Category: mental illness

Hell and Hope

inferno

Sometimes, I feel like a tour guide for believers that are walking through hell. I point out the different strugglers, and urge each one not to linger too long but to keep moving. We look on those trapped (they have no hope within them) but we hope that they are yet to reach out for the Savior. It is distressing, and yet somehow we understand them just a little bit.

Our journey out and down each sad corridor can be painfully disturbing for us. There are so many different types of prisons and chains used to confine and control. Dante wrote his “Inferno” (Italian, for hell), and somehow he in some curious way walks through the different levels (varieties) of hell with us. Virgil (Dante’s own tour guide) takes Dante through some pretty hairy stuff, and they pass through the very gate, which bears an inscription, of the infamous phrase “Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate“, or “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”

Our own rescue from this dreadful place is based on that singular word, “hope”. Somehow, hope has distilled inside us, and that alone can enable us to walk out as the freed. We have chosen not to abandon hope, but to use it as our passport out of the bottom of hell itself. We show it to each guardian, and then pass through without any hinderance.

  • And so at last the poor have hope. (Job 5:16)
  • Having hope will give you courage. You will be protected and will rest in safety. (Job 11:18)
  • Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them. (Ps. 10:17)
  • All day long I put my hope in you. (Ps. 25:5)
  • Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone. (Ps. 33:22)
  • O Lord, you alone are my hope. (Ps. 71:5)
  • Your word is my source of hope. (Ps. 119:114)
  • “Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance— all who seek the Lord!” (Isa. 51:1)
  • And his name will be the hope of all the world.” (Matt. 12:21)
  • Even when there was no reason for hope, “Abraham kept hoping.” (Rom. 4:18)
  • We, too, wait with eager hope. (Rom. 8:23)
  • Rejoice in our confident hope. (Rom. 12:12)
  • The Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait. (Rom. 15:4)
  • Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love. (1 Cor. 13:13)
  • That you can understand the confident hope he has given us. (Eph. 1:18)
  • Our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all. (1 Tim. 4:10)
  • In order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. (Heb. 6:11)
  • This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. (Heb. 6:19)
  • Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm. (Heb. 10:23)
  • They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. (Heb. 11:35)
  • You have placed your faith and hope in God. (1 Pet. 1:21)
  • If someone asks about your Christian hope. (1 Pet. 3:15)

I suppose we must say (it’s clear) that hope is what sets us free from the difficulty that rests in our minds. Whatever DSM-IV has branded us, whatever a psychiatrist has declared us to be, and whatever our therapist has told us– our hope, that’s in Christ, will open all doors that are closed and locked.

Hope really is the Christian’s freedom from hell. Those of us who have been freed from our incarceration from our mental illness are amazingly liberated. I know the lostness of being very much lost. But hope is everything. When our hope somehow connects with Jesus, our souls are set free. We walk out of hell, with our souls soaring clean.

kyrie elesion, Bryan

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A Full Quiver, to Press the Enemy

Shoot-an-Arrow

In an old book of prayers, I discovered this list. As I read it, and pondered them, I felt like I had been given a giant pile of treasure. And I want to share the wealth with my friends.

The idea of “arrow prayers” maybe novel to you. I, myself, am a pure novice on these things. I often see the tremendous value, without the real commitment to live it out. I often aspire, but do not attain. (Lord, have mercy on me.)

Arrow praying is identified by a short, piercing exclamation. It has little flourish, and zero frills. Religious people will often not see their value. I’m convinced that believers with a broken life will understand. Broken people will often pray things that the Father hears. We do pray, but short and to the point. That is good.

“And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.” Luke 1:38

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Luke 2:14

“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:” Luke 2:29

“And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” Mark 9:24

““Save me, Lord!” he shouted.”  Matthew 14:30

‘ ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’” Luke 18;13

“Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”  Luke 23:42

“Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.” Luke 24:29

““Give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” John 4:15

“Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.” John 6:34

“Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life.” John 6:68

“Lord, your dear friend is very sick.” John 11:3

“Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” John 14:8

“Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.”  John 21:16

“My Lord and my God!”  John 20:28

“Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” Revelation 22:20

These are all prayers, hidden in something direct and cool. These words which are sudden and aware, and press us into a special sensitivity of godliness. Our own cries, will ride need to ride piggyback on these certain cries, and right into the heart of God.

Let us turn, as much as we are able, to the One who heals the flawed, and all those who are crooked. He loves us constantly, even when we are confused by our twistedness. I tell you, He keeps reaching out for the ungodly, for His glory and by His grace.

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kyrie elesion, Bryan

(Lord, have Mercy on us, the sinners.)

 

Embracing the Simplicity

Look to be simple
Look to be simple

A Prayer of a Simple Man

I am not worthy, Master and Lord, that thou shouldst come under the roof of my soul: yet, since thou in thy love toward all men, dost wish to dwell with me, in boldness I come.  Thou commandest, Open the gates– which thou alone has forged; and thou will come in with love toward all men, as is thy nature; thou will come in and enlighten my dark reasoning.

I believe that thou will doest: for thou didst not send away the harlot who came to thee with tears; nor cast out the repenting publican; nor reject the thief who acknowledged thy kingdom; nor forsake the repentant persecutor, a yet greater act; but all of those who came to thee in repentance, didst count in the band of thy friends, who alone abidest blessed forever, now, and unto the everlasting ages.

St. John of Chrysostom, c. 347-407

Bryan’s Note:

Unquestionably, the use of archaic English is a bit of a linguistic speed bump for us.  But the essential content develops for us to see a hungry heart; a heart that understands the Gospel. And mercy. And grace.  John has a fascinating understanding of the purposes of Jesus, and seeks to honor Him before all who hear the Spirit’s voice.

His time, allotted to him by God was about 60 years.  He would remain faithful and pass a blazing torch to the next generation.  He was a link from the Apostles to a more modern generation.  As a bipolar believer, I sometimes will struggle with clarity; of both words and thought.  I value anyone who can concisely touch on the things that concern me.  I think St. John does that, if we are patient and work it through, we will be blessed and enriched.

Our very unsteadiness is often detrimental. As our moods shift around we still carry the hope that we might just wake up tomorrow solid and strong. Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and clinical depression has completely messed with us, we are ravaged as broken believers. Often, we make very bad decisions that only inflame our mental illness.

Becoming simple can often cool things down. We become aware that as we embrace the simplicity we find the “eye of the storm.” In the chaotic and confused (often self-inflicted) we just might find peace.

“Every man dies. Not every man really lives.” — William Wallace

ybic, Bryan

kyrie elesion. (Lord, have mercy)

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Drink Up!

water-running from-hand

Now on the final and most important day of the feast, Jesus stood, and He cried in a loud voice, If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink! 

John 7:37,   Amplified

The strangeness of this metaphor has never really been resolved in my thinking.  There is one other which strikes me as incredibly odd; it is when Jesus declares that He is “the Bread of life” whom we must eat.  With both of these I’m content right now to think that I am reaching through a cultural airlock, and things will resolve.  It isn’t doubt, I’m just content to wait for it to be sorted out.  I’m certain it shall be.

hands_of_jesus_pouring_waterBut I cannot minimize these declarations, and their significance.  “I am the Water for this parched world.  Come with your buckets and cups.”  If we but think about this, there is an implied exclusivity.  He has everything we need.  And there is no one else.  Also reading the text over again, I’m struck by the setting for this announcement.

They were standing in the Temple.  Jesus had been unveiling His ministry to be messianic, and His presence to be divine.  And the Temple and the feasts created the atmosphere for this dramatic revelation.  And the best part was this, “everyone, anyone who understands having a thirst, can come to me, and drink me.”

I lived for three years in the deserts of Baja, Mexico.  I learned about heat, and the exquisite value of water, and savoring it to the last mouthful.  I saw spring rains soak the desolate terrain, and saw the awesome results of a blooming desert.  And it was all about the water.

The world has been confronted by the real spiritual, and most don’t even understand this.  But yet we all know there exists a powerful thirst.  And thirst,  is perhaps the best word to use.  We walk through life parched and dried out, and nothing we’ve tried to drink has helped.  There has been a joint effort by many brilliant minds, but it has completely and definitely failed.

     “Is anyone thirsty?
      Come and drink—
      even if you have no money!
      Come, take your choice of wine or milk—
      it’s all free!”    -Isa. 55:1

Isaiah the prophet used the imagery of thirst.  He has shown us that thereis somewhere (or more precisely “someone”) who has the fantastical ability of meeting our needs.  I can’t say a lot about the “wine”, (but I’m sure it’s something good.)  And the milk? Well growing up in rural Wisconsin, I drank lots and lots of wholesome raw milk, straight from the cow. With the cream four inches thick in our gallon jar. It was grand, I loved it!

When we follow Jesus, He provides what we need.  When I come, as one of His flawed ones, He pays extra attention to me (at least that is what it feels like).  Satan’s lies fall away, and my understanding grows as I drink Jesus.

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ybic, Bryan

kyrie eleison.