct and self-determinatively African American Rhythm and Blues and Soul singers and artists.  Mostly popular in the 1970s, these performers and musicians furthered the expansion of Black consciousness through their unapologetic African and African American style, clothing, hairdos and performance art.  As I write, very fond memories of listening to James Brown, Larry Graham, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin among other artists on WWDM in Sumter, SC as my siblings and I prepared for school during the week and completed chores on the weekend.  I spent several childhood summers in Miami with relatives; there we listened to these artists in WEDR.  The lyrics of their songs offer hope to persevere within personal trials and encouragement to seek a better tomorrow despite contrary circumstances.

Whereas pain, challenge, injustice and hardship are prevalent within the African Diaspora, these artists assisted listeners in finding self-determination, resilience and other internal resources to surmount their daily struggles as they progress toward the lives that they imagine in their youth.  The beauty and majesty of their music extend to anyone who listens with an open heart and abundant soul.  Distinguished among them, Aretha Franklin rightly deserves the characterization, inimitable.  Beyond being unique and incomparable, to be inimitable is to be superlatively distinct and thus incapable of imitation. Regardless of how talented any artist is or how hard anyone tries, he or she cannot perform any of Aretha Franklin’s work as she did.  Essentially, she “owned” every song she recorded and performed.  Whether an aria, anthem, blues, gospel, folk hymn, jazz, soul, spiritual or another genre, she sang as if it were just written for her.  Amongst her generation of artist, she possessed this unparalleled ability and range to perform within myriad genres without sacrificing quality.  Whether with a jazz band, symphony or within a studio, she gave an impressionable and indelible performance each time. 

The daughter of a famous pastor and nurtured within the context of the vibrant Black Church culture of Detroit, Franklin’s voice and performance style resounds with the deep and wide spiritual and soulful roots she developed.  Accordingly, her music touches a listener’s soul.  Momentary liberation from boredom, oppressive feelings and daily difficulties usually followed the first sounds of her recordings.  Responding often with a silent “Amen” occurs when hearing one of the enduring hymns of the Church or a real-life blues song like “Muddy Water.”  Unsurprisingly, you spontaneously break into your famous dance moves with the first chords of “Rock Steady” or a comparable song.  In addition to surmounting sad situations and various obstacles, her music fuels creativity and inspires a person to believe that the life he or she envisions is indeed possible.

I imagine a treasure trove of stories of her tribulations, friendships, social activism and anonymous participation in the struggle for freedom and justice exist.  Future biographers will detail the interesting, dramatic and mysterious dimensions of her life of which we were not privy.  These writers will introduce us to a more holistic portrait of her humanness.  Combining her story with her music will more greatly inspire us.  In the interim, I offer thanksgiving for her six decades of enriching the lives of hundreds of millions of adoring and appreciative fans.  Mostly, I am grateful that she taught us the importance of “Respect” in all relationships.  It seems inconceivable that any future artist will ever dethrone the “Queen of Soul.”

How magnificent that future generations will inherit and enjoy her music as we have!