There continue to be knocks on the door
And I continue to awake out of a deep sleep
Sometimes I wonder if the fear will ever stop
Like evading a persistent stalker
A noise that keeps repeating indefinitely
The voices come and go
But the terror remains
Our society seems to live
Much of their own lives in fear
As if it is some sort of game
To keep their minds off their lives
Soldier fight their whole youth
And some their entire lives in wars
Mostly just to entertain and distract
An audience bored out of their minds
It seems much evil is done to escape
Dealing with feelings and hard issues
Most people will do anything to avoid
Self reflection and time alone
Many people’s biggest fear is their own thoughts
There is a high correlation between what is fun at first
And what is bad later on
When you do something purely for fun
Without considering the consequences
Many times the consequences are not fun
Fear is one of the most basic emotions
Many fear emptiness and stillness
Many artists and writers fear an empty page
Maybe what we really fear
Is our own freedom
There are too many choices
And we want someone
To tell us where to go
And make the decisions for us
In this way philosophy and Christianity
Have much in common
The future is uncharted territory
No one really knows how to prepare for the future
We desire control in our lives
As Americans we expect to be comfortable
But those who are truly at peace
Like most animals
Don’t mind a lack of noise
Or wake up from worry
Animals really know how to relax
I think relaxing requires someone
To emotionally accept uncertainty
You have to ultimately trust someone
I choose to trust God
And in so doing begin to trust myself
Because our inner conflicts
Are not entirely with ourselves
We struggle against evil
But we are not exactly evil itself
We do bad things
But we are not the bad things
There is a struggle within
But it is not us vs. God
Or us against ourselves
We struggle against death
Against the wall of separation
Between use and God
Christ says there is nothing we can do
To inherit the Kingdom of God (heaven)
But later He also says
With God all things are possible
God has created a way
Not only for salvation from our choices
But salvation of our minds
God wants to transform our minds
As much as He wants to save our souls
Part of changing who we are
Must start with changing how we think
Our focus needs to be on God
And this will bring things into proper perspective
Our fears are very real to us
But they place no limits on God
Our God gives believers clarity
Just like many talk about moments of clarity
God brings a lifetime of clear thoughts
I take medication for clear thoughts
But there is more to mental illness
Than our brain chemistry
That doesn’t mean chemicals in medicine are of no value
In Psalms 23
As I go through the valley of the shadow of death
My rod and my staff they comfort me
I think it is truly hard to study both the Bible
And be aware of modern psychology
But to not see the connections
Hopefully Christians and psychologists
Begin to realize that much of what they talk about
Spills out from one realm into another
Out of the overflowing of the heart
Does the mouth speak
The Holy Spirit Himself is described as the Encourager
Who stands alongside us
And Christ is described
As the Wonderful Counselor
Is it any wonder that religion
Brings out such great emotion
Much as physical exercise
Can reign in powerful emotions
And produce calmer mental states
So religion can affect emotions too
Many see religion as focusing on fear
And that it triggers obsessive compulsive tendencies
Christianity starts out as a tough pill to swallow
Much like admitting you cannot do it on your own alone
But you must make the choice yourself
And only you can conquer your own mind
And control what you do
But you cannot do this without outside help
Christianity is a good fit for psychology
Because its ideas are effective in treatment
Of both addiction and mental illness
The thing is once you admit you have a problem
Christianity is really encouraging from this point onwards
And I continue to awake out of a deep sleep
Sometimes I wonder if the fear will ever stop
Like evading a persistent stalker
A noise that keeps repeating indefinitely
The voices come and go
But the terror remains
Our society seems to live
Much of their own lives in fear
As if it is some sort of game
To keep their minds off their lives
Soldier fight their whole youth
And some their entire lives in wars
Mostly just to entertain and distract
An audience bored out of their minds
It seems much evil is done to escape
Dealing with feelings and hard issues
Most people will do anything to avoid
Self reflection and time alone
Many people’s biggest fear is their own thoughts
There is a high correlation between what is fun at first
And what is bad later on
When you do something purely for fun
Without considering the consequences
Many times the consequences are not fun
Fear is one of the most basic emotions
Many fear emptiness and stillness
Many artists and writers fear an empty page
Maybe what we really fear
Is our own freedom
There are too many choices
And we want someone
To tell us where to go
And make the decisions for us
In this way philosophy and Christianity
Have much in common
The future is uncharted territory
No one really knows how to prepare for the future
We desire control in our lives
As Americans we expect to be comfortable
But those who are truly at peace
Like most animals
Don’t mind a lack of noise
Or wake up from worry
Animals really know how to relax
I think relaxing requires someone
To emotionally accept uncertainty
You have to ultimately trust someone
I choose to trust God
And in so doing begin to trust myself
Because our inner conflicts
Are not entirely with ourselves
We struggle against evil
But we are not exactly evil itself
We do bad things
But we are not the bad things
There is a struggle within
But it is not us vs. God
Or us against ourselves
We struggle against death
Against the wall of separation
Between use and God
Christ says there is nothing we can do
To inherit the Kingdom of God (heaven)
But later He also says
With God all things are possible
God has created a way
Not only for salvation from our choices
But salvation of our minds
God wants to transform our minds
As much as He wants to save our souls
Part of changing who we are
Must start with changing how we think
Our focus needs to be on God
And this will bring things into proper perspective
Our fears are very real to us
But they place no limits on God
Our God gives believers clarity
Just like many talk about moments of clarity
God brings a lifetime of clear thoughts
I take medication for clear thoughts
But there is more to mental illness
Than our brain chemistry
That doesn’t mean chemicals in medicine are of no value
In Psalms 23
As I go through the valley of the shadow of death
My rod and my staff they comfort me
I think it is truly hard to study both the Bible
And be aware of modern psychology
But to not see the connections
Hopefully Christians and psychologists
Begin to realize that much of what they talk about
Spills out from one realm into another
Out of the overflowing of the heart
Does the mouth speak
The Holy Spirit Himself is described as the Encourager
Who stands alongside us
And Christ is described
As the Wonderful Counselor
Is it any wonder that religion
Brings out such great emotion
Much as physical exercise
Can reign in powerful emotions
And produce calmer mental states
So religion can affect emotions too
Many see religion as focusing on fear
And that it triggers obsessive compulsive tendencies
Christianity starts out as a tough pill to swallow
Much like admitting you cannot do it on your own alone
But you must make the choice yourself
And only you can conquer your own mind
And control what you do
But you cannot do this without outside help
Christianity is a good fit for psychology
Because its ideas are effective in treatment
Of both addiction and mental illness
The thing is once you admit you have a problem
Christianity is really encouraging from this point onwards