Up to this time, I had always assumed that pain meant something was wrong with the body and that a physician would know how to fix it. When there was a problem, you simply got it fixed, much like you would take your broken watch to a jeweler. The proper choice of pills or an injection would hopefully do the job. It simply never occurred to me that thoughts and feelings could affect the body.

According to Dr. English, the emotional state of a person can cause a perfectly healthy heart to beat faster and irregularly. There can be the sensation of tightening, pain, and numbness. There can be a shortness of breath and the feeling of faintness, weakness, or even giddiness.

The information that interested me the most was about the autonomic nervous system. There are certain emotional centers in the brain that are linked to the entire body through the autonomic nervous system. This system can be compared to the wires that carry electricity from a main power source to all the outlets in your house.

Charges of emotions are relayed from the brain, down the spinal cord, and through the autonomic nerves to the blood vessels, muscle tissues, mucous membranes, and skin. When you are under emotional stress, all parts of your body can be subject to physical discomfort because of a change in blood nourishment, glandular function, or muscle tone.

A healthy example of this is when a speaker who is about to be introduced before a crowd becomes fearful over facing the audience and suddenly his mouth will become dry. That’s because his blood vessels have constricted and glandular activity has been reduced. When the fear goes away, the dryness also goes away.

It has also been proven that emotional stress will increase the size of the blood vessels in your head; this, in turn, produces pain because of the stretching of the tissues around the blood vessels and the consequential pressure on the nerve endings.

Within the medical community, it has been know for decades that emotional or relational problems that remain unresolved can be “turned over” or “taken up” by some other part of the body. When an irritating friend or a troublesome family member cannot be coped with, the patient develops physical symptoms. A medical doctor cannot find any real reason for the symptoms, but knows that the true cause of these body pains may be because of emotional conflict.

Dr. English wrote a list of the thoughts and feelings that can disturb the autonomous operation of the body:  envy, frustration, worry, oversensitivity, ambivalence, inferiority, fear, ambition, resentment, self-centeredness, hostility, need for approval, guilt, repressed hostility, sorrow, rage.

He then gave us a list of words that were very similar. This list came from the Bible: “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division” (Galatians 5:19-20). In essence, many of our negative emotions are actually sin manifesting itself in our lives.

Bob was a young pastor fresh out of college and just beginning seminary. He wanted to do well in his first church staff position. Bob had always wanted people to accept him and approve of what he said and did. However, not long into his new job, he discovered that not every church member liked what he said and did.

Bob began to notice that reading caused tremendous pain in his eyes. Normal lighting in his office gave him headaches. He couldn’t sleep at night. He was not as relaxed as he once was. Sitting still was almost impossible. Nervous twitching compelled him to see a Christian medical doctor. Bob was convinced that he had a brain tumor.

After the examination, the doctor said to him, “Bob, the good news is that you don’t have a brain tumor. The bad news is you have a severe case of stress! I will recommend two solutions to your problem and you can decide which one you want to try. I can give you tranquilizers to help you relax; or, you can leave my office, spend time with God, and ask Him to show you why you can’t relax.”

Bob left the doctor’s office knowing what he needed. He knew why he couldn’t relax. Although he respected the judgment of the people who did not approve of all he said and did, he also resented them and tried to cover it up in their presence. This was self-deception. The result? Restlessness and sleeplessness.

Bob’s experience illustrates these two Biblical principles: 1) “For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends” (2 Corinthians 10:18) and 2) “Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).

After Bob repented of his hypocrisy and allowed the Lord to give him genuine respect for the people he once despised, the headaches, nervous twitching, and all the other symptoms were completely gone within a week. Like the red warning light on the dashboard of a car, Bob’s body warned him that not all was well with his spiritual life.

Bob’s experience is not an isolated one. Over the years, I have met many people who have had similar experiences.

One day during a counseling session, David spoke of his problem at home. Often he would arrive in a good mood and would be hungry enough to eat a side of beef. Then his wife would begin to air her complaints. Perhaps he had slammed the door when he came in. Or, he might have been a few minutes late. So just before dinner was ready, his body would become tense and he would lose his appetite. His angry, resentful reaction to his wife produced drastic bodily changes.

A young girl reported she suffered from severe headaches. Careful questioning disclosed that the headaches always occurred when her fiancé failed to call when he said he would. A further look back through her life showed that she had headaches whenever something went wrong with her plans. She also resented anyone who interfered with her plans.

Ed sought counseling at the recommendation of his physician. “How can you help me get over a stiff neck?” he asked, truly puzzled. As he told his story, it became clear that life, to him, was one big pain in the neck. The tenseness of his neck muscles gave him the pain. He was tense because he approached the problems in his life as if he were a football lineman charging his opponent. He had a quick temper.

Mrs. Diamond was a beautiful, cultured, well-educated woman. But in certain situations she was having difficulty swallowing her food. I learned that these times of difficulty came in connection with appointments that her husband demanded she make and keep and which she resented.

The Bible acknowledges the connection between certain feelings and bodily affliction. For example, King David was aware of the relationship between sin and pain: “There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me” (Psalm 38:3-4).

Proverbs 28:13 tells us, “He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”

Unfortunately, I have met with many righteously indignant Christians. They came to me because their physicians ruled that their headaches, stiff necks, skin problems, chest pains, breathing difficulties, digestive problems, and tensions were caused by emotional stress. Regrettably, theologically trained, highly respected staff people from the churches they attended had justified those symptoms by attributing them to righteous indignation. However, righteous indignation is often a disguise for sinful anger.

You may be thinking that to explore the possibility of sinfulness is a harsh approach. If so, be assured that most people I talk with think the same as you do. Let me simply remind you that Jesus came to save us from our sins, and that if your problems are linked to sin, you are just a prayer of repentance away from wholeness and restoration. Is it not heartless cruelty to treat people for sickness if they are only sinful? When a Christian is suffering bodily pain, exploring the possibility of sinfulness should have priority.

A dear woman named Mrs. English asked me for an appointment. I was reluctant to do so because it appeared to me that she was merely sick and in need of a physician. She later wrote about our experience together; it is a startling illustration of the interplay between sickness and sinfulness:

Fighting for my life! That’s what I was doing. Pain creeping through my body had progressed from aching hips to aching spine, both knees, now one ankle. A horrible nightmare, but I was living it!

X-rays revealed the discomfort in my hip was osteoarthritis. Within two years the hurt had traveled over almost my entire body and I was frightened and appalled at what lay ahead.

One year later I went to a very fine specialist. He ordered x-rays and blood tests and, then announced that although I did have arthritis, the pain was too severe to be caused only by my physical condition. I left his office in a daze. Getting into the car, I pled, “Lord, if these pains are psychosomatic, I need to know.” It was very perplexing, for supposedly I was a happily married woman with her needs met, one who had no real excuse to worry and who claimed her trust in God meant that, through Him, she could be joyful, loving, peaceful, gentle, and good. But I wasn’t. Active in Christian circles, I was regarded as a “nice, sweet lady.” But I wasn’t.

For the next three days, I felt much better and again went to the Throne of Grace and said, “Father, You have healed my body but how about my mind?” That evening someone disappointed me. When I went to bed, my bones felt as though they had been lit with matches. This was so devastating that I fell on my knees and cried, “Help!”

An eminent Christian psychologist was coming to town a few months later and a one-hour interview was arranged. I prepared for it by reading his book “The Struggle for Peace” and by compiling a list of “what bugs me.” A pattern began to emerge as I read and made my list–every time I did not get my own way, I had adverse reactions!

As my counselor read the list, I told him of my nasty feelings and reactions, admitting hatred for the way I felt and acted, but being unable to prevent it. He dropped a bombshell! He said I was an angry person–that I like being an angry person or I would have changed long ago.

I could hardly believe it, but I had no choice. I was fighting for my health. So I took it on faith that I was in the right place at the right time, listening to the person God had sent to help me out of this mess.

The doctor further explained that I had fooled many people, including myself, making them think I was what I should be.

Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?”

I was denying what was in the inner recesses of my life and thus was in great conflict. By now I was in tears, recognizing that actually it was a question of violating a divine principle of spiritual living, just as someone who is sick has broken some medical rule of living. I couldn’t wait to hear what would come next because I was looking for a way of escape.

As I continued to cry my heart out, my counselor pointed me to answers from the Bible:

I began with Proverbs 28, “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”

Going from Scripture to Scripture he showed me the way out.

I confessed my sin and received forgiveness for my reactions. Since that day, I have asked that I might not yield to the temptation to strike back at anyone, but prayerfully ask Him to take away these feelings and fill me, by His Spirit, with love, joy, and peace. Then I remind Him that I am thankful that He is so gracious, kind and good to me. He is always so gentle, yet firm, in His corrections.

I could hardly believe what happened. My severe joint pains were relieved, blood pressure was down, a new ability to relax developed, and my first reaction was not always [that] of anger. He began filling me by His Spirit with a new kind of peace and joy and a capacity to love.

Was it real? More than two years have elapsed since my visit to the Christian psychologist, and I feel better now than then. I have come to know the Lord Jesus Christ more intimately, to appreciate the work of the Holy Spirit in my life as never before and to trust God for all things in a way unknown in the past. Each new day I look forward to increased spiritual growth.

When your body hurts, check your spirit. The pain may be a signal to pay attention to your thoughts and emotions.

Do you believe that? No, thanks to the law of gravity, I came down so hard the impact broke one of my teeth.

Wouldn’t it be difficult if gravity worked only part of the time? Imagine walking in your neighborhood and never knowing for sure whether you would fly up or come down. Fortunately we can depend on the law of gravity. And though you can’t touch it or see it, if you jump out of a window, you will feel it.

You would not say, “I don’t believe germs exist,” just because you can’t see them. When you are sick, you experience the effects of germs. Even though you can’t see them, you do not deny that they exist.

These invisible powers are explained through science according to predictable laws. There are also biblical laws that affect our interactions.

I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. (Romans 7:18-25)

There is a tiny word tucked into these verses that you seldom hear these days. The word is … “sin.” These verses define the term “sin” to mean the breaking of God’s law. An equally important concept to understand is the “law of sin.” It is one of the most important of all laws to understand because it will determine your future conduct.

A knowledge of sin and what to do about it is the most important information in the world, and the Bible is the source of that information. Almost all the people who talk to me about themselves have little or no knowledge about the Bible. It follows that they also have little or no knowledge about sin.

I have heard hundreds of stories from people who begin by saying, “I have everything I always wanted and I’m doing everything right!” But the same gnawing emptiness and repetitive questions remain: Why am I restless? Why am I disturbed? Why am I worried? Why am I nervous? Why am I tense? Why am I unhappy? Why do I hurt? Why am I under stress? Why am I uncomfortable?

I am convinced that all of us sincerely want to overlook other people’s faults and be easygoing, loving, generous, cooperative, and sacrificial individuals. But something holds us back. Could it be this law of sin? Paul seems to say yes:  “I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it” (Romans 7:19-20).

It is usually the unexpected circumstances that give you an unexpected glimpse of yourself. Joe considered himself to be an easygoing, friendly person. He liked his work and got along well with his associates. Then his boss got transferred. The new boss rearranged Joe’s workplace, changed his secretary, and gave him some new duties that he didn’t like. Joe changed from being a cheerful, cooperative person to a disgruntled, rebellious employee. He hated the new boss. His inner response to the new superior resulted in behavior that missed his own personal standard of conduct.

This is the law of sin at work. It suggests a conflict between the desire to do good and the inability to do it. The Bible sums up this condition very simply: “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).

Perhaps you have been present with someone who has eaten too much and is confronted by a luscious dessert. With fork in hand he declares, “I shouldn’t eat this.” Then he deliberately proceeds to do what he just declared he shouldn’t do—eat the dessert.

Another Bible verse describes this type of struggle: “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish” (Galatians 5:17).

The Bible pinpointed the trouble long ago:  “We have turned, every one, to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6).

Each person likes his own ideas, plans, aspirations, and longings. Thus when you encounter resistance to your wishes, or face demands that are not to your liking, the tendency is to rebel, attack, run, or defend yourself. The natural reaction is to be resentful, bitter, stubborn or full of fight. It is easy for you to think that your desires are the reasonable ones. A person will find a way to make a selfish drive seem selfless, deceiving even himself.

Furthermore, it is natural to shrink away from an honest glimpse of yourself. To back off from reproof is as human as shielding the eyes from a burst of light in a dark room. The Bible’s assessment that the heart is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9) and that men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil (John 3:19) is as up-to-date as the literature on psychology that describes the mental mechanisms for evading the truth.

The patterns of deceit and self-defense are so systematized that their names are common dictionary words: rationalization, regression, suppression, repression, extroversion, introversion, compartmental thinking, and projection. To peer further into the darkness, such avenues can lead to psychoses requiring hospitalization—or to broken homes, crime, vice, or even murder or suicide.

But as already mentioned, there is hope! Since we are looking to the Bible as our guide, we can turn to it not only for a description of man as he naturally is, but for the path to peace from our disturbances, neuroses, and psychoses. Psalm 119:165 says, “Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble.”

Many people turn to a counselor for help because they are in circumstances that offend them or have caused them to stumble. They are dissatisfied, irritated and unhappy. Either they flee from the vexing situation or attack it. One would think that people would rush to buy a book that pointed out the path to peace and the way from offense to freedom. People do buy it—millions of copies every year. The Bible continues to be the all-time bestseller. But it is a book that most people quickly lay aside because it reproves and corrects. Man simply does not like the truth that he discovers about himself in the Bible.

The “law” of sin exposes our inability to do right. As we study the Bible we can be assured that God will help us to confess our sin, will forgive us of it, and will help us to live a new life of freedom in Him.

This town was surrounded by beautiful, rolling hills and lush, productive farmland. The air was fresh and clean. There was lots of sky, and we enjoyed glowing sunrises, spectacular sunsets, and beautiful moonlit nights. There were prosperous farmers who lived in large, lovely homes with all the conveniences anyone could ask for. They looked out of their picture windows at their oil wells pumping black gold 24 hours a day. Everyone had several big cars in their driveways and we ate sumptuous meals. The people were elegantly dressed. The church was beautifully furnished.

You would think if there were any place in the world where people would be content and satisfied, it would be in this town. No doubt these people could teach me a thing or two about mental health.

To my surprise, I was swamped by people who requested counseling. There were many troubled hearts in those beautiful homes. People were lonely, worried, disillusioned, and fearful. Many of them tossed and turned in their comfortable beds and often wet their soft pillows with bitter tears. Human nature is the same wherever you go, and sad to say, luxury and plenty do not quiet the human heart. These people pleaded for me to tell them what to buy, or eat, or drink, or where to go, or what to do to find some relief for their tense, anxious bodies.

Christina was from one of those lovely homes. She drove to my office in a fine luxury car. She was beautiful. The skillful use of cosmetics gave just the right touch to her complexion and eyes. Every hair was in place. A carefully chosen dress complemented her body. She was married to a handsome, hard-working husband. They lived in a roomy, nicely furnished house. They had one child and planned to have at least two more.

She had the same questions that I have heard repeated hundreds of times since. Christina wondered, “I have everything I ever wanted. Why do I hurt? Why can’t I relax?”

She had consulted a physician because she was experiencing occasional pain in the chest area and she struggled with a shortness of breath. After looking at the test results, her physician gingerly asked if she might be having any personal or family problems. He suggested that she consult a psychiatrist. She felt insulted, so she indignantly proceeded to get a second opinion. It was the same as the first.

As this story tumbled out, it was easy to see that she was a tense, stressful young lady. She couldn’t imagine why she needed a counselor. She had a good life and a good marriage. Why, then, did she have chest pains and shortness of breath?

I urged her to go home and think about the possible causes of her symptoms. Was there anything in her life that made her feel angry, resentful, bitter, or rebellious? She told me immediately that she had no such problems and promptly left.

Christina called me the next morning. “Could I come in?” she asked. “The sooner the better.” She was ready for some help.

Apparently that night, after she had talked with me, she and her husband watched a football game with another couple. During the game, her husband yelled at the referee and argued loudly with his friend several times. Christina didn’t say anything, but by the time the game was over she was disgusted and embarrassed. Her husband sensed something was wrong, but she simply told him she was tired.

Christina told me that she discovered soon after her marriage that her handsome, hard-working, fun-loving husband was also gruff, rude, and demanding. When he wanted to speak to her he would do so from wherever he was–even if he was upstairs in the bathroom and she was downstairs in the kitchen. He would shout loudly enough to be heard and expected her to reply immediately. If she didn’t, he would come storming to her and give her an angry tongue-lashing for not listening to him. If he was watching a ball game on TV, he would cheer or boo or yell at the umpire as loudly as the people in the crowd at the stadium. During the evening news, he would react loudly and give his opinions as though he were addressing an audience. Yet when there were guests in the house he would speak in a conversational tone, so Christina’s friends had no idea what she endured.

She discovered that this was a family pattern. They were a loud bunch who turned down the volume when company came. While Christina and her husband were courting, she was company. Now that they were married, she was family.

Christina was a soft-spoken person. She was accustomed to conversational-level talk. No one ever shouted in her family, especially from one room to another. Any effort on her part to get him to see her side of the issue was just brushed aside. After several tries failed to get him to at least discuss the problem, she gave up and never brought it up again.

I reminded Christina about the words I asked her to think about the day before. We ended up agreeing that she deeply resented her husband’s behavior and his total disregard for her style of communicating. Outwardly she was friendly, but last night she almost lost control. “He has no idea how I feel and couldn’t care less,” she said bitterly and burst into uncontrollable weeping. After she quieted down she said she felt as if a heavy load had been removed from her shoulders.

Finally she was able to admit to herself that her response to her husband was a miserable concoction of resentment, anger, hatred, and rebellion. She was simply covering it all over with behavior that made her look perfectly happy.

Here was a beautiful, perfectly groomed lady. She drove one of the finest luxury cars on the market. She lived in a spacious home that she helped to design and furnish. Her husband was a leader in the church. But she was hurting with chest pains and had trouble breathing. She did not want to acknowledge her own feelings of resentment and rebellion. She could not enjoy life because of a tiny word that has been banished from most people’s vocabulary: “sin.”

Let’s take a look at two Bible verses that give us instruction on how to deal with our anger:

“Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” (Ephesians 4:26-27)

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” (Ephesians 4:31)

To come to the decision that will lead you into the pleasant valley of peace is to struggle with your own will. Let me illustrate this by noting the experience of Jerry.

Jerry was a department foreman at a manufacturing firm. One day his boss called him into the office and said, “Jerry, as you know, things are a bit slow around here these days. I realize you have worked hard and run one of the best departments in the company. But my orders are to cut one supervisor, so I am letting you go.”

Jerry was stunned. He was the only Christian among the foremen. The other supervisory personnel, including his boss, liked to go out drinking and had some wild parties together. As a result, their work sometimes suffered and Jerry had to step in to rescue them. He had worked hard and now this was his reward.

Jerry soon faced a financial slump. He had been making payments on a new home and a car but when his salary was suddenly cut off, he was in trouble. He lost both the house and the car and had to move in with his parents. While with them, he had nothing to do but sit in a comfortable chair and mull over his experience.

“So this is the reward for hard work and clean living,” he said to himself over and over. The more he thought, the more bitter he became. He found it hard to eat and harder to digest what little he did eat. He suffered from painful cramps. His physician told him that his condition stemmed from his emotions. But most of his friends reassured him that he had a right to have some emotional problems.

Twelve years later, time seemed to have healed the wound. Jerry found another job and was quite successful in it. He was, in fact, the general manager of a manufacturing outfit with eight plants. One day, while he was inspecting one of the plants, the personnel director asked him if he would like to meet the plant’s new chief engineer. Of course he would, and did. Jerry found himself face-to-face with the man who fired him 12 years before. Here working for him was the person who had caused him so much grief, pain, and embarrassment.

“I sure made a terrible mistake back then,” the engineer said to Jerry when they were alone. “Will you forgive me?”

“Oh, certainly. Forget it,” Jerry replied.

Jerry told the man that he would forgive, but within himself he nursed a gnawing bitterness. His stomach problem returned and he began reliving those confusing, painful days of long ago. He had thought this period of his life was long forgotten, but now he found himself fuming in his plush office, wanting only to get even.

One day, he related the experience to me, then asked how one could work with a person who had treated him as this man had.

What would have been your reply?

I pointed out several Scripture passages to Jerry. One describes the work of the Holy Spirit:

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” (2 Corinthians 4:7-11)

The apostle Paul spoke here of trouble, perplexity, persecution, and rejection. All these had happened to him. But Paul also said there is a power that will enable a man to face such treatment without distress, despair, self-pity, or ruin. It is the power of God. I discussed this with Jerry, but at the time it seemed to mean little to him. I then spoke of the end products of distress, pointing out that definite bodily changes are involved. “Your blood pressure, respiration, and digestion can be affected,” I said.

“Are you suggesting that I am my own problem? Would you have acted differently had you taken what I took?” he asked.

I reminded Jerry of one of Jesus’ statements:

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Luke 6:27-28)

Jerry became furious with me. How could I be so lacking in sympathy and understanding? Now he was upset not only at the engineer, but at me as well.

Who was Jerry hurting when he carried his grudge around within himself? Who was affected when he sat in his chair and seethed over a man who wasn’t even in his presence? Himself, of course. Jerry argued that he had a right to be bitter. I agreed he did and I would agree with anyone who stands on his right to be angry and unforgiving over a wrong done to him. It is your privilege to be upset and miserable. But as long as you remain angry, you will be miserable.

There is a power that will enable you to face your circumstances without distress. It is the power of God, made available to you through the dying of the Lord Jesus. God’s power and His alone can make you want to forgive a person who has misused you. But Jerry did not want to forgive that engineer; he wanted to get even.

For many people, yielding bitterness and hatred in exchange for a tender heart toward someone who doesn’t deserve it would not be a blessed relief but rather a great sacrifice. Like Jerry, untold numbers of people would like to be free from their aches and pains. But if you say that means they must relinquish a long-standing grudge, they say they would rather ache.

There in Jerry’s nice walnut-paneled, softly lit office we were locked in a struggle. If I had told him that his grudge was normal and that I probably would have acted the same way, he might have enjoyed some relief, but the inner sore would have continued to fester and spread its poison.

The only solution is for a person to quit fighting and turn to God for a spirit of love toward someone who does not deserve it. And when you yield, the problem is nearly over. The Bible says it is your move: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

One day, Jerry finally did turn to God for help with his bitterness and hatred. His digestive disorder disappeared and his aches and pains went away. He was at peace with himself and with the man he felt had treated him unfairly. Jerry was able to enjoy God’s peace in his life.

How did this change come about? By confessing or acknowledging that he had done wrong–that he had sinned. David wrote this about his sin: “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the guilt of my sin” (Psalm 32:5).

When Jerry paid attention to and took care of his own reaction to the other man’s sins instead of concerning himself with what the other man had done, he found himself on the road to peace.

To acknowledge your own sin is disturbing only if you fight what you discover. If, instead, you admit it and seek help from God, the result is not guilt but an overwhelming sense of forgiveness, cleansing, renewal, and peace.

Unfortunately, the word “sin” has almost completely disappeared from our vocabulary. One of the reasons is that we rely on the medical profession to prescribe mood-altering drugs that provide patients with a temporary escape from pain, anxiety, boredom, and remorse. While these can often be helpful, they can also enable us to put off dealing with the real issues in our lives.

People steadfastly resist the diagnosis of personal sin. It is much easier to accept that our symptoms have some underlying pathology. There is no reason to turn to God; what we are experiencing is a human problem caused by social interaction and it must be solved on a human level with the help of trained human beings. This is the approach taken by most government, education, medical, and psychological professionals, and by a rapidly growing number of church-related personnel.

The pathway to spiritual peace is a struggle. Discover the truth about yourself and you will naturally shrink from it; become offended and defensive and you will be bound in the strong fetters of your sin. What a difference you will find if you just heed the promise of Jesus: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

Why did Jesus come to live among the people, die on a cross, and rise again? Matthew 1:21 gives us the answer: “… because he will save his people from their sins.”

Identify the sin in your life, ask God to forgive you of it, and experience His peace!

You like your own ideas, plans, aspirations, and longings. So does everyone else. Thus when a person encounters resistance to his wishes, or faces demands that are not to his or her liking, they tend to rebel, to attack, to run, or to defend themselves. Our natural reaction is to be resentful, bitter, stubborn and full of fight. It is easy for us to think that our own desires are the reasonable ones. We will find a way to make a selfish drive seem selfless, deceiving even ourselves.

The patterns of deceit and self-defense are so systematized that their names are common dictionary words. But there is hope. Since in this presentation we are looking to the Bible as our guide, we can turn to it not only for a description of man as he naturally is, but for the path away from our disturbances, neuroses, and psychoses and to peace.

“Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble,” said the psalmist in Psalm 119:165. Is this possible?

Many persons turn to a counselor for help because they are in circumstances that offend them or have caused them to stumble. They are dissatisfied, irritated and unhappy. Either they flee from the vexing situation or attack it. One would think that people would rush to buy a book that pointed out the path to peace and freedom from offense. People do buy it by the millions every year. The Bible continues to be the all-time bestseller. But many persons quickly lay it aside.

Though man’s hope lies in God and His Word, many people quickly turn aside from the Bible because it reproves and corrects. Man simply does not like the truth about himself that he finds in God’s Word.

Churches are criticized because their ministers upset people when they preach about the sinfulness of man and the inflexible standards of the Bible. People have often turned to me as a counselor because their pastor has upset them. Having listened to him preach about sin, they feel guilty and inadequate. As they relate the details of their stories, it invariably turns out that they were much happier before they began attending church and studying the Bible. Therefore, could it not be reasonable to conclude that their problems were caused by what they heard and read? To remove the cause would seem to relieve the person’s anxiety. And this has long been advocated. There is wide spread pressure on ministers to preach “positive” messages and to emphasize the good in man.

Of course, the knowledge of sin produces such results. But the immediate comfort of a person is of little value if there is, in fact, sin in the person’s life. To diagnose sin, however disturbing it may be, is a positive act.

The minister, counselor, or friend cannot determine what the diagnosis will be. I cannot determine what my client brings to me. If there is selfishness, touchiness, irritability, stubbornness, rebellion, hate, or deceit within the person, it simply is there. I didn’t put it there, but it is my responsibility to point out its presence. This may be upsetting. But I have found no other way. I have never known a person to discover the sin that is causing his trouble by my dwelling on his good qualities. And I have never found a way of pointing out a man’s sin to him that makes him clap his hands with glee at the news. Jesus Christ emphasized this when He said of sinners: “But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (John 5:40).

There is a power that will enable you to face your circumstances without distress. It is the power of God, made available to you through the dying of the Lord Jesus. God’s power – and His alone – can make you want to forgive one who has misused you. It is a mystery how a man finally quits fighting and turns to God for a spirit of love toward someone who does not deserve it. All we know is that there is generally a struggle before a man yields.

But when he does yield, his problem is nearly over. The Bible says it is your move. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

To see your sin is disturbing only if you fight what you discover. If, instead, you admit it and seek help from God, the result is not guilt, but an overwhelming sense of forgiveness, cleansing, renewal, and peace.

The pathway to spiritual peace is a struggle. Discover the truth about yourself and you will naturally shrink from it; become offended and defensive and you will be bound in the strong fetters of your sin.

But what a difference you will find if you heed the promise of Jesus: “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31b-32).

This information is an excerpt of chapter 8 from Dr. Brandt’s book The Struggle for Inner Peace currently available as an e-book.

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In John 14:16, Jesus said to His disciples “I will pray to My Father about you … ”

Can you imagine God and Jesus talking about you?

And then Jesus finishes his sentence with, “I am going to send you another Comforter.”

This is a restless age. We live in a world where people are under stress, tense, worried, and disturbed. But we have a Comforter! Jesus told us that He wants us to turn to Him for comfort. He wants to be the one to comfort us, so we should not seek our comfort from the world.

What is presently disturbing your peace? The truth is, something outside of you can change something inside of you. You have an emotional reaction to a circumstance in your life. When something happens you dislike, your heart beats a little faster, your hands get sweatier, your mind starts moving, your emotions start racing, and your muscles start tensing. That’s a warning!

Mixed up with these bodily changes are emotional changes: anger, bitterness, resentment, hate, rebellion, deception, and ill will. You now are experiencing a condition you must do something about, because you can’t exist like this!

When you are experiencing these ugly emotions, the Bible calls it the “works of the flesh,” or “sin.”

There isn’t any thing or any person in the world that can really help you when you are sinning. They may be able to calm you down, or prescribe medication, or give you some way of managing your circumstances. But the sin remains.

You need to repent of your sins. That repentance comes only through the power of God. It involves a transaction between you and God. You must enter into His presence. We are told in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The Lord won’t ever turn you away! He’s there anytime you want to call on Him. So come to God and repent of your sin. It involves five steps:

1. “I’m wrong and I have sinned.”

2. “I’m sorry.”

3. “Please forgive me.”

4. “Cleanse me.”

5. “Lord, empower me.”

Repentance involves a dependence on the Lord for the rest of your life. It is a wonderful gift you have been given, and to accept that gift will keep you from repeating your sin.

Take a step . . .

Is there something in your life that you are struggling with? Does it involve sin? Take a few moments to talk with God using the five steps outlined above. Be specific.

You may want to put it into a prayer, something like this:

“Lord, I’m sorry for (be specific and name your sin). Please forgive me and cleanse me and restore Your joy and love and peace to my heart. For not only have I sinned, but unless You help me, I’m going to keep on doing it, and I don’t want that. I want Your way in my life. In Jesus precious Name, I come. Amen.”

This summary is from Dr. Brandt’s message Benefits of Repentance.

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> Find life-changing insights arranged topically by need

> Listen to dynamic audio messages by Dr. Brandt

> Experience freedom and healing from sin problems