What we Believe Determines our Life

 

 

If I believe that my wife is having an affair with our next-door neighbor, this  will profoundly transform my life in every way. Likewise, what we believe about ourselves and God will severely alter our lives. The great King Nebuchadnezzar discovered this in a very dramatic way. He had built perhaps the greatest empire in the world at that time and Babylon, one of the marvels of the world. However, he had a disturbing dream whose message would transform his life. He therefore called for the Hebrew prophet Daniel to interpret his ominous dream:

Daniel 4:24–26 “It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed (returned)  to you from the time that you know that Heaven rules.” 

The king would go mad and believe himself to be an ox seeking pasture. This “psychosis” would prevail for seven years until he would learn a rare truth but needful truth about himself and God: that God ruled and not the king:

Daniel 4:29–32 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox. 

At the end of the seven years, God restored his mind and had profoundly changed his beliefs. (Interestingly, these events coincide with an archeological finding that this king had disappeared from his thrown for seven years.) What follows are the unlikely words of the king explaining his transformation, Scripture making room for a pagan’s testimony: 

Daniel 4:34–36 “At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me…for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble. 

The king had come to the very beliefs that God required. God is all-powerful. His kingship would prevail, as the Apostle Paul had preached on Mars Hill: 

Acts 17:26–27 “And [God] made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.” 

Paul even explained his own life and even nations in terms of the mercy of God: 

1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 

2 Corinthians 3:5–6 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant. 

Isaiah 40:17, 22-23 All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness…It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. 

Galatians 6:3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 

According also to Jesus, self-confidence is self-deception? 

 John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” 

What are the consequences of pride, the belief that we are morally superior? 

Luke 18:9–14 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” 

Pride and narcissism are destructive of all relationships. It’s an addiction that needs constant feeding. It takes many forms like always having to be right:

Proverbs 16:2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit. 

How do we humble ourselves? We cannot! Our addiction to self-glorification is so powerful that only Jesus can undermine this malignant kingdom, and this requires healthy amounts of suffering: 

2 Corinthians 4:8–11 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 

The king had to first be humbled and so must we. Lest the Apostle Paul become proud because of the wisdom he had been given, God allowed Satan to afflict him and even refused to heal Paul: 

2 Corinthians 12:9–10 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

This narcissistic addiction can return at any time if God stops pruning us back, but  I trust that, by His mercy, we will abide.

 

 

Secular Growth and Transformation

 

What role does truth play in our lives? It certainly plays a prominent role. For example, it is essential when it comes to maintaining a car. I had bought an excellent car from a neighbor, but in order to save a little money, I failed to use antifreeze as I should have and cracked the engine.

However, does truth play a role in self-maintenance and growth? Scripture assures us that it must: 2 Timothy 3:16–17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Does truth have a role regarding our beliefs, especially what we believe about ourselves? When it comes to secular psychotherapy, it doesn’t seem to have much of a role if any. It’s more about reducing our presenting problems through building self-esteem:

 Psychologist Harold Sacheim had written: “Through distortion, I may enhance my self-image, not because at heart I am insecure about my worth but because no matter how much I am convinced of my value, believing that I am better is pleasurable. Such self-deceptions may prove to be efficient in constructing or consolidating a solid and perhaps even ‘healthy’ identity.”

Sacheim claimed that self-deception plays a necessary role. Psychologist Shelley E. Taylor concurs: “Those with an exaggerated sense of their own mastery tend to have inflated views of their self-worth and likelihood of future success. It is unusual to find a person who is so overly optimistic about the future but lacking in self-esteem or mastery, beliefs that would seem to be essential to the implementation of a rewarding future.” (Positive Illusions, 234)

Taylor associates self-deception, an inflated self-esteem with many positive outcomes.

 More recent findings have questioned these assumptions. Psychologist Roy Baumeister had written: “For three decades, I and many other psychologists viewed [high] self-esteem as our profession’s Holy Grail: a psychological trait that would soothe most of individuals’ and society’s woes. We thought that high self-esteem would impart not only success, health, happiness, and prosperity to the people who possessed it, but also stronger marriages, higher employment, and greater educational attainment in the communities that supported it.”

Besides, an inflated self-esteem is strongly associated with narcissism, a relationship destroyer. How? When we have a more accurate and humbled self-esteem, we also become more grateful for what we have. Consequently, when we honestly face our many moral failures, we become more grateful for our own flawed family and friends. If we think that we are a king, we expect our family to be queens and princes. Besides, the king cannot take criticism or anything that might diminish his kingship. Instead, the king always has to be right. In contrast, the Scriptures always advise us to abide in the light of truth:

John 3:19–20 “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.”

Meanwhile, the humble can endure the criticism of the light. Those who have already been humbled are not threatened by the light of exposure. They don’t always have to be right. They have already been humbled and exposed. Consequently the light is no longer a threat:

Romans 12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment.

Psalm 51:6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart 

Luke 18:14 “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Luke 16:15 And [Jesus] said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”

Yes, psychotherapy can enable us to become aware of how our behavior might affect others. However, we flee from the deeper truths that point to our unworthiness and  impending judgment:

Romans 1:32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

As a result, we hate God and those associated with Him, even to the point of favoring terrorists over Christians. At this level, meaningful self-awareness becomes impossible.

Therefore, we prefer the comforting darkness in which we can repress what we know to be true. How then can we endure being humbled? Only through faith in the love and forgiveness of the one who has died for our sins:

1 Peter 5:6–7 Humble yourselves therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Isaiah 26:3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

Jesus: Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed.” 

We are blinded and self-deceived. Only the Light of Christ can cure us of our crippling addiction to pride, self-righteousness, and narcissism. Therefore, love compels us to shed the Light of Christ:

 2 Timothy 2:24-26 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

The way up is the way down. Only Christ can dispel the darkness. Transformation requires us to face our neediness, the painful truth about ourselves as Jesus had taught:

Luke 17:10 “So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty. ”

It’s a matter of God bringing us into His Light, rejecting our old identity, and replacing it with the Light of truth:

Galatians 2:20: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

What a relief! My five highly recommended psychotherapists had left me worse than I had been before.

 

God has a Blessed and Distinctive Plan for Our Lives

 

 

When we aren’t assured that God has a blessed plan for our life, we are burdened and become stressed control-freaks. Therefore, Jesus asks:

Matthew 6:27 “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”

We cannot find in ourselves the rest and peace for which we long. This attempt will only increase our stress. Peace can only be found in the omnipotent One who loves us and proved it by dying for us:

Matthew 11:28–30 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

This is why we need to know that God has a distinctive plan for each of us. He even has a plan for the nations:

For Israel: Jeremiah 29:11–14 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

And even for the other nations:  Acts 17:26–27 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.

Our Lord tells us that we belong to Him. If we are His (Isaiah 43:1; Galatians 2:20), we gradually learn that He will take care of us and has a distinctive and blessed plan each one. Consequently, we no longer have to be in control. We can leave the driving to Him:

Romans 8:28  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Philippians 1:6  And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 

But does He care about the little things that matter to us and can cause us so much stress?

Matthew 10:29–31 “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

As long as He remains our #1 concern, we can be assured that our foot-steps are His and that we are living out His blessed plan for us:

Proverbs 16:9  The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

Psalm 37:23  The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way.

Proverbs 19:21  Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

In this assured knowledge we find peace. Knowing that the Lord loves us, we can gladly  turn over our lives to His control and follow His Words:

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

He also promises to fulfill His plan including the length of our lives:

Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Psalm 139:16  Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Psalm 138:8  The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Consequently, I need not worry whether I will succeed or whether I have what it takes to do the job to which He calls me. Instead, I can rejoice in His love, protection and guidance:

Psalm 37:23-24 The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.

 

 He will embrace us for all eternity”

1 Corinthians 2:9  But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”

 

 2 Corinthians 4:16–18 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

 

With this growing assurance, Christ becomes our life’s purpose and joy as Paul had proclaimed:

Acts 20:24 “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

 

The Psalmist Asaph had been tormented by what he observed. The unrighteous were thriving as he continued to struggle, but the Lord opened his understanding to His enduring love:

Psalm 73:26–28 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.

 

Christ has also become my refuge and comforter. Therefore, my greatest joy and hope is to grow closer to Him as I reside within His grasp.