THE SOLUTION TO ALL OF YOUR PROBLEMS : dealing with extremes.

We are confronted with many extremes in life and we often hear someone going through a stage of the “swinging pendulum”, meaning that you suddenly radically change your point of view until you finally find balance somewhere in between two extremes. However, oftentimes this place of “balance” is more an option of “safe” compromise and does not present a real solution.

Father talked to me recently about the preoccupation with man (fear of man) as one extreme, and the preoccupation with self as the other.

Many of us are victim of the fear of man, meaning that we are ready to sacrifice many things for the sake of man’s approval. It is characterized by a loss (to a certain degree) of identity : becoming a random sheep in the mainstream of life. Some lose themselves entirely!

On the other hand, the preoccupation with self is a place where we put ourselves on the throne of our lives entirely, catering first and foremost for our own identity and displaying a kinda WTF-attitude toward others to some extent (some more than others).

Both of these extremes have a common root: fear.

Fear of what man thinks, fear of getting hurt, fear of the unknown, etc, etc. You can't deal with either extremes effectively by simply reverting to the other, yet it is exactly what we so often do.

So what is the solution?

The solution is an extreme in itself, because it needs our complete devotion, but it creates a balance that brings true restoration and wellbeing in every direction : it’s the preoccupation with God!

As to how to pursue this... It is such a large topic that I will only stick to the basics.

First of all, the (healthy) fear of God is not cultivated through legalism (through do’s and don’ts). It is found in love. And this Love is a 2-way street of both seeking to love God and discovering (deciding to trust in) His unconditional love for us. Oftentimes when we struggle with doubt in God, it is because, deep down inside, we don’t really believe that He loves us. We need a revelation of His love in order to spark the desire to love Him in return. That revelation may come through reading the Bible, listening to a teaching about Jesus, a supernatural experience or by witnessing the life of someone who is in love with God. Whichever way it happens, the only way to pursue the journey is through a close love-relationship with God. And as with any relationship this involves interaction: talking to Him, listening to Him and walking with Him constantly.

True happiness flows from that “secret place” relationship with a living God and it is only him who “tastes and sees” that will discover the extent of this Truth!

The solution to all of your problems lies in a love relationship with God. But are you willing to try...?