Everyone has thoughts; all day long the mind analyzes, protects us and is in a constant stream of energy. You see it is the nature of the mind to think, which actually ensures our survival and safety. But it also has a tendency to create illusions of what makes up our reality. What do I mean by this? Well, let’s say for example there is a pot of flowers on a grocery store shelf. Now let’s say that a person walks by and sees those flowers, that person may have feelings of peace or at the very least neutrality because the flowers are beautiful and triggers a feeling of peace. Now let’s say another person walks by and notices the flowers but he becomes sad, why? Because he remembers a time in his life when a person he loved dearly, died and was surrounded by flowers. Now the actual pot of flowers never changed but the feelings evoked from both individuals were different, why? This is simply because we all have our own experiences in life and from the moment we were born our mind has been creating associations on top of associations in our world to keep us safe and maintain our well-being. You see fear itself is the mind actually trying to protect you by creating a flight or fight response within your body it is trying to protect you from an association of danger.
The whole point of this article is to help us understand that the Bible can give us tremendous peace and joy because it deals with every aspect of humanity. It is composed of the very thoughts of God. There was a time when man felt no fear, way back in the Garden of Eden. But we all know how the story goes, they both ate the forbidden fruit and now suddenly their eyes were opened, and they feared for the very first time in the history of humankind. And it is sad to say that man has feared ever since. The list of phobia’s and mental conditions are vast and sadly become bigger as time progresses. But the Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. But this fear is not an illusionary fight or flight response; instead it is a healthy reverence for the creator of heaven and earth and his sovereignty. When we respect God and realize that he is an ever-present help in time of need we find rest for our weary souls. Jesus said “take my yoke for it is light”. What did he mean by that? Well he simply meant he trusted his heavenly father and like a sheep that trusts implicitly in the shepherd, we too are to trust in God. Let God’s words soothe your soul. He knows our very thoughts afar off and he is close to the broken hearted. You will never find a better friend than God and you will find him in the pages of the Bible. God bless you my friends.
By Gordon E. Dawe
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