Home » Fear. God. Love.    

Comments

Fear. God. Love. — 7 Comments

  1. Agoraphobia is a morbid/irrational fear of open spaces. Claustrophobia is a morbid/irrational fear of closed spaces [the latter is what you most probably/really meant to be the "fear of being trapped" NO...?!]. God bless.

    (0)
  2. I tried to guess the top three mental disorders but got distracted before I could get to number 3.

    Seriously, thank you Jennifer for an important posting addressing an issue I have not really seen addressed before or at least not like this, and this is misplacing your fears. We need to fear intelligently.

    (1)
  3. I have come to view "the fear of the Lord..." as being that which was demonstrated by Joseph when tempted to violate the Law of God. He feared to offend the One who had shown him such grace through wonderful blessings, who had blessed his father Jacob and preserved him from all who could have harmed him. Joseph had placed himself in the care of his father's God, so how could he now sin against Him? This is a healthy "fear" for any of us living in a sinful world where temptation abounds. This proper fear is only motivated by love which is the result of a personal knowledge of God, and always leads to obedience. (Prov 2:1-5)

    I would expect it's the same with anyone who would fear to offend or hurt their spouse, parent, child or a good friend.

    We are sinful by nature but saved by grace if we maintain faith in God's promises, but a wrong choice in a weak moment can quickly bring great offense and we do well if we fear to do this. In this life our natural tendencies may require this type of fear at times.

    It is better to fear to offend a loving Father than to simply fear God's "wrath". For many, the latter can lead to the former.

    On a different note; I have learned that of the 3 top disorders you listed, at least numbers 2 & 3 are often due to nutritional/lifestyle issues. Perhaps in even as many as 75% of the cases or more. Maybe even the number 1 disorder as well? It would make sense that a physically deficient brain would have it's adverse symptoms.

    (1)
  4. "I am love. Far from wanting to destroy, I was willing to be destroyed in order to save.”

    That's a very powerful statement; sent a chill down my spine.
    ===
    I was a very fearful man because of my chaotic childhood. Parents never expressed love. In fact, they showed distrust. Once I became adult, I found it weird when people trusted me. And I never ever took a step of faith. I always viewed the future as a very dark place.

    But Jesus is awesome. He gave me a fervent prayer life. And, as a result, He took me through real-life steps to unlearn all those negative personality traits. It's like what the hymn says, "what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer."

    Fix your psychological disorders with prayers, not pills.

    (1)
  5. [Thank you for your comment. Next time please submit your full name with your comment.]

    It's amazing how much fear can sap one's quality of life away. What a dichotomy the prosperity so many of us enjoy along side with the eroding of our ability to enjoy these gifts because of the hosts of mental disorders so many of us suffer from. Right now I'm struggling with caffeine habits that go way back to my youth. Just staying away from stimulants and of course prayer is an enormous way to stay calm. Even these small substances like tea and coffee have the ability to destroy one's inner calm.

    (0)
  6. Hi Jennifer,
    Thank you for such a well described post on disorders. But this one puzzled me... "obsessive-compulsive disorder (using rituals to stave off fear)", so I had to google it. Mayo Clinic offered up a good description of what you meant...http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/obsessive-compulsive-disorder/DS00189.

    (0)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

HTML tags allowed in your comment: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>