Fractured Resilience: Recent Episodes
Richard Hindmarsh, MD
Welcome to Fractured Resilience, a podcast by Addiction Medicine specialist Richard Hindmarsh, MD, on building your resilience and developing grit. The focus for upcoming podcasts will be the growth and development of Godly grit. Godly grit is necessary to find and fulfill your God-given purpose with passion and perseverance. The topics to be covered will be: How to find your voice, how to tear down strongholds that hold you back, and how to build a storehouse of character qualities to see you through difficult times. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/richard-hindmarsh0/support
The first man was created complete and placed in God’s perfectly designed world. God created man to experience fulfillment in a quality relationship with Him, aware of his value and purpose, active and creative with power, with an eternal spirit. We were made to be both physically alive and spiritually alive. God created humanity with all that was needed to be completely content. With disobedience came a fracture in our God-image. Now there was a problem. We still have God’s image, but its expression and experience have become severely distorted.
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God has been and forever will be, humanity, on the other hand, is confined by time. Our only experience involves time. We have a birth date; we have a death date; we are defined and restricted by time. It is almost too much for our little brains to grasp the concept of eternity.
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Are you exhausted and worn out? Has your life turned out differently than you expected? Have you run out of answers? Do you feel isolated? Has life lost its meaning? Are you confused? The chances are if you think this way, you are spiritually empty.
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Our eventual death is an issue faced by all human beings. For many, the subconscious anxiety caused by a fear of death is behind a lot of their daily anguish. This burden affects us all; we are all going to die.
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With the first breath from God, a man received a portion of God’s creativity and power. Humanity is not content being passive. Our God-given nature is to be creative as we interact with the rest of God’s creation
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Our life is filled with daily choices – too numerous to count. We choose a path, and the path leads to a result. The result is the consequence of the decision we have made. It is our choice – select the road leading to life or the road leading to death. The decision is your responsibility.
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What is the meaning of life? Why am I here? What is the purpose of my existence? We all struggle with the burden of meaninglessness. The struggle with meaning is a cry about our perceived value. The battle to find meaning is the battle to find worth.
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Hour after hour, day after day, we work our fingers to the bone to feed our hunger. A hunger that never seems to be satisfied. We end up exhausted and unfulfilled. We struggle to find meaning in who we are and what we do. We strive to find meaning, and in the process, lose contact with our value.
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God’s completed creation was “very good.” Isolation is a heavy weight, and God did not create humans with the intent of carrying that weight. The experience of separation from God and our fellow man was not part of God's creation plan for humans.
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Do you feel like you are living in a shadow and lack substance? Do you think no one cares about you? So, what is this burden of isolation? How do we recognize it? How do we accept it, and how do we live, so we are not consumed by it?
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Life is hard, confusing, troubling, and at times, feels impossible. We all struggle with the burden and pain of isolation, meaninglessness, responsibility, mortality, and spiritual emptiness. Our goal during these times of difficulty is not complacency or comfort; our goal is contentment.
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We have this overbearing weight in our chest, that communicates that something fundamental is not right. This weight has the power to hobble us and prevent personal growth. This weight is experienced as intense boredom, the awful pain of loss or failure, the tension of irresolvable conflict, the anguish of inadequacy, the oppressive darkness of aloneness, the despair of hopelessness, the restlessness of meaninglessness, and the angst of perpetual uncertainty. The source of this angst is the existential burdens.
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We are all enticed by the same temptation, especially at times of discomfort. The temptation is to turn our backs on God and pursue self-attainable comfort. Unfortunately, contentment pursued is never satisfied; it results in intensified efforts to achieve satisfaction at any cost.
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We live in an age of abundance. We have a wealth of food, distractions, entertainment, possessions, and an overabundance of information. We have all we could need, but we still want more. With all we have, you would think we would also have an abundance of contentment. Instead, we have a wealth of discontentment. It does not matter if you have a lot or have just enough to survive; we all struggle with the same significant issues.
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I almost drowned in a sea of bitterness, but for the grace of God!
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We live in a world awash with bitterness and misery. How do we survive? How do we keep it together? How do we protect ourselves against bitterness?
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Are you living in misery? Are you exhausted and worn out? Has your life turned out differently than expected? Have you run out of answers? Do you feel isolated? Has life lost its meaning? Are you confused? If you think this way, you are spiritually empty.
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The power behind all of the roots of bitterness is greed and emptiness. Greed is the passionate pursuit of more, just for the sake of having more. It is an insatiable longing that cannot be satisfied. It is a loud, demanding hunger. A hunger that does not go away.
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In this category of bitterness, there is no subtleness. These roots of bitterness are seen by all to be expressions of active bitterness.
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The Not-So-Subtle Roots of Bitterness are more evident than the subtle roots, but they are still subtle in their presentation. With this category of roots, you can start to taste the bitterness.
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The Subtle Roots of Bitterness are the most difficult to associate with bitterness. These roots are often not associated with a specific agent of offense or injustice, but they are still early roots of potential bitterness, so we need to be aware of them.
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If we would like to have any hope in stopping bitterness, we need to recognize it in its more subtle forms. By the time bitterness has fully developed, it has become a giant, well-established tree, impossible to bring down. At this point, you are no longer living your life with freedom and enthusiasm; you are living your life, negotiating your path, and conducting your relationships as a victim.
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Bitterness will steal your health, energy, and emotional stability. It will destroy your relationships, and rob your joy, peace, and contentment. It will kill your potential, purpose, plans, relationships, aspirations, and dreams. If this interaction between bitterness and injustice were a loaded gun, the injustice would be the gunpowder, and the bitterness would be the armor-piercing bullet. The gunpowder makes all the noise, demands all the attention, it fills the room with confusion, and smoke. Amid the noise, smoke, and fire, the projectile silently sales through the air and into your heart. Bitterness can and will kill you!
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Bitterness is the internalization and personalization of a real or perceived injustice with a persistent and intense rumination about the injustice or the agent of the injustice, resulting in more damage caused by the bitterness than could ever be caused by the injustice.
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In conclusion, take hold of stress, or it will take hold of you. Categorize your stressors. Is your stress caused by the fear or threat of imminent danger, or perhaps a threat to your sense of self, is it stress from ongoing uncertainty or confusion or are you in the position of caring for someone unable or unwilling to care for themselves, or lastly is the stress because of an offense you have committed towards someone else?
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As people, we will do almost anything to hide our transgressions, yet, it is the hiding of them that makes them so damaging. We have all done wrong. We have all deeply wounded the people who love us. We all carry the scars of hurting others. To live your life carrying these injuries is stressful.
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It is hard enough to be responsible for yourself in this ever-changing, confusing world, let alone to have to be responsible for another who is unable or unwilling to be responsible for themselves. This type of stress is part of several different life situations.
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Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to live a completely worry-free life, with no uncertainty or confusion? Unfortunately, life is not that easy to navigate. Life is filled with times of confusion and uncertainty.
So, let’s take a look at this category of the stress of uncertainty.
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To function in life as a human being, with some sense of meaning, purpose, and direction, we all operate from a platform of self-definition. This platform is a form of ego-intactness; it is how we see and define ourselves and how we think others see us. If our self-definition becomes unfamiliar or not authentic, there will be stress.
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We are human beings devoid of reason and directed by emotion. So now, when you take a concept of threat and danger and a mix of emotion and fear, you have the ingredients for a toxic soup. Our emotional memory is more robust than our rational memory, and we are governed by a deep-rooted fear much of the time.
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To get a handle on stress, we must understand what it is and then what strategies are adequate to deal with it. The approaches to control stress differ based on the cause of the stress. The stresses I have observed in the lives of my patients in four decades of medical practice fall in one of five categories.
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To get a handle on stress, we must understand what it is and then what strategies are adequate to deal with it. Practical approaches to control stress differ based on the cause of the stress. In this book, I explore what I have observed in the lives of thousands of patients to be the five primary sources of stress and some valuable stress management strategies.
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All these chemicals produce a form of immediate pleasure. This pleasure sensation is a fleeting chemical reaction. With repeated use, there is diminishing immediate pleasure, and now the chemical is needed to maintain a new equilibrium.
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Amphetamines cause their overwhelming effect through their action on dopamine. Amphetamines cause a dopamine flood, and that is what makes them so highly addictive. Methamphetamine can increase the level and activity of dopamine by every known mechanism.
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Kratom comes from the tropical evergreen tree Mitragyna speciose. Mitragyna speciose is from the coffee family and is native to Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.
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Ecstasy (MDMA) is the synthetic drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine that acts as both a stimulant and a hallucinogen similar to both amphetamines and LSD.
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Cocaine works by blocking the channels that typically remove the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, with the result being an amplified effect of all of these neurotransmitters.
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Narcotics mimic the action of the body's naturally occurring opiate-like substances called endorphins, enkephalins, and dynorphin. There are three types of opioid receptors present throughout the brain: mu receptors, delta receptors, and kappa receptors. Narcotics have most of their effect on the mu receptors, of which there are seven subtypes. The body's natural opioids attach to one or more of these receptor types to regulate hunger, thirst, mood, immune response, and awareness of painful stimuli. In the brain stem, the opioid receptors are active in regulating blood pressure, alertness, and breathing.
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The active ingredient in marijuana is delta-0-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC mimics the action of the natural neurotransmitter N-arachidonoyl ethanolamide (anandamide). Anandamide binds to CB1 cannabinoid receptors throughout the brain and CB2 receptors in the body. CB2 receptors have a role in regulating immune function. CB1 receptors impacts mood, memory, appetite, pain, and cognition.
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Alcohol absorbs very rapidly and enters the bloodstream quickly, reaching all parts of the body. In the brain, alcohol binds to receptors for acetylcholine, serotonin, GABA, and the NMDA glutamate receptors.
This binding to multiple receptors has a profound effect on mood, memory, personality, alertness, and physical coordination. The most significant impact of alcohol in the brain is on the GABA receptors and the NMDA glutamate receptors. Glutamate is the most prevalent excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain.
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Nicotine imitates the naturally occurring neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. It binds to acetylcholine receptors throughout the body. The three significant activation areas are in the adrenal gland, where it causes an increased release of adrenaline, the cerebral cortex where it mimics acetylcholine, and in the ventral tegmental area where it causes a release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens shell.
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Caffeine acts as a stimulant in the nervous system, and it does this by the way it works on adenosine receptors. Adenosine's action on the surface of the nerve causes the nerve activity to slow down; this causes drowsiness, dilates the blood vessels, and aids in falling asleep
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Once our taste buds have experienced the taste of sugar, we are trapped. From that time on, all it takes is thinking about the taste and dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens rise. The brain uses 50% of the body's available sugar energy. This sugar energy is taken directly from the blood because the brain has no effective way to store sugar. The proper balance of sugar is necessary for the manufacture of neurotransmitters and brain functions like attention, cognition, and mood stability. If there is too much sugar in the brain it ages more quickly, accelerating memory loss and dementia.
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An addictive substance is a non-essential element, meaning it is not necessary to maintain or sustain life. These chemicals can impact the nervous system by producing a sensation of satisfaction as it creates the desire (craving) and need (physiological dependency) for more of the element. Using the element repeatedly will result in a changed nervous system that now defines the element as being necessary for life, as essential as oxygen, food, water, shelter, and relationships. Eventually, the value of this element surpasses all the other ingredients, and the addicted individual will be willing to sacrifice any of the other elements to get more of the addictive substance.
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Addiction is enslaving and killing our young people, devastating families, overstressing first responders and emergency room staff, and financially draining limited healthcare dollars.
Addiction is a monster that needs to be understood and contained.
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Ponder about what matters to you. What matters to you? Are the things that occupy your time and thoughts important, or are they trivial and meaningless? About what are you passionate? Do you wake up each day with excitement because you have a passion?
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Being thankful is a superpower. Ponder about the many things in your life for which you are grateful. Thankfulness and gratitude will see you through a lot of life's significant difficulties. Difficulties will occur, and many of them are not preventable. Still, your attitude and the degree of impact of those times will be significantly affected by your ability to remain deliberately thankful. Are you thankful? List five things for which you are grateful. Make time to ponder about the many things you have to be grateful for every day.
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Ponder about human weakness and frailty. How we love to hide and deny our weaknesses. To admit to weakness we falsely assume is a statement of incompetence or powerlessness. What are your weaknesses? How can you turn your weaknesses into a strength? You can turn your weaknesses into strengths, but it will take some thought.
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What occupies your thoughts? Do you spend endless hours being consumed by worry? Where is the best place for you to separate yourself and spend time pondering in solitude? When did you pause to ponder last? Will you stop and ponder today?
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Ponder about things that affect all of us. Does your stuff own you? What does your stuff say about you? Do you have issues getting rid of stuff? Are you generous with your things, or are you hanging on with all your might? What do you value?
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Ponder about things that affect all of us. Does your stuff own you? What does your stuff say about you? Do you have issues getting rid of stuff? Are you generous with your things, or are you hanging on with all your might? What do you value?
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We are all separate individuals, but we share many things in common. Ponder about issues we all share in common. What are the typical things you share with others? Do you consider what is going on with those around you? What is essential to your neighbor? What is vital to your children or your spouse? This poem is about the importance of thinking about your role in your family.
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Ponder about cultural and social issues and concerns. How is your community changing? What are your cultural values? Where are your culture and society headed? What do you believe? How are you contributing to your community? You exist to make your world a better place. Think about that.
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Ponder about critical human qualities and characteristics. What kind of person do you want to be? What would you like others to say about you at your funeral? What do you want your children and grandchildren to remember about you? What are you doing to become that person you want to be?
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As human beings, we are much more than just mortal mammals. We are spiritual beings. Do you think of spiritual things? What does it mean to you that you are a spiritual being? Ponder about spiritual concepts. Think about things that are bigger than you!
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What has power in your life? What scares you? Ponder about major life issues and characteristics, like bitterness. I spent several weeks meditating on Psalms 37 and the power of bitterness. Bitterness has such destructive power, more power than cancer, or heart disease, but it does not seem to cause much fear. We should be more afraid of becoming bitter than we are of getting terminal cancer.
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We live in a world full of wonder, most of which we will never discover. Ponder about things you may have always wondered about, even if it seems silly. Give yourself a gift and look up and embrace the wonder around you. You will be surprised by what you might discover.
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Put aside all pretense and make it your goal to be authentic. Taking time to ponder will foster authenticity. A manufactured, false image will only foster incorrect, meaningless, pressure-filled connections with others. If you want meaningful, genuine relationships, you need to be authentic. So, what does the path to authenticity look like in this crazy, fast-paced, noisy world? Only in silence and solitude will you find authenticity. It is in solitude where isolation will make you stronger. Without silence and solitude, you will be a faint reflection of those around you, not thinking or believing for yourself, a finger puppet of the masses.
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This podcast is an excerpt from the book "Fodder for Ponder" available on Amazon as an ebook and paperback. This series encourages the listener to pause in solitude and take time to enrich themselves by pondering.
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If you follow Jesus and begin to use your voice, you will face adversity, lots of hardship. John 16:33 (NKJV), “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” How you react to these tribulations will determine how close you can get to fulfilling God’s plan for your life. You will need the mindset of a warrior. 1 Timothy 1:18-19 (NKJV), “This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck,” 2 Timothy 2:3-4 (NKJV), “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.” Warriors act righteously. They know what is right and what is wrong and act accordingly. A warrior is courageous in defending righteousness. A warrior is benevolent, respects others, and treats others with honor. A warrior is honest and sincere. A warrior is self-controlled, disciplined, and able to follow orders. Do you have what it takes to be a warrior? I am not talking about a physical combat warrior but a spiritual warrior who has the strength and stamina to seek God, tear down strongholds, and use their voice. God is looking for men and women who are willing to be His warriors. Most Christians are content just wearing their team colors and cheering from the sidelines. God did not call and equip you to be a casual fan; He called you to be in the game.
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Our culture has devolved into an individualistic, self-centered, “all about me” society. We have lost our contention with God as well as our compass to find our way back to God. We have turned our backs to God and pursued selfish interests with passion and rage. We may still have “In God, We Trust” stamped on our coinage, but it is gone from our hearts. As a society, we have rushed down this disastrous path as fast as we can, and we are a mess. As a disciple of Jesus, if you hope to survive this upheaval, you will need the comfort, guidance, reassurance, and power of the Holy Spirit. Your communication connection to God is through the Holy Spirit, who is present to interpret God’s Word and to pray on your behalf. You will need your storehouse filled with the Holy Spirit. This upside-down, crazy world you live in is hurting profoundly and needs your God-given Holy Spirit empowered voice.
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How do we improve as people? How do we become the people that God intended us to be? In the world of theology, the term for this process is sanctification. Unfortunately, there is no place for stable stagnation; we are either growing or dying. The path of faith is a lifelong journey. This process of growth and sanctification requires persistence and grit. The goal is to become the people that God intended. The path is narrow and uncrowded. Philippians 1:6 (TPT), “I pray with great faith for you, because I’m fully convinced that the One who began this gracious work in you will faithfully continue the process of maturing you until the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ!” The enemy loves to attack our thoughts and senses. Our salvation and sanctification are a helmet that will protect our minds and thoughts from the enemy’s attacks. Ephesians 6:17 (TPT), “Embrace the power of salvation’s full deliverance, like a helmet to protect your thoughts from lies.”
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We claim to live by faith, yet we live most of our lives as if we are part of a grand science experiment. We use our senses to gather data; we formulate a hypothesis, test, sample, and then proceed down a path we consider is the best and the safest. Now we can look at a chair and feel confident it will hold us. We apply the same formula and determine that some people are safe and others are dangerous. We consider this faith, but it is not faith. Confidence based on our senses may help us pick a secure chair, but it will not help with many of life’s more significant issues. To be the person God designed you to be will take real faith and grit.
What is faith, and why is it important? The Bible speaks a lot about faith. Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV), “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The Greek word for faith in this verse is “pistis,” and means persuasion, moral conviction, assurance, belief, faith, and fidelity. Faith is more than just intellectual belief in something; it is a conviction about the truth of something. Christian faith is a conviction about the truth of God, Christ, and God’s Word. Faith in God is the confidence that He exists, is the creator of everything, and desires a relationship with humanity. Faith in Christ is the confidence that He is the Messiah, the Son of God, and through Him, we have eternal salvation and a restored relationship with God the Father. Faith in His Word is the confidence it is His inspired Word and that God is a keeper of His promises.
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We must choose our footwear carefully. Our footwear must fit properly and be appropriate for our purpose. Your footwear is your contact point with the world. If you are golfing today, you will need footwear that will give you traction, and if you are ice skating, you will need footwear that will allow you to glide across the ice. If you are a disciple of Jesus, your footwear should be the gospel of peace. The gospel of peace is your faith in action. It is your place and purpose where you connect to your world with your God-given voice. It is your service and generosity demonstrated to others for the glory of God. It is your faith, in action, in your community.
Service is a natural byproduct of a living and real faith. Galatians 5:13 (TPT) “Beloved ones, God has called us to live a life of freedom in the Holy Spirit. But don’t view this wonderful freedom as an opportunity to set up a base of operations in the natural realm. Freedom means that we become so completely free of self-indulgence that we become servants of one another, expressing love in all we do.” The opposite of love is not “hate;” the opposite of love is “blinding self-indulgence.” The dictionary definition of freedom is; “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.” The freedom that is worth pursuing should produce joy and contentment, not pressure and disappointment. Freedom used for limitless self-indulgence can only provide very short-lived pleasure and satisfaction. The freedom that results in long-lasting peace is the freedom found serving God and others. As you serve others, you will find your grit will grow.
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The third part of righteousness is restoration and reconciliation. When you have done the work of taking an honest, moral inventory and experienced the impact of redemption, it is time to move ahead by admitting offense and harm and moving forward towards apology, forgiveness, and restitution.
We do not live on a desert island. Our relationship with God and our fellow humans is vitally important. The process of apology and forgiveness is how broken relationships are mended. It is also how relationships can strengthen and grow. Righteousness is not demonstrated in a vacuum; it is revealed in how you relate to others through apology and forgiveness.
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We pursue a solution where we see a need; we become complacent where we do not see a need. We all know of multiple areas of our lives that require change. We live with the belief that a little effort here and there will accomplish all the needed change. Redemption is a meaningless concept if we do not see a need for redemption. If we do not see the need we will abandon contentment and cling to complacency.
Redemption is the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil. It is the regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment or clearing a debt.
Through redemption, God offers us a life of contentment, but we most often choose the life of familiar complacency. We are aware that there is a reality far superior to the one we are experiencing, but we are comfortable enough to refuse to leave our comfortable areas. As recorded in Romans 8:22 (TPT), “To this day we are aware of the universal agony and groaning of creation, as if it were in the contractions of labor for childbirth.” The redemption problem is that we desperately need it but don’t realize how much we need it.
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In the next three chapters, we will look at the importance and significance of the breastplate of righteousness. You will want your storehouse stocked with protective righteousness. As a piece of armor, a breastplate protects your most vital organs, your heart, and lungs. Spiritually we are to pursue righteousness to protect our heart, the source of our emotions and desires, and our lungs, our God-breathed spirit.
The surrender of our will and life to God is the ultimate act of humility that can free us from ourselves and our destructive self-centered paths. Surrender is an active step in the direction of living a life that is not all about me. Submission to God is the humble path to contentment. There is no healing in life without humility and surrender, no matter how hard you try.
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A confession is a next step after taking a moral inventory. It is the recognition and declaration of a fault or weakness.
The subject of confession is the confessor. A confession is a statement without strings attached. It is not a request for forgiveness – that is an apology. It is not a request for a second chance – that is repentance and mercy. It is not a request for restored trust – that is most often manipulation. Confession can be used as a form of deception where the confessor uses a confession to hide a more significant fault. The purpose of a confession is not to encourage others. This type of confession proclamation is most often a statement of arrogance that is demeaning to others. If you want to promote someone, help them from where they are and not from where you have been.
A confession, most often, is nothing more than speaking what other people know about you anyway. A disclosure or revelation verbalizes a deep dark secret about yourself that everybody else already knew. Others know your faults, but they don’t know if you know or how you will react if you find out. You think you have successfully hidden your faults, but others know something is up. They may not know the specifics, but they are aware of the stench of deception in the air.
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Inventory taking, we do it all the time without even realizing what we are doing. When we glance at the gas gauge in our car, we are taking inventory. Just try covering up that gauge and going for a long drive. Not being able to see how much gas you have will significantly increase your level of anxiety. When we check our refrigerator and pantry, we are taking an inventory before going to the store to get groceries for the weekend.
At any given time, we are on multiple paths. We should be taking frequent inventory in numerous areas. Remember, do not be deceived by your good intentions; they are only self-generated lies to keep you off track; be brutally honest in your inventory taking. We need to approach each new day as David in the Old Testament did in Psalm 5:3 (TPT), “At each and every sunrise you will hear my voice as I prepare my sacrifice of prayer to you. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on the altar and wait for your fire to fall upon my heart.”
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When it comes to stocking your storehouse with the armor of God, we need to start with the belt of truth. We do not stand a chance against the enemy’s attack if we are not grounded in biblical truth. We need to know the truth about God and the truth about ourselves. We need the truth about what the scriptures say about our relationship with God. Without this truth, there is no foundation for the other weapons. John 8:32 (NKJV), “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” To be the people God desires us to be, we need to be people of the highest integrity. We need to be people of truth.
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To become the person God intends you to be, to fill your part in His kingdom will take more than tearing down strongholds and overcoming the enemy's schemes. You are not a threat to the enemy if you spend your life focused only on thestrongholds like lady Macbeth continuously washing her hands. To break free of the cycle of tearing down strongholds and be free to use our voice and live as God intended, we will need a storehouse within His fortress where we can grow and mature. This storehouse is where we find the rest that God can provide and the nourishment needed to grow and heal. Never forget, this life you have been given is a gift; it is not all about you; it is about Him and sharing His love with the world around you.
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If you are the coach of a team headed to the Super Bowl, you would have a considerable advantage if you had the other team’s playbook. A playbook details the game plan, listing what options you have and how you will respond based on the game's unfolding. The Bible is not only a guidebook on how to live, but it is also a revelation of the enemy’s playbook. You will be at a considerable advantage if you know how the enemy plans to stop you from fulfilling God’s plan for your life.
If you seek God and have found your voice, you will also discover that the enemy has a plan. The enemy’s objective is to prevent you from using your voice. The enemy has a book of tactics that he uses to knock you off course and cause you to quit. Often, the enemy is victorious. In this next chapter, I would like to uncover the enemy’s schemes to prepare you for what you will face.
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Life is hard, confusing, troubling, and at times, feels impossible. We all struggle with insults, painful losses, injustices, and our own sinful nature. Our goal during these times of difficulty is not complacency or comfort; our goal is contentment. The Bible refers to another stronghold, one that is protective and not destructive. If you are a disciple of Jesus, you have a defensive fortress manufactured by the cross's wood and nails. This fortress is a place of peace and contentment where you are free to be authentic and honest. Psalm 9:9-10 (NIV), “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.”
Most believers look forward to the mansion Christ is preparing for them in heaven and cares very little about the fortress He has provided for them here today. We willingly live in perpetual discontent, looking forward to a time of peace in the sweet by-and-by. Jesus died for you to provide a fortress of peace, available for immediate occupancy. The prayer of the Levites is for us today, Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV), “‘“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’ This life of peace, or in the Hebrew, Shalom, is for today. Shalom is a state of peace and completeness. It is a mindset of quiet tranquility and contentment. Within our God-provided fortress, there is safety and security. Outside of this fortress, the world may be upside-down and out of control, but within the fortress’ walls, there is Shalom.
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The belief and demand that you deserve to be worshipped is the stronghold of adoration. The enemy whispers, and the enemy knows where we are weak and when we are vulnerable. The enemy knows when to whisper and what to whisper, and when we are in pain, we listen. The enemy's whispers are lies that encourage us to focus on ourselves during times of anguish. With the stronghold of adoration, the enemy exploits another one of our weaknesses, the desire to be worshiped. When it comes to adoration, the enemy has many helpers because not only do we desire to be worshiped, but we were also created to worship. If we do not worship the one true God, we will find a surrogate god in royalty or celebrity. This worship of false gods is not the stronghold of adoration; it is the stronghold of idolatry. The stronghold of adoration occurs if you are the focus of the adoration. This stronghold is one of the enemy's favorites. Lucifer himself was banished from heaven because of the stronghold of adoration. He was created and gifted by God to be a magnificent being, made in beautiful perfection by God's hand. We learn in Isaiah 14:12-14 (NKJV) what happened to Lucifer when he pursued adoration. "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'" Humanity, like Lucifer, desires to be above God. We seek our own glory and not the glory of God.
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The stronghold of narcissism is the belief and demand that I deserve to be loved. Narcissism is the internalization and personalization of perceived inadequacy resulting in ongoing, intense self-centeredness and self-adoration. Self-love is the “sin that so easily entangles” recorded in Hebrews 12:1. All of the strongholds are types of insults and offenses used by the enemy to get you to focus on yourself. Once we start focusing on ourselves, we begin to lose our God-given peace, purpose, and potential. The enemy is the victor.
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The next three strongholds share a common theme. The strongholds of entitlement, narcissism, and adoration present because of a naïve, immature world-view carried into adulthood. What is appropriate and necessary for a three-year-old is not suitable for a thirty-year-old. In 1 Corinthians 13:11 (AMP), it is written: “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.” Living entitled, self-focused, and seeking to be worshipped as an adult will end in disaster. Remember, the enemy’s goal is to keep you in that self-absorbed mindset of the three-year-old. The stronghold of entitlement is the naive belief that I deserve to be served by others. Entitlement is upside-down slavery, where those who see themselves as impoverished and disadvantaged demand service from those viewed as advantaged. All slavery is evil.
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An addictive substance is a non-essential element, meaning it is not necessary to maintain or sustain life. These chemicals can impact the nervous system by producing a sensation of satisfaction as it creates the desire (craving) and need (physiological dependency) for more of the element. Using the element repeatedly will result in a changed nervous system that now defines the element as necessary for life, as essential as oxygen, food, water, shelter, and relationships. Eventually, this element's value surpasses all the other ingredients, and the addicted individual will be willing to sacrifice any of the other elements to get more of the addictive substance.
The stronghold of addiction is the belief that a chemical is a solution to life’s trouble and pain. The trap of addiction is that once the chemical has been taken repeatedly for some time, the pain in stopping the compound becomes unbearable.
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The stronghold of agony is the experience of physical pain. The offense in agony is betrayal. This type of betrayal is not one you can easily ignore because, with agony, your own body betrays you. If you are suffering under the stronghold of agony, your world gets very small, very quickly. Pain is tangible; you feel it, yet the source of the felt pain is often unknown. Pain’s origin can be physical, emotional, existential, or spiritual. This chapter is not a thesis on pain's pathophysiology but will show how physical pain's subjective experience can be a stronghold. Physical pain is a loud voice that demands attention. This loud voice is a powerful distraction, yet, you are the only one that hears its screams. Pain is a stronghold in that it causes you to focus on yourself. You feel compelled to focus on the area of pain to find a solution. At times, the solution becomes a stronghold, as we will see in an upcoming chapter on addiction. When it comes to the human experience with pain, physical pain is the one that is the most easily recognized and identified. Suffering from a biological source can be named, like headaches, backache, tooth pain, etc. This physical pain has a specific location and quality, and most often, a pathology causing the pain experience.
On the other hand, non-physical causes of discomfort or anguish, which feel the same as physical pain, are often tough to identify. Yet, this is the type of pain the enemy uses most often as a stronghold.
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Legalism is the internalization and personalization of a set of rules or a code of conduct strictly adhered to and promoted as the way to achieve righteousness. Legalism emphasizes what you do and neglects what you are. Legalism is an attempt to secure rightness in God’s sight by good works. Those who live legalistically add human rules to God’s laws and treat them as divine.
What is the appeal of legalism? What is the power of legalism? Legalism is attractive because the focus of living is on what you do and not who you are. If you are legalistic, you can push aside your depravity and focus on gaining favor with God through outward actions. If you mess up, you deal with the guilt by asking for forgiveness and then move on. Living this way is more controllable than being open with who you are and being dependent on God’s grace and mercy to set you free. There is no need for dependence on grace and mercy; with legalism, work harder, and it will all be okay. You may experience some guilt with legalism, but it is less devastating than being exposed to the shame for who you are. With legalism, the focus is on the external and not the messy, confusing internal. Legalism puts me in control. I get to be the creator, interpreter, and deliverer of the code. I make myself god. Legalism negates the necessity for the atoning work of Christ on the cross. We are not at His mercy; we are at the mercy of a self-crafted set of righteous-defining rules.
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Grief is the internalization and rumination about a significant unbearable loss. The magnitude of the loss determines the degree of suffering. What losses would result in the experience of grief? The dictionary definition of grief is: “Grief is the response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or something that has died, to which a bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, it also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, cultural, spiritual and philosophical dimensions. While the terms are often used interchangeably, bereavement refers to the state of loss, and grief is the reaction to that loss.” There are three categories of losses that can produce grief. There are personal losses, relational losses, and significant losses.
A damning tactic used by the enemy during grief is the tempting belief that more understanding will bring more peace. So, we enter hell through the gate called WHY, never to return. We dig and claw for answers, only to find more troubling questions. WHY quickly becomes WHY ME as our increased self-focus turns to bitterness.
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Shame is the internalization, personalization, and rumination about our inadequacy and depravity. Shame causes emotionally painful self-condemnation. Shame is a state of bitter, paralyzing remorse when you get a glimpse of who you are. Shame is a powerful force. We do all we can to look good and intact from the outside, knowing something is rotten on the inside because of shame. We all hide and avoid exposure. Shake off the shackles of shame. Do not believe the lie of the enemy who is trying to destroy you. Be grateful for God’s grace and the work of Christ. Live the fruit of the Holy Spirit through love. Shame and fear of accusation do not have to weigh you down. Romans 8:1 (TPT), “So now the case is closed. There remains no accusing voice of condemnation against those who are joined in life-union with Jesus, the Anointed One.” We are all depraved, so depraved that Jesus had to die for us – you no longer have to listen to the enemy’s voice of condemnation.
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The power behind bitterness is greed and emptiness. Greed is the passionate pursuit of more, just for the sake of having more. It is an insatiable longing that cannot be satisfied. It is a loud, demanding hunger. A hunger that does not go away. It desires more food, money, affirmation, affection, power, knowledge, status, or comfort. It is an inability to experience contentment with what you currently have. Greed is an intense pang of hunger with unattainable peace. The Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of greed is “a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (such as money) than is needed, motivated by naked ambition.”
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Bitterness is the internalization and personalization of a real or perceived injustice with a persistent and intense rumination about the injustice or the injustice agent, resulting in more damage caused by the bitterness than could ever be caused by the injustice.
Tannerite is a combination of two safe and stable compounds, an oxidizer consisting of ammonium nitrate and ammonium perchlorate and a catalyst comprised of aluminum powder. The oxidizer and the catalyst are very safe if kept separate, but when combined and subjected to the impact of a high-velocity impact, they explode. You get the same result if you mix an offense with bitterness. The offense is the oxidizer, and bitterness is the catalyst; the result is psychological Tannerite. Combine these two and subject the combination to the high-velocity impact of stressful living and, kaboom; you have an explosion of misery.
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The last category of strongholds is the relational strongholds. With our first breath and first cry, we begin learning how to relate to our world. As we grow and mature, we develop and discover ways that we feel work for us. In the world of psychology, these are called coping mechanisms. Many of these coping mechanisms work well for both the people around us and us. There are some coping mechanisms that we may feel work well for us but do not work so well for the people around us; we label these extremes as personality disorders. The enemy continues to whisper that we can find a “safe harbor” without God. He encourages the belief that we can find comfort and contentment in our own hands.
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As people, we will do almost anything to hide our transgressions, yet it is the hiding of them that makes them so damaging. We have all done wrong. We have all deeply wounded the people who love us. We all carry the scars of hurting others. To live your life carrying these injuries is stressful. The enemy whispers that you can successfully cover your transgressions, and they will not produce negative consequences.
None of us like the process of looking at where we have hurt others. The stronghold of transgressions is the anguish of guilt, shame, and remorse. It will require humility, honesty, and Godly grit to overcome this stronghold. Our hearts are very deceptive, so you may be unaware of where you have hurt another.
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As humans, we function best when we are personally responsible, care for ourselves, and function with a meaningful purpose. However, there are times when this is not possible, and you are in the position where you have to provide necessary care, boundaries, and security for someone you care about that is not willing or able to function independently. In Galatians 6:5 (MSG), we read, “Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.”
It is hard enough to be responsible for yourself in this ever-changing, confusing world, let alone to have to be responsible for another who is unable or unwilling to be accountable for themselves.
The enemy wants to use this stronghold to rob your peace, steal your voice, and kill your relationships. It will take Godly grit to tear down this stronghold.
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In the book of Philippians 4:6 (TPT) in the New Testament, we are encouraged by the following words. “Don’t be pulled in different directions, or worried about a thing.”
Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to live an utterly worry-free life, with no uncertainty or confusion? Unfortunately, life is not that easy to navigate. Life is filled with times of confusion and uncertainty. Life is filled with times of troubling uncertainty and confusion.
If your stress is in the area of uncertainty, question, clarify and remain thankful. These times of uncertainty can be times for your trust in God to grow. Follow the example of the psalmist in Psalm 143:8 (TPT), *“Let the dawning day bring me revelation
of your tender, unfailing love. Give me light for my path and teach me, for I trust in you.”* You will have periods of uncertainty and confusion and do not believe the enemy's lie that you can always eliminate the uncertainty. Do not let uncertainty destroy your God-given peace. Do not allow uncertainty to paralyze you. Use your Godly grit, trust God, and keep moving. Find your voice and use it.
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To function in life as a human being, with some sense of meaning, purpose, and direction, we all operate from a platform of self-definition. This platform is a form of ego-intactness, how we see and define ourselves, and how we think others see us. If our self-definition becomes unfamiliar or not authentic, there will be stress. We need a grip on our true identity.
In the Bible, we are encouraged in Romans 12:3 (TPT), “I would ask each of you to be emptied of self-promotion and not create a false image of your importance.”We need an accurate, familiar self-definition to function successfully.
It is essential to ask ourselves the following questions. How do you define yourself? Is that definition accurate? Has that definition changed recently? How would you like that definition to change in the future?
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Most of us face the imminent danger type of stress day-to-day in the category of the fearful “what ifs.” What if someone breaks into my house? What if the road is icy on the way to work? What if there is a flood? What if my house catches fire? What if the stock market crashes and I lose all my retirement?
We are human beings devoid of reason and directed by emotion. So now, when youtake a concept of threat and danger and a mix of emotion and fear, you have the ingredients for a toxic soup. Our emotional memory is more robust than our rational memory, and we are governed by a deep-rooted fear much of the time. The goal of the enemy with this stronghold is to hobble you with fear and dread. Meditate on Psalms 34:4-5 (TPT), “Listen to my testimony: I cried to God in my distress and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears! Gaze upon him, join your life with his, and joy will come. Your faces will glisten with glory. You’ll never wear that shame-face again.” The Bible has hundreds of references to not being controlled by fear.
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Stress is one of those terms that we toss around with presumed conceptual familiarity while lacking the necessary substantial understanding. Stress strongholds are life experiences where we feel inadequate. The enemy uses these situations to whisper to us that we will not make it, that we should be afraid that we are about to collapse. These strongholds stir up thoughts that if I was only more fearless, more together, more aware, or more intact, then my life would be complete. The enemy also uses these situations to convince us that we need more faith in ourselves and less faith in God.
To handle stress, we must understand what it is and what strategies effectively deal with it. Not all stress is destructive; stress can lead to progress through innovation and invention, and without stress, it is possible to become stagnant. The forms of stress described in the next few chapters are the chronically draining and destructive stress types.
Stress is often deceptively camouflaged as an uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach, being irritable, having difficulty sleeping, or experiencing a vague headache or a backache. If we hope to deal with stress effectively, we must first strip away the camouflage to know where to set our sites.
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Spirituality is essentially restoration. It is the restoration of body, soul, and spirit. It is the path and process of reclaiming a relationship with God, learning to walk with Him, and not be in opposition to Him. It is the recovery of the image of God in man. It is the rebirth of our spirit with subsequent transformation in our soul and body.
Spiritual emptiness is the pursuit of comfort and a sense of completeness apart from a relationship with God. Man attempts to negotiate his life path without depending on God. It feels threatening to rely on something or someone you cannot control.
We live in an age with many potential solutions to our problems that do not require reliance on God, so why do the spiritual things matter? We know about proper diet and exercise. We have beneficial models of psychology and philosophy. We have affluence and distractions that can keep us busy. We have never known so much about diet and exercise, yet we are more obese than ever. We have never had so much information on our psychology and emotions, yet the suicide and addiction rates skyrocket. We are rich in resources yet poor in spirit. Something vital is still missing. We are all aware, deep inside us, there is someone, a master designer, who is much bigger than ourselves. We were created to serve that someone and not to spend our life in endless self-service.
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Psalms 103:15-16 states (TPT): “Our days are so few, and our momentary beauty so swiftly fades away! Then all of a sudden, we’re gone, like grass clippings blown away in a gust of wind, taken away to our appointment with death, leaving nothing to show that we were here.” Life is short, and the longer you live, the more you realize how quickly time and life pass by. And then it is over. One day it will be over for everyone; there is no escaping the reality of our mortality.
In this chapter, I will be dealing with the stronghold of mortality. Our eventual death is an issue faced by all human beings. For many, the subconscious anxiety caused by a fear of death is behind a lot of their daily anguish. This burden affects us all; we are all going to die. The essence of this burden is not death itself because we cannot fear something we have not experienced. The nature of this burden is the fear of separation; separation from ourselves, others, our dreams, goals, what we value, our purpose, and our sense of meaning. What we fear is not death; we fear ultimate, permanent separation. We fear uncertainty and change, and death represents the most significant change we will ever experience, the shift from being to not being. Through this fear of separation, the enemy tries to convince you that God has permanently separated Himself from you, and there is nothing you can do about it.
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Our life is filled with daily choices – too numerous to count. We choose a path, and the way leads to a result. The result is the consequence of the decision we have made. It is our choice – select the road leading to life or the road leading to death. The decision is your responsibility.
In this chapter, I will be dealing with the stronghold of free choice and personal responsibility. We are in the privileged and yet, the terrifying position of creating who we are through the choices we make. The frightening part is it is our personal and individual responsibility to make those choices. If you abandon your responsibility by living as a victim, with bitterness, fear, or anger, you are giving up your power and the ability to create a new you. It is ultimately your choice, a choice that should be freedom and not a hindrance. The enemy wants to convince you that God is not good and that God is not in control. If God is not good or in control, I do not need to be responsible for my choices. After all, it is all about me.
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In Ecclesiastes 6:7 (MSG), we read, “We work to feed our appetites: meanwhile our souls go hungry.” Hour after hour, day after day, we work our fingers to the bone to feed our hunger. A hunger that never seems to be satisfied. We end up exhausted and unfulfilled. We struggle to find meaning in who we are and what we do. We strive to find meaning, and in the process, lose contact with our value.
What is wrong? Why is there a disconnect between purposeful action and an expected result? The existential stronghold of meaninglessness often causes the disconnect. The enemy wants you to believe you have no value.
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Isolation is a deep, painful craving for connection. God created us with a longing for belonging. A yearning that is never fully met. God made humanity for this kind of relationship, to love and to know we are loved. The enemy uses every experience of rejection or isolation to plant the thought that we are not worthy of being loved. We are not worthy of being loved by other humans, and we are not worthy of being loved by God. We feel we must somehow change ourselves to become more lovable. We live with a fear that if identified for who we are, others will reject us. We are afraid of being authentic.
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We live in an age of abundance. We have a wealth of food, distractions, entertainment, possessions, and an overabundance of information. We have all we could need, but we still want more. With all we have, you would think we would also have an abundance of contentment. Instead, we have a wealth of discontentment. It does not matter if you have a lot or have just enough to survive; we all struggle with the same significant issues. Suicide and addiction rates are climbing as we continue to anguish amid our affluence. We struggle with factors that have been the cause of turmoil since the first man, Adam. So, you may be wealthy, or you may be impoverished, you may be famous, or you may feel insignificant. Your status does not matter; we all struggle with the same issues. We all wrestle with the pain of feeling isolated and alone. We all struggle with our meaning and purpose. We are all crushed by an awareness of our weakness and how powerless we are where it matters. We all walk under the dark cloud of our mortality as we work hard to deny our eventual demise.
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What is a stronghold, and how do we tear them down? A stronghold is a barrier to experiencing God and His path and plan for your life. A stronghold is any and every system of belief, state of mind, or external circumstance that distracts from knowing God by turning your attention onto yourself. A stronghold is a distraction, a burden, or a stumbling block. If the enemy can cause you to focus on yourself, your situation, your turmoil, or your emotional pain, the stronghold will effectively block your progress. If you expect to move ahead successfully in your life, keep in mind the advice in Hebrews 12:1 (AMPC), and - “let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us.”
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To live this life of seeking God, finding your voice, using your voice, battling against principalities and powers, we will all need a healthy dose of Godly grit. Our real battles in life are not with our boss, our rebellious teenager, our nasty neighbor, or someone from an opposing political party. This podcast looks at why we need Godly Grit to move ahead in our lives.
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In this podcast, we will look at how we express ourselves. We all have a voice, but only a few will find it and use it for its intended purpose. You express your voice through music, art, verbalization, or many other avenues. Your voice is a gift from God; it is unique and is the expression of your purpose. Your voice is why you exist. If you find your voice, exercise it appropriately, and use it as intended, you will find that it comes equipped with an ample supply of sustaining grit.
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In this episode, we look at the need for Godly Grit. Godly Grit is Holy Spirit infused passion and perseverance that we require if we expect to be the people God called us to be. Godly Grit is needed to humble ourselves, tear down strongholds, and exercise our God-given voice.
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How we interact with our society is another area in our lives where we need grit. We all have a unique role in our community, an individual position of influence and responsibility. It takes grit to find your part and to maintain your function. Every role in our society has its rewards and its difficulties. There is no silver spoon. There is no easy path. God has a place and purpose for you, and it will come with many challenges and responsibilities. It will take grit to stand by your values and morals as you perform your service to your community. It will take an extra portion of grit when your values do not align with your society's values.
What is your role or responsibility in society? Who needs you? Is it your family, service group, or profession? What are the values of those you serve? Do those values align with yours?
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Grit is an energizing force. It is a blend of passion and perseverance needed to achieve a specific goal. The goals, hopes, and dreams you are moving towards are vital in defining yourself. Your primary life goal will determine the type of grit you need to achieve those goals and objectives. In the next three chapters, we will look at grit in the context of three primary life-direction goals. We will look at grit for needs and desires, grit for values and morals, and lastly, what it means to have Godly grit.
If you define yourself by your needs and desires, your grit elements needed to achieve your dreams will be your intellect, wit, cunning, physical capacity, and ability.
We all have perceived needs and desires. These needs and wants will change over time, but you will always have demanding needs and desires. We live our lives with an awareness of what we believe we need to survive, and this promotes the development of a self-preservation form of grit. We think if we do not get what we feel we need, we will not survive.
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It takes more than resilience to be the people God desires us to be. It takes grit. What is grit? Is grit different than resilience? Is grit important? Grit is a combination of passion and perseverance, when combined with talent, equals skill, and skill when combined with grit, equals accomplishment. In other words, if you apply your passion with perseverance, you will be more successful with what you are trying to accomplish.
What does the Bible say about grit? In Ecclesiastes 2:24 (NIV), we read: "A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God," God made us for work or toil. Toil is toil; it is not easy. Our attitude towards our toil matters to God, and it should matter to us. A positive approach to struggle and work takes grit. Our reaction to our work may even be more important than the work itself. Where did we get the notion that life, even if we lived "correctly," should be easy? Life is complicated and challenging. Toil is a significant component of our life experience, yet God desires that we find satisfaction in that toil. A large portion of grit is necessary to discover that satisfaction. Once you find that satisfaction, it will change your life. The approach to a task and your creative self's application become more important than achieving a specific result.
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What causes a loss of resilience with a subsequent slide into a life of despair? Why are some people resilient while others are not? What can we do to get more resilient?
Trials and challenges are a fact of life. These trials and challenges can either make us stronger or gradually wear us down. This podcast focuses on the science behind the breakdown of resilience.
How does your resilience fracture?
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This podcast focuses on the science behind resilience. Resilience is the ability to get knocked down and then get back up again; it is the power of recovery from adversity.
For an elastic band, resilience is the ability for that object to be stretched and then return to its original length.
For human beings, resilience is the power and ability to get back to a predefined normal state – unless stretched too often. At that point, you have established a new norm, or you continue to live in despair.
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In this second Godly grit podcast, I share the inspiration for the book "Godly Grit." One of the most difficult, if not the most difficult, encounters in life is aging. If we want to learn about grit, we should look at the elderly. In the Old Testament, we are encouraged to honor our father and mother. In the original language, this meant to pause quietly and lean in to hear, for understanding. We have a lot to learn from our mothers, fathers, and elders, so let's pause and lean in with our eyes and ears open. The elderly can teach us a lot about priorities, what is worth fussing about, and what matters in the long run. If you would like to be vital and full of purpose as you age, then take time to consider the role of grit in your life. Are you resilient? What would it take for you to be more resilient?
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This podcast is the first of many from the book “Godly Grit” which was published in the early Spring of 2021. This first podcast is an overview of the various topics covered in the book. We read in Hebrews 12:1-2, “As for us, we have all of these great witnesses who encircle us like clouds. So we must let go of every wound that has pierced us and the sin we so easily fall into. Then we will be able to run life’s marathon race with passion and determination, for the path has been already marked out before us.” Are you running God’s race with passion and determination? Or, are you wearing out during this time of societal upheaval? The wound that pierces us is the multiple strongholds the enemy uses to steal our joy and peace, kill our dreams, and destroy our growth and voice. Over the next several months, I hope to show how the enemy uses these strongholds as an offense. These offenses cause us to become self-centered, and as soon as we become self-focused, we have slipped into the sin that is “so easily fallen into.” We begin to believe that “it is all about me.”
If you desire to know God and find your purpose and voice, I invite you on this journey. In this time of human struggle and turmoil, we could all use a lot more Godly grit.
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Systemic racism does not have a cure because it is not a disease but rather a symptom of the deadly disease of self-centeredness fueled by greed. This podcast is addressed to Christians who want to have a meaningful impact on their troubled world during this time of cultural chaos.
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Our present world is filled with offense and injustice. This podcast addresses these issues from a Biblical perspective with some clear actions we can take to not just survive but thrive during times of cultural upheaval.
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God gave us an eternal spirit. What does this mean and how should it impact how we live today?
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God made us to have power and to exercise our creativity. How do we tap into the creative power and energy that God has provided for us?
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What value do we have as people? Part of having the image of God is the value we have because of that image.
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What is the image of God in man? This episode outlines the relational aspect of the image of God in man.
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What is contentment? Why is it so hard to find contentment? Why does life seem like such a constant struggle?
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What does it mean to be spiritually empty and how does that affect all areas of our life.
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All humans struggle with the reality of their mortality. This struggle causes increased denial that can be damaging.
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How do we choose the best path for our life? What is the burden and pressure in daily choices?
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The struggle with meaning and the purpose of our life. How to find meaning and value.
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The burden of isolation and loneliness. Importance of authenticity and solitude.
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Isolation, mortality, meaninglessness and their impact.
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A brief description of the various chemicals that can cause an addiction.
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What is recovery from addiction?
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What are the roots of bitterness and how do you avoid them.
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The evils of bitterness and need to avoid being exposed to bitterness.
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Take time to live life deliberately and responsibly.
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How different types of stress affect resilience. Learning how to deal with stress productively.
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What is the disease of Addiction? This reviews current medical understanding of addiction and the difficulties in working with the disease. What help is there for families and friends of addicts.
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A study of resilience, what it is, what destroys it and how it can be strengthened.
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