Alice, your insight is rare for a person so young, especially in today's postmodern culture that also seeped into some parts of the western church. I resonate greatly with what you are getting at, and see the thread of how God renewed your mind in your other videos. I suffered a decade of incurable disease that took everything from me. I can agree that therapy and psychology could do nothing for me because I was in a legitimate hopeless situation. No rumination of knowledge or memory under the earth can give hope when in existential crisis, only the metaphysical supply and wisdom from heaven. I find many in the comfortable west go to therapy as an excuse to be unwilling to surrender to total change. Like you said, they want half-assed, trying to placate the soul that says something is wrong, but also placating the flesh to not totally surrender to a new purpose which requires coming to the end of your old self. I want Christ to give me a renewed mind and move towards his divine design which is better than my imagination... which the Tao is a shadow of, which I suspect you appreciate coming from China. I am also a writer but want to see how I can help your mission. I really like what you are trying to do. If willing, do drop me an email. My contact can be found at my webpage letterstoamoderndayJob.com.
Your insights are sharp, "many in the comfortable west go to therapy as an excuse to be unwilling to surrender to total change."
That's exactly what it is. The west do not know the fear of God. Everything is sugarcoated and watered down, forgetting that Jesus was a Jew, God was the God of Israel. Western Christianity is loaded with Paganism.
Your name reminds me of Barbie😆Hope you don't mind.
I'll mark you Ken, maybe very soon I'll need more writers here. Keep in touch!
I like your wording: "legitimate hopeless situation." The Scriptures themselves tell us that God's process of salvation and sanctification is a war of attrition: Deuteronomy 32 (our central confession per Rev 15) and Psalm 90 clearly declare that God's will is too humble us completely, so that we rely on his strength alone.
Acedia ("sloth" or "despondency") is the sin which resists this process by mentally fleeing to nostalgia in the past, or a nostalgic imagination of the future, failing to confront The dark night of the Soul in utter poverty of spirit, which watches at Wisdom's gates daily as a servant watches for his master/mistress, knowing that only God can set our feet Free from the snare as he moves us to loneliness and affliction (Psa 25).
Acedia is exactly the deadly sin that Jeremiah is struggling with in Jer 15, where we are instructed that part of our watching involves thinking on noble things (Phi 4), on "things above." Only by this will we grasp that God afflicts us by faithfulness (Psa 119:75), and that even his wrath is an intense expression of His desire to free us from sin.
ATRAZINE is making men gay. ATRAZINE makes a male frog into a female frog. I'm recruiting the reader to be a soldier 🪖. Don't blame people for their "laziness" do you know they are poisoned and mind controlled by Satan? If It wasn't for Satan we'd all be good. The suffering man from Mark 9:29 is not lazy, he's controlled.
Those legionous demons are at it again with the society at large. The solution is still the same as it was in Mark 9:29, Prayer and Fasting to remove the parasitic Beelzebub from the intestines.
Interesting message that speaks to the healing power God's word and walking in the way of Christ. I come across similar lessons to this and find that people struggling with mental illness (from mild-severe) often feel ostracized from Christian faith due to misinterpreting this teaching. Speaking to a similar effect; considering that mental illness is cognitive, physical, and spiritual; Sirach 38 shows that doctors should be honored and trusted with their healing practices. "Honor physicians for their services, for the Lord created them, for their gift of healing comes from the Most High, and they are rewarded by the king. The skill of physicians makes them distinguished, and in the presence of the great they are admired. The Lord created medicines out of the earth, and the sensible will not despise them." Sirach 38:1-4. Doctors and therapists rightly trained in their disciplines who abide to The Law are seemingly rare these days, but their functions in societies are phenomenal. Teachers of mine recognize how the work of certain doctors and therapists is akin to 'miracles.' Flatly denouncing psychiatry and medicine puts many people in harms way and confuses the teaching of The Lord to the benefit of infiltrators and tyrants.
Alice - I was wondering if you could address the idea that men must be capable monsters but virtuous? The Bible instructs us to be ‘wise as the serpent but gentle as the lamb’. There seems to be a misunderstanding in the Christian community that men are to be lambs only. There is no real instruction that is undertaken about how to be a warrior, how to have the capacity and skill for confrontationa and violence, yet to also be kind, compassionale and forgiving. Why does the community instruct us to be victims only often falling back to the instruction that we are to simply ‘turn the other cheek?’ and how do we reconcile these messages appropriately?
You raised a great topic, Michael. I would like to sit with this for a longer time and pray for God's guidance. As a woman, I’ll do my best to address this topic, encourage young men, and pray that God raises a son of His to live as an example and provide hands-on instruction to all of you sons of God. This is what we need in our modern society. Thank you for this inspiration!
The Scripture is full of such men, but specifically teaches us in the mustering for war (Deut 20), that our fight in life must not be hasty, and that the fight for life is not primarily in the area of confronting an armed enemy, but in confronting our call to cultivate the earth and cultivate a wife and family. Boaz is the "worthy man" who is worthy of the "worthy woman," Ruth. He is also the son of a "worthy woman," Rather (compare Jos 2 & Prov 31: you'll see Rahab is Solomon's noble wife).
Jim Jordan, whose teachings are available at Theopoilis institute and in books he has written, taught on "arming yourself for warfare" from Deuteronomy 20. This is the same thing Peter is talking about in I Pet 4:1.
I also suggest reading through the Book of Ruth on Bible Hub, drilling down into the Hebrew word "worthy"/""noble" (חַיִל ḥaiyl; from 2342) and searching for it across Scripture. It is an important word, and forms a theme across the Old Testament, which carries into the New
Outstanding Work Alice! So glad I found you on YT! Decided to sub up to you on substack to support you on your journey! All the best! God bless you sis! 💪😎🌠 I like the pacing gonna listen to you alot more often, I have a lot to learn. Cheers!
Thank you so much brother! Generosity works miracles. “There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right,But it leads to poverty.” Proverbs 11:24
Giving is having, having is multiplying. And to those who have, more shall be given.
God bless you and may many are blessed through you💛
Another good content. Regarding the comment about "supplement", is it related to some sort of antidepressant meds? If so, I personally think it does wonders to some people with severe mental health problems who may have inadequate cognitive capacity to wrestle with questions related to God knowledge. I also believe because of (biologically speaking) lower serotonin level especially in people with depression which manifests in a way that will cripple them to even "consider" God, medications still have a role to reverse the mental state to stability and obviously it should not undermine the spiritual aspect either in any shape or form, both approaches can go together concurrently. Both can be wonderful means to help people know and understand the meaning of healing that comes from God.
Thanks for bringing up this topic! I'm very interested in this field actually. The association between mentality and spirituality is mysterious. I believe some mental issue is medical and some—I lean towards the majority—are spiritual. Either way, God can heal.
I see that your bio describes you come from medical background that's why I'm comfortable in bringing it up because mental health issue is a serious problem to tackle especially for struggling Christians. Serotonin itself is controversial chemical to blame for depression because most antidepressants that are used work optimally after 2 weeks even though it should have worked immediately after being introduced into the plasma- that means there are some other factors that come into play that screw up our mental state which can be related to neuroplasticity thing which is very complicated or as you said there can be spiritual and metaphysical factors that can disturb the mental functioning, therefore I'm in the position that drugs are not entirely the solution, however God must have designed the schemes in a way that drugs can also help people come to know him and be healed despite being in the state of mental health struggle.
There are many reasons I quit medicine. This is one of it.
I was an intern doctor at psychiatry department for a few months when I was by no means a Christian. Nobody that was in that mad house was healed.
Many "genetic" mental diseases come from generational curses—Yes, what is spiritual will change you genetically. Medicine never cures mental diseases, it merely eases the symptoms. For me that's not acceptable. And I see that many people don't get 100% because they settle with less.
The fact that we don't understand fully the pathophysiology of mental diseases yet clearly contributes to the difficulty in treating them. I agree that medicine only relieves the symptoms but doesn't treat the root cause. I'm not familiar with the generational curses you mention however the inheritability aspect of mental diseases are often overlooked I believe, and the way we're nurtured from childhood also play a big role in impacting the state of our mind when we enter adulthood, which makes it even more difficult to manage if both aspects contribute to the development of mental disorders. And it is not pure medical science per se, I don't believe our mind should be reduced to mere biochemical substances in our brain, therefore spiritual "healing" should always have a place whether people agree with it or not.
My understanding is this: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” John 15:7
God answers our prayers 100% when we abide in Him and His words abide in us.
The reason He didn’t answer:
Either it’s not the right time or we have not yet abided in Him.
If we abide in Him, we’ll ask Him for what He already wants to give to us. His will will become our will.
The reason that we do not yet abide in Him is because we’re still holding onto the old self that needs to die.
“Faith” is more than believing what you ask for will be given to you. Faith means asking for God’s will to be done and rejoice in His answer. Only when we pray with 100% surrender can our prayer be 100% answered.
I agree, God won't give you what you want no matter your faith.
Which is what scripture actually tells us, for Paul had a serious health problem that God refused to take away from him:
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
(2Co 12:9-10)
We need to accept all trials, be they health or financial etc. so that we can learn to rely on God and overcome and trust in him to provide.
For God is faithful:
You have been put to no test but such as is common to man: and God is true, who will not let any test come on you which you are not able to undergo; but he will make with the test a way out of it, so that you may be able to go through it.
I heard that “thorn in the flesh” verse many times but I never interpreted it as a physical pain. Interestingly, I met a Christian this year who suffered from a chronic pain and she quoted this verse to me. I always thought it was a literal “messenger” to pierce, slander, and attack Paul just as Jesus experienced on earth and many ministers are experiencing these days.
“a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to me, lest I be exalted above measure.”
I wonder is there historical evidence says that Paul had some serious physical disease?
This sounds marginal to the discussion but I believe it matters a lot to many people’s faith in healing.
Yes there is some evidence in Galatians that Paul had some difficulty with his eyes:
"Ye know how through infirmity (physical sickness??) of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first. And my temptation (trial) which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes (Paul could not see??) , and have given them to me. (Gal 4:13-15)
Also when Paul mentions
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
Infirmities is physical illness.
So it seems very likely that Paul did have some physical illness that God was not willing to remove but God said very clearly to him " My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." The word weakness also means disease and sickness.
This is an important lesson for all of us to learn.
It is the lesson of Job, who was allowed to be struck by Satan with boils, yet he was a righteous man, but God wanted him to learn something more.
God is not playing games, he is serious that he wants you to be perfect even as he is perfect. (Matt 5:48)
God will not always heal you, even if you have faith, but he will give you the strength and wisdom to go through the trial and learn what he wants you to learn and overcome your difficulties.
(1Cor 10:13)
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Thank you for this message brother! I did understand why what happened to Job happened to Job now but I need to ask God why He didn't heal Paul. It matters to my faith and many's, if they are honest.
Also here's an inspiring podcast episode I listened to this morning that addresses why healing is not happening.
I'm certain everything God does or does not have a reason. And when the time comes, we will be given that understanding—if we have been seeking.
“a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to me, lest I be exalted above measure.”
He's saying that his pain is a constant reminder to him that he's not in charge and it humbles him "lest I be exalted above measure"
My interpretation is it's an idolatry thing.
I keep finding idols in my life and when I remove them the suffering goes away but ive been trusting in my own understandings and not allowing God to be God.
There is another passage in Scripture which speaks more directly to what you are saying in Jer 15-21. Jeremiah is asking God why he is so afflicted and alone, despite the equipping for a war of attrition that God had given him in chapter 1, and a warning that the people of to the were stiff-necked.
Jeremiah is repeating a plea about being lonely and afflicted, found in Psalm 25:12, but without the confidence that God will turn to him and be gracious.
God outright rebukes Jeremiah, but at the same time exhorts him to be strong and worthy, and to think on and speak worthy things (cf Phi 4). Note that this exhortation is a variation on the exhortation to run with horses in Jer 12.
God gives us affliction in this life, but he tells us it is a light matter compared to the weight of glory He has reserved for us. He even specifically gives us promises regarding that particularly painful absence that many of us experience: a loving spouse who has the teaching of kindness (Prov 31:26). I think it is worth saying that Jeremiah's condition of not having a wife, was far better than Micah's condition of having a wife who mocked him (Mic 7), or Samson's treacherous Delilah. In either case, Isaiah 34 provides a wonderful promise for the coming exodus out of Babylon, which should all encourage us to think with the faith of Rahab, rather than the therapeutic faithlessness of Lot's wife.
I do wish to challenge your approach, namely a finalized "healing" and "death to self," both of which are tied partly to the finality of reckoning ourselves dead to sin, because we are crucified with Christ, but also indicate an ongoing process.
Our central Christian confession in Deut 32 (see Rev 15) teaches us that the walk of faith is an onging war of attrition, in which we are called to participate with God in continuously crucifying the flesh. We must realize this is an ongoing process, our "work while it is still day," We will not arrive at rest in this life.
We must recognize that God often takes the initiative in very painful and often disabling ways, known as the via crucis ("way of the cross),. This is testified to by the Psalms (esp 119:75), Prov 20:30, and I Pet 4:1. This is why James tells us to count it all joy when we face trials, i.e. the via crucis. This is why Peter tells us to arm ourselves with the attitude of facing real trouble, real war, real suffering (I Pet 4:1), and Paul and James tell us to think of this as a "fellowship of suffering." The author of Hebrews clearly pits this suffering in Heb 11 against the promise of a final rest, meaning our rest from this life's war, having gained a final victory through Christ who strengthens us.
The above clearly refutes the "word of faith" movement, with its view of faith as a thing which is possessed, rather than the faithfulness of God working in us,which courageously expects and faces ongoing suffering, making delight in Christ and his people the focus of our strength (Psa 16:1-3), something the Psalmists consistently turn to after pleaing with God regarding their trials.
The therapeutic culture largely exists because people have ignored Deut 32 and projected a worldly expectation on themselves and on Christ: that life ought to go smoothly and successfully, or they will not participate in it at all--a sort of childish tantrum.
This is directly related to their incapacity to face the reality of the present, and they are often retreating into rehearsing the past or imagining a future, but never living in the present. This is known as Acedia, translated as "sloth" or "despondency." It is a sin, one of the seven deadly sins cataloged by Evagrius, who compiled a list of Scriptures to fight back against each of the seven deadly sins.
The despondent person refuses to acknowledge the via crucis as the path he must travel, and disarms and disables himself, instead of heeding Peter's call to arm ourselves to suffer and to fight with all we are: heart, soul, mind, and strength.
In addition to Evagrius' "Talking Back," Nicole Roccas has written and excellent book on Acedia: "Time and Despondency."
In addition to those two, I think you would benefit from reading Watchman Nee's (Nee To-Sheng) writings. I assume he originally wrote in Chinese, and you might find him in your native language. His "The Normal Christian Life," an exposition on Romans, was one of the most helpful books I've ever read. It deals exactly with your theme of death of the old man as a reality from which we live. "Sit, Walk,Stand," his brief exposition of Ephesians, also applies directly to what you're talking about. You can probably find PDF copies online, but If you can't, check out bookfinder.com, a search engine of online used book stores.
There is a bigger picture regarding the therapeutic. It stems from a false, blasphemous view of God, mostly from ignorance of the Scripture passages cited above, but also has to do with restricting God and eternity outside creation and time, in defiance of Ephesians 1: 23.
This is the old gnostic deist view the early church worked so diligently to expose and refute, giving us the creeds. It has become predominant in American churches, especially as they neglect studying God's righteousness in the Law of Perfect Liberty. Irenaeus' "Against the Heresies," Augustine's City of God Books 6-10 (esp Bk 9, chap 15), and the defense of the Nicene Creed are particularly helpful inexposing this deistic view. They're all free on gutenberg.org or librivox.org.
Hi Alice, saw you recommended on youtube through your video about wives submitting to husbands.
I would love to collaborate with you and have you on a show. To discuss details more, how can I reach you?
If you would like to dig around and see more about me, feel free to look up inspired challenge podcast on youtube or you can Google devahntau colonel and see what comes up around my name. I hope to hear from you soon!
I saw your comment and responded there. Thank you brother, I'm honored for your invite! It's not the time for me to do this yet though I'd love to in the near future. Thank you again🙏🏻
Alice, your insight is rare for a person so young, especially in today's postmodern culture that also seeped into some parts of the western church. I resonate greatly with what you are getting at, and see the thread of how God renewed your mind in your other videos. I suffered a decade of incurable disease that took everything from me. I can agree that therapy and psychology could do nothing for me because I was in a legitimate hopeless situation. No rumination of knowledge or memory under the earth can give hope when in existential crisis, only the metaphysical supply and wisdom from heaven. I find many in the comfortable west go to therapy as an excuse to be unwilling to surrender to total change. Like you said, they want half-assed, trying to placate the soul that says something is wrong, but also placating the flesh to not totally surrender to a new purpose which requires coming to the end of your old self. I want Christ to give me a renewed mind and move towards his divine design which is better than my imagination... which the Tao is a shadow of, which I suspect you appreciate coming from China. I am also a writer but want to see how I can help your mission. I really like what you are trying to do. If willing, do drop me an email. My contact can be found at my webpage letterstoamoderndayJob.com.
Your insights are sharp, "many in the comfortable west go to therapy as an excuse to be unwilling to surrender to total change."
That's exactly what it is. The west do not know the fear of God. Everything is sugarcoated and watered down, forgetting that Jesus was a Jew, God was the God of Israel. Western Christianity is loaded with Paganism.
Your name reminds me of Barbie😆Hope you don't mind.
I'll mark you Ken, maybe very soon I'll need more writers here. Keep in touch!
I like your wording: "legitimate hopeless situation." The Scriptures themselves tell us that God's process of salvation and sanctification is a war of attrition: Deuteronomy 32 (our central confession per Rev 15) and Psalm 90 clearly declare that God's will is too humble us completely, so that we rely on his strength alone.
Acedia ("sloth" or "despondency") is the sin which resists this process by mentally fleeing to nostalgia in the past, or a nostalgic imagination of the future, failing to confront The dark night of the Soul in utter poverty of spirit, which watches at Wisdom's gates daily as a servant watches for his master/mistress, knowing that only God can set our feet Free from the snare as he moves us to loneliness and affliction (Psa 25).
Acedia is exactly the deadly sin that Jeremiah is struggling with in Jer 15, where we are instructed that part of our watching involves thinking on noble things (Phi 4), on "things above." Only by this will we grasp that God afflicts us by faithfulness (Psa 119:75), and that even his wrath is an intense expression of His desire to free us from sin.
ATRAZINE is making men gay. ATRAZINE makes a male frog into a female frog. I'm recruiting the reader to be a soldier 🪖. Don't blame people for their "laziness" do you know they are poisoned and mind controlled by Satan? If It wasn't for Satan we'd all be good. The suffering man from Mark 9:29 is not lazy, he's controlled.
Those legionous demons are at it again with the society at large. The solution is still the same as it was in Mark 9:29, Prayer and Fasting to remove the parasitic Beelzebub from the intestines.
theres no evidence atrazine makes men gay
😴
Interesting message that speaks to the healing power God's word and walking in the way of Christ. I come across similar lessons to this and find that people struggling with mental illness (from mild-severe) often feel ostracized from Christian faith due to misinterpreting this teaching. Speaking to a similar effect; considering that mental illness is cognitive, physical, and spiritual; Sirach 38 shows that doctors should be honored and trusted with their healing practices. "Honor physicians for their services, for the Lord created them, for their gift of healing comes from the Most High, and they are rewarded by the king. The skill of physicians makes them distinguished, and in the presence of the great they are admired. The Lord created medicines out of the earth, and the sensible will not despise them." Sirach 38:1-4. Doctors and therapists rightly trained in their disciplines who abide to The Law are seemingly rare these days, but their functions in societies are phenomenal. Teachers of mine recognize how the work of certain doctors and therapists is akin to 'miracles.' Flatly denouncing psychiatry and medicine puts many people in harms way and confuses the teaching of The Lord to the benefit of infiltrators and tyrants.
Alice - I was wondering if you could address the idea that men must be capable monsters but virtuous? The Bible instructs us to be ‘wise as the serpent but gentle as the lamb’. There seems to be a misunderstanding in the Christian community that men are to be lambs only. There is no real instruction that is undertaken about how to be a warrior, how to have the capacity and skill for confrontationa and violence, yet to also be kind, compassionale and forgiving. Why does the community instruct us to be victims only often falling back to the instruction that we are to simply ‘turn the other cheek?’ and how do we reconcile these messages appropriately?
You raised a great topic, Michael. I would like to sit with this for a longer time and pray for God's guidance. As a woman, I’ll do my best to address this topic, encourage young men, and pray that God raises a son of His to live as an example and provide hands-on instruction to all of you sons of God. This is what we need in our modern society. Thank you for this inspiration!
Michael,
The Scripture is full of such men, but specifically teaches us in the mustering for war (Deut 20), that our fight in life must not be hasty, and that the fight for life is not primarily in the area of confronting an armed enemy, but in confronting our call to cultivate the earth and cultivate a wife and family. Boaz is the "worthy man" who is worthy of the "worthy woman," Ruth. He is also the son of a "worthy woman," Rather (compare Jos 2 & Prov 31: you'll see Rahab is Solomon's noble wife).
Jim Jordan, whose teachings are available at Theopoilis institute and in books he has written, taught on "arming yourself for warfare" from Deuteronomy 20. This is the same thing Peter is talking about in I Pet 4:1.
I also suggest reading through the Book of Ruth on Bible Hub, drilling down into the Hebrew word "worthy"/""noble" (חַיִל ḥaiyl; from 2342) and searching for it across Scripture. It is an important word, and forms a theme across the Old Testament, which carries into the New
Outstanding Work Alice! So glad I found you on YT! Decided to sub up to you on substack to support you on your journey! All the best! God bless you sis! 💪😎🌠 I like the pacing gonna listen to you alot more often, I have a lot to learn. Cheers!
Thank you so much brother! Generosity works miracles. “There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right,But it leads to poverty.” Proverbs 11:24
Giving is having, having is multiplying. And to those who have, more shall be given.
God bless you and may many are blessed through you💛
Another good content. Regarding the comment about "supplement", is it related to some sort of antidepressant meds? If so, I personally think it does wonders to some people with severe mental health problems who may have inadequate cognitive capacity to wrestle with questions related to God knowledge. I also believe because of (biologically speaking) lower serotonin level especially in people with depression which manifests in a way that will cripple them to even "consider" God, medications still have a role to reverse the mental state to stability and obviously it should not undermine the spiritual aspect either in any shape or form, both approaches can go together concurrently. Both can be wonderful means to help people know and understand the meaning of healing that comes from God.
Thanks for bringing up this topic! I'm very interested in this field actually. The association between mentality and spirituality is mysterious. I believe some mental issue is medical and some—I lean towards the majority—are spiritual. Either way, God can heal.
I see that your bio describes you come from medical background that's why I'm comfortable in bringing it up because mental health issue is a serious problem to tackle especially for struggling Christians. Serotonin itself is controversial chemical to blame for depression because most antidepressants that are used work optimally after 2 weeks even though it should have worked immediately after being introduced into the plasma- that means there are some other factors that come into play that screw up our mental state which can be related to neuroplasticity thing which is very complicated or as you said there can be spiritual and metaphysical factors that can disturb the mental functioning, therefore I'm in the position that drugs are not entirely the solution, however God must have designed the schemes in a way that drugs can also help people come to know him and be healed despite being in the state of mental health struggle.
There are many reasons I quit medicine. This is one of it.
I was an intern doctor at psychiatry department for a few months when I was by no means a Christian. Nobody that was in that mad house was healed.
Many "genetic" mental diseases come from generational curses—Yes, what is spiritual will change you genetically. Medicine never cures mental diseases, it merely eases the symptoms. For me that's not acceptable. And I see that many people don't get 100% because they settle with less.
The fact that we don't understand fully the pathophysiology of mental diseases yet clearly contributes to the difficulty in treating them. I agree that medicine only relieves the symptoms but doesn't treat the root cause. I'm not familiar with the generational curses you mention however the inheritability aspect of mental diseases are often overlooked I believe, and the way we're nurtured from childhood also play a big role in impacting the state of our mind when we enter adulthood, which makes it even more difficult to manage if both aspects contribute to the development of mental disorders. And it is not pure medical science per se, I don't believe our mind should be reduced to mere biochemical substances in our brain, therefore spiritual "healing" should always have a place whether people agree with it or not.
What would be your advice for someone who does not like disappoinment?
I know and believe that God can do anything.
But only if He wants to.
So your statement about a person not getting their prayers answered because he/she does not have enough faith does not resonate well with me.
I think if God doesn't want to give you what you are praying for no amount of your faith or believing is going to help.
What do you think?
You raised a good question here.
My understanding is this: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” John 15:7
God answers our prayers 100% when we abide in Him and His words abide in us.
The reason He didn’t answer:
Either it’s not the right time or we have not yet abided in Him.
If we abide in Him, we’ll ask Him for what He already wants to give to us. His will will become our will.
The reason that we do not yet abide in Him is because we’re still holding onto the old self that needs to die.
“Faith” is more than believing what you ask for will be given to you. Faith means asking for God’s will to be done and rejoice in His answer. Only when we pray with 100% surrender can our prayer be 100% answered.
I agree, God won't give you what you want no matter your faith.
Which is what scripture actually tells us, for Paul had a serious health problem that God refused to take away from him:
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
(2Co 12:9-10)
We need to accept all trials, be they health or financial etc. so that we can learn to rely on God and overcome and trust in him to provide.
For God is faithful:
You have been put to no test but such as is common to man: and God is true, who will not let any test come on you which you are not able to undergo; but he will make with the test a way out of it, so that you may be able to go through it.
(1Cor 10:13)
I heard that “thorn in the flesh” verse many times but I never interpreted it as a physical pain. Interestingly, I met a Christian this year who suffered from a chronic pain and she quoted this verse to me. I always thought it was a literal “messenger” to pierce, slander, and attack Paul just as Jesus experienced on earth and many ministers are experiencing these days.
“a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to me, lest I be exalted above measure.”
I wonder is there historical evidence says that Paul had some serious physical disease?
This sounds marginal to the discussion but I believe it matters a lot to many people’s faith in healing.
Yes there is some evidence in Galatians that Paul had some difficulty with his eyes:
"Ye know how through infirmity (physical sickness??) of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first. And my temptation (trial) which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes (Paul could not see??) , and have given them to me. (Gal 4:13-15)
Also when Paul mentions
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
Infirmities is physical illness.
So it seems very likely that Paul did have some physical illness that God was not willing to remove but God said very clearly to him " My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." The word weakness also means disease and sickness.
This is an important lesson for all of us to learn.
It is the lesson of Job, who was allowed to be struck by Satan with boils, yet he was a righteous man, but God wanted him to learn something more.
God is not playing games, he is serious that he wants you to be perfect even as he is perfect. (Matt 5:48)
God will not always heal you, even if you have faith, but he will give you the strength and wisdom to go through the trial and learn what he wants you to learn and overcome your difficulties.
(1Cor 10:13)
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
(Eph 4:13)
Thank you for this message brother! I did understand why what happened to Job happened to Job now but I need to ask God why He didn't heal Paul. It matters to my faith and many's, if they are honest.
Also here's an inspiring podcast episode I listened to this morning that addresses why healing is not happening.
I'm certain everything God does or does not have a reason. And when the time comes, we will be given that understanding—if we have been seeking.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7tfyVJnP7tWgGiHRJ5pERl?si=37VJWInRRPGcJwyLsrawJQ&t=1536
“a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to me, lest I be exalted above measure.”
He's saying that his pain is a constant reminder to him that he's not in charge and it humbles him "lest I be exalted above measure"
My interpretation is it's an idolatry thing.
I keep finding idols in my life and when I remove them the suffering goes away but ive been trusting in my own understandings and not allowing God to be God.
I enjoyed your talk on anti-therapy.
There is another passage in Scripture which speaks more directly to what you are saying in Jer 15-21. Jeremiah is asking God why he is so afflicted and alone, despite the equipping for a war of attrition that God had given him in chapter 1, and a warning that the people of to the were stiff-necked.
Jeremiah is repeating a plea about being lonely and afflicted, found in Psalm 25:12, but without the confidence that God will turn to him and be gracious.
God outright rebukes Jeremiah, but at the same time exhorts him to be strong and worthy, and to think on and speak worthy things (cf Phi 4). Note that this exhortation is a variation on the exhortation to run with horses in Jer 12.
God gives us affliction in this life, but he tells us it is a light matter compared to the weight of glory He has reserved for us. He even specifically gives us promises regarding that particularly painful absence that many of us experience: a loving spouse who has the teaching of kindness (Prov 31:26). I think it is worth saying that Jeremiah's condition of not having a wife, was far better than Micah's condition of having a wife who mocked him (Mic 7), or Samson's treacherous Delilah. In either case, Isaiah 34 provides a wonderful promise for the coming exodus out of Babylon, which should all encourage us to think with the faith of Rahab, rather than the therapeutic faithlessness of Lot's wife.
I do wish to challenge your approach, namely a finalized "healing" and "death to self," both of which are tied partly to the finality of reckoning ourselves dead to sin, because we are crucified with Christ, but also indicate an ongoing process.
Our central Christian confession in Deut 32 (see Rev 15) teaches us that the walk of faith is an onging war of attrition, in which we are called to participate with God in continuously crucifying the flesh. We must realize this is an ongoing process, our "work while it is still day," We will not arrive at rest in this life.
We must recognize that God often takes the initiative in very painful and often disabling ways, known as the via crucis ("way of the cross),. This is testified to by the Psalms (esp 119:75), Prov 20:30, and I Pet 4:1. This is why James tells us to count it all joy when we face trials, i.e. the via crucis. This is why Peter tells us to arm ourselves with the attitude of facing real trouble, real war, real suffering (I Pet 4:1), and Paul and James tell us to think of this as a "fellowship of suffering." The author of Hebrews clearly pits this suffering in Heb 11 against the promise of a final rest, meaning our rest from this life's war, having gained a final victory through Christ who strengthens us.
The above clearly refutes the "word of faith" movement, with its view of faith as a thing which is possessed, rather than the faithfulness of God working in us,which courageously expects and faces ongoing suffering, making delight in Christ and his people the focus of our strength (Psa 16:1-3), something the Psalmists consistently turn to after pleaing with God regarding their trials.
The therapeutic culture largely exists because people have ignored Deut 32 and projected a worldly expectation on themselves and on Christ: that life ought to go smoothly and successfully, or they will not participate in it at all--a sort of childish tantrum.
This is directly related to their incapacity to face the reality of the present, and they are often retreating into rehearsing the past or imagining a future, but never living in the present. This is known as Acedia, translated as "sloth" or "despondency." It is a sin, one of the seven deadly sins cataloged by Evagrius, who compiled a list of Scriptures to fight back against each of the seven deadly sins.
The despondent person refuses to acknowledge the via crucis as the path he must travel, and disarms and disables himself, instead of heeding Peter's call to arm ourselves to suffer and to fight with all we are: heart, soul, mind, and strength.
In addition to Evagrius' "Talking Back," Nicole Roccas has written and excellent book on Acedia: "Time and Despondency."
In addition to those two, I think you would benefit from reading Watchman Nee's (Nee To-Sheng) writings. I assume he originally wrote in Chinese, and you might find him in your native language. His "The Normal Christian Life," an exposition on Romans, was one of the most helpful books I've ever read. It deals exactly with your theme of death of the old man as a reality from which we live. "Sit, Walk,Stand," his brief exposition of Ephesians, also applies directly to what you're talking about. You can probably find PDF copies online, but If you can't, check out bookfinder.com, a search engine of online used book stores.
There is a bigger picture regarding the therapeutic. It stems from a false, blasphemous view of God, mostly from ignorance of the Scripture passages cited above, but also has to do with restricting God and eternity outside creation and time, in defiance of Ephesians 1: 23.
This is the old gnostic deist view the early church worked so diligently to expose and refute, giving us the creeds. It has become predominant in American churches, especially as they neglect studying God's righteousness in the Law of Perfect Liberty. Irenaeus' "Against the Heresies," Augustine's City of God Books 6-10 (esp Bk 9, chap 15), and the defense of the Nicene Creed are particularly helpful inexposing this deistic view. They're all free on gutenberg.org or librivox.org.
Hi Alice, saw you recommended on youtube through your video about wives submitting to husbands.
I would love to collaborate with you and have you on a show. To discuss details more, how can I reach you?
If you would like to dig around and see more about me, feel free to look up inspired challenge podcast on youtube or you can Google devahntau colonel and see what comes up around my name. I hope to hear from you soon!
I saw your comment and responded there. Thank you brother, I'm honored for your invite! It's not the time for me to do this yet though I'd love to in the near future. Thank you again🙏🏻
Dear Almer, please can we talk....please reach out to me at cyril_immanuel on instagram it's important
Would you like to DM me here? I don’t use instagram