Issue 440
Have you noticed that there are lots of groups of people who make their living out of studying groups of people? Sociologists, neuroscientists, physiologists, psychologists, physicians, anthropologists, psychometric testers, psychiatrists to name just a few. They will all tell you that it is tricky to pin humans down (at least the honest ones will).
Have you also noticed that, when it comes to humans in trouble, you can tend to think that trouble can take countless forms? It was not without reason that Jesus observed “in this world you will have troubles”.
I happen to be a member of one of those groups who study people. In my case it is via combining physiology, theology and psychobiology and creating a cocktail which could be called psychospirituality. So what might be the psychospirituality of trouble?
Before you give up on the incessant verbosity of this piece, let me distil it for you. Could it be that there are not endless types of trouble, but just three of four?
If you take your mind back to Nehemiah’s era and have a look inside his mind, you may be able to glimpse what he meant by trouble when, in the speech of his life, he booms “you see the trouble we are in”.
Of course they could see the ruins and the burnt gates but could they see the trouble?
Here are some suggestions which may help you. The people had lost heart. They were downhearted, broken-hearted and discouraged. They had heart trouble. The heart, then as now, was seen as the centre of life, the place of emotions, feelings and passion. Everybody has heart. Some could be described as heart driven, or wearing their hearts on their sleeves. If that is you, you may be drawn to heart based work where emotions, passion and feelings are important to you.
The soul had gone out of the city and the people. The ruins were soulless, characterless, lacking in a distinct personality. The ruins were not pleasing to people or God and, far from speaking of grace or life, they spoke of disgrace and death.
Everybody has soul. It is your character, your distinctiveness, your creativity. It is the breath of God and the breath of life in your personality – it is the real you. Some people are soul driven. They take jobs that allow them to express their personality freely and breathe out what has been breathed in. These southern Jew’s had lost their personalities, they had soul trouble.
The thought patterns which had become engrained in hundreds of years of ruin had created a defeated mindset. Sloppy, shallow, disorganized thinking had taken hold. They did not think clearly about their God, themselves, their city or their task. Everybody thinks. Some are drawn to thought based work, creating a mindset of exploration, learning and discovery, developing disciplines of thinking which will solve or unravel mysteries, opening up new horizons. These Jews had mind trouble. Not only did they think troubling thoughts, but their thoughts troubled them.
Deep inside each of us is a power. It is a mighty God-given power. Today we label it will power. It expresses itself in determination, exertion and overcoming. It is most obvious in physical activity but exists everywhere.
Some people delight in challenges which require overcoming. They will not let go until they have won. Like a dog with a bone they will not drop the problem until it is solved. But it is possible to become discouraged, to lose the will, to feel weak and powerless as if all strength is drained and despair is the order of the day. These discouraged Jews had a crisis of strength, a power struggle in their beings which drained them of energy and enthusiasm.
How do you know Nehemiah was thinking like this? The answer is because he has told us in his prayer. It has been said that what you are in prayer – you are. So look at the words of his prayer. He starts by speaking of covenant. He talks of love and commandments. What did he mean by love, covenant and commandment? He would have the words of Moses in his mind. “Love the lord your God with you heart, soul and strength”. If he spoke Greek or English he would have “heart soul, mind, and strength” in his thoughts because those ideas are contained in his Hebrew.
So Nehemiah is calling people to see that they had heart trouble, soul trouble, mind trouble, and strength trouble. He, like all good leaders, is calling people back to the core, the highest, the best; he is unfolding the great commandment in his speech.
Now please stay with me on this. The Bible does not teach that we have hearts, souls, minds and strength. The Bible uses these different words to describe all of you. They are four sides of the whole person. You are heart, you are soul, you are mind, you are strength. These big words are ways of looking at you, they come to the front depending on which angle you are viewed from.
Picture a city with north, south, east and west facing walls. Which is the city wall? They all are. Which one do you see? It depends from which direction you come.
Now perhaps you can see that Nehemiah was calling the troubled people to take heart, discover soul, be renewed in mind and find a revival of strength.
It was said of Churchill that when he described the dire circumstances that Britain was in after France fell, Germany was in the ascendancy and the allies were not fully formed, he spared no details in the bleak assessment of their situation. There as silence in the room and some were contemplating giving-up altogether.
“Gentlemen”, he said “I find it rather inspiring”. Nehemiah is about to move their eyes from the trouble to the vision, that’s the mind of a leader, steeped in the covenant of God. He is about to empower them to rebuild the four walls of their city, but more importantly, the four walls of their personalities
If you are going to learn from Nehemiah and see trouble you will find yourself facing it head on-until trouble is faced head on it is not faced at all.
Whatever trouble you may be in, or will be in, you could find it helpful to see which wall has been breached and hold on as we journey with Nehemiah from ruin to repair, disgrace to glory, following the firing of his neurones with the energy of God.
Nehemiaih Chapter 2:16-17
16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.
17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace. ”
Nehamiah 1:6
6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you.
In preparation for the next GEOFFSHATTOCKweekly, do feel free to email us your thoughts to wtw@worktalk.gs or leave a comment on our Facebook or Twitter profile. You can also visit our YouTube channel - get inspired and share Worktalk's vision with others.
Work well
Geoff Shattock
© Copyright 2024 Geoff Shattock
All GEOFFSHATTOCKweekly archives are for personal use only. For permission to use for any other purposes please email using the address below thank you.
WORKTALK LEARNING
1 Washington Villas, Hythe Road, Marchwood, Southampton, Hampshire, SO40 4WT United Kingdom
T:+44 (0)23 8086 8543
http://www.geoffshattock.com
comms@worktalk.gs
