Biblical psychology: a must for every believer
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6–7, KJV)
I guess you are probably thinking I am about to introduce some theological or scientific course for you to take. The Lord just dropped this in my heart, and I just could not wait to share it with you, given its critical importance.
I have borrowed the word “psychology” from science but what I have to share here has nothing whatever to do with science or classic psychology as you know it. Psychology, in essence, is the study of the inner life of a person. Biblical psychology, as I use it here, means studying the scriptures to know what God says about the workings of our inner life. Please take a look at a classic biblical psychology passage in Philippians 4 above. This is the Lord telling you how to manage your thoughts and emotions.
Since the Lord began opening my understanding of spirit and soul, and how the heart of man works, I have been astonished to realize God has given us a tremendous amount of information about our hearts or inner life. One of the reasons I got so fascinated with it is because many of us and even the overwhelming majority of Christians focus most of our attention on our external life. We focus on teaching people the right way to behave or talk. Yes, the scripture has so much to say about this, but it has, even more, to tell us about what to do with our inner life that no-one else sees(other people). Many of you will realize that you probably pay attention to your words and actions, partly because they are external and easily seen by others. You may never go out there and watch a pornographic movie but you will agree with me that many Christians might be watching pornography in their hearts 24/7. It does not bother them as much because no one might even know about it.
The truth is that God has said your inner life controls the outward life. Prov. 4:23 commands us to watch our hearts carefully. This simply means be careful with your psychology. The thoughts you keep, the emotions you harbor and the desires you embrace are critical determinants of the course of your life. Phil 4:6 above says do not be anxious about anything. Anxiety or worry is a disturbance of your inner peace and it destabilizes you spiritually. This is biblical psychology! In other places, the Lord commands us to rejoice always. This is God commanding us to pay attention to our psychology! It matters whether you are joyful in your heart or depressed and sorrowful. It matters to God, to you and certainly to the devil who is always watching and looking for an opportunity to seize!
What is your current psychological make-up? Are your thoughts and emotions out of control? The Lord says bring them to order before they bring disorder in your life. He says be anxious for nothing…fear not…rejoice always..remove all bitterness from your heart…etc. Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of your life.
MEDITATE
What is Biblical Psychology in very simple terms? Do you know recognize you have an inner psychological life and an outward life?
APPLY THE WORD
A crucial truth in what I have called Biblical Psychology above is that we have the authority and control over our thoughts, emotions, and desires. You can stir them towards God or towards the things of the world. The Lord says you should set your hearts on things above and not on things below!
PRAY
Ask the Spirit to help you begin the process of cleaning your heart of any garbage, decorating it with the fruits of the Spirit and guarding it from any external insults.
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