Pattern Six is Operate on Yourself and Chapter 18 is The Art of Strengthening Yourself in the Lord.
Part 2
I paused earlier when the author told us to preach to ourselves. I could not get my head around that. To me preaching is something you do for others and then only if gifted by God for it and moved to do so by the Holy Spirit. I understand there to be a huge spiritual difference between preaching and teaching. I heard someone young remark that someone was going to give their group a sermon. I wanted to correct them but held my tongue. After all, I could be wrong.
As I probably mentioned before we had a minister at our last church that worked with children at the time (or youth) and he would sometimes preach in big church. The phrase I remember him for was something like: When I find myself at odds with what the bible says, I will change. The idea is that God’s Word is truth and anytime we have difficulty with anything in it, the problem is with us and not with the Bible. We get to these points of recognition, and it is God telling us it is time to learn and become more Christ like.
The author tells us the bible includes God’s promises and tells us about His presence. Our strengthening of ourselves involves using the Bible to remember these promises and His presence to move from where we are to where He calls us to be.
The author tells us that when we begin to look at things the way God does, that we realize hope, and that the essence of wisdom is looking at life as God does. He tells us patience is renewed, fellowship is restored, and behavior is corrected. He asks us to develop self-sufficiency and spiritual stamina. I am not sure I stand behind this.
We need friends to hear our struggles and to pray for us. We cannot be lone wolves studying for ourselves and fixing ourselves. There is a fine balance of helping yourself and getting help. Do what you need to do, but get help when you need it.
This table is based on some guidance the book provides.
Problem Resource
Sin God’s Commands
Self-pity His Cross
Embittering Anger His Grace
Despair His Hope and His Heaven
Ingratitude His Blessings
Anxiety His Providential Power
When faced with trouble, we need to turn to God’s Word. The author suggests we step away a from the world, open the Word, and find a passage that helps us. It may not be the first verse, but if you follow the lead of the Holy Spirit, it will come. The author likes 2 Corinthians for this as it helps him refocus on the eternal rather than the temporal, exchanging our perspective, for His. Sometimes he creates a table like the one above with issues on one side and verse on the other. Romans 12:2 tells us to renew our minds. This happens by using the Bible and having faith that it is the best medicine we can have for mental health.
Although I am not great at it, the book tells us that memorizing verses can help us in this process. If we have memorized things, we can use them. Read them, store, them, think about them, be ready when they are needed. Jesus made us many promises and as our foundation, He alone delivers on them.
As with any study, we must make sure we use verses in context. Many, many popular uses of verses are not taken in context and distort the promises actually being given. Do not be afraid to study prophecy like the book of Revelation. God put them in the Bible for us to read, not ignore. Study heaven, study prayers, study commands, study characters, study sermons, or study it all. It was given for our use. The author tells us to meditate, read, journal, pray, confess, interrupt the daily grind, rest, have friends, go to church, and to praise God. He wants us to be emotionally confident and spiritually sufficient.
Scripture is a double edge sword. It cuts away the bad and allows the good to grow. Use it to make yourself who God calls you to be.