“Anxiousness & Fear” – excerpt from Pursuing Wisdom: Unmasking Theology

Anxiousness is “characterized by extreme uneasiness of mind or brooding fear about some contingency: worried” (Merriam-Webster). It is not surprising that this is in direct connection to the fears coming from our ultimate need. Is it not obvious that there would naturally be a sense of fear a lone creation, in the absence of his or her Creator, would feel? But just to make sure we are on the same page about this leery nature induced by fear, let us also look at the definition of fear.

Fear is “to be afraid or apprehensive” (Merriam-Webster).This emotion is induced by an imminent danger the creation is subject to in light of being unplugged from the Source. The creation cannot sustain itself eternally. Therefore, whether or not the conscious mind allows itself to be aware of the existence of God doesn’t change the fact that God exists and furthermore everything in us and around us is disconnected from him and cries out with urgency due to impending doom.

We must be careful not to miss the important difference between anxiousness and fear. While fear is clearly the emotion of that natural danger we reviewed earlier, anxiousness is “characterized by extreme uneasiness of mind.” It would be very easy to simply write this off as another description of emotion. However, utilizing our progressive understanding of our reasoning we can clearly see that while fear is the emotion, anxiousness is the result of human reasoning being applied to the emotion.

When we are anxious or worried, it is not simply an emotion. Anxiousness would be the precursor to the rise of the prevention need we learned of in the first chapter. We know that appealing to the human nature in I Must Resolve is obviously not-God. However, fear is the effect of noticing the disconnection and instability we have on our own. It is then that the choice is made about where we go in order to resolve it. Therefore, if part of wisdom is reason applied to revelation, then anxiousness would simply be human reasoning applied to fear. It is in this stasis that modes dominate and conquer the human psyche.

There are only two ways to remove anxiousness. The I Must Resolve way cultivates modes to the point that the reality of our disconnection is denied and replaced with modes suggesting dominance over emotion. The submissive God Will Resolve way removes anxiousness by casting our cares upon the Lord (I Peter 5:7) and, in faith, gaining a “peace that transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:6-7).

The only reason I am going into this much detail about a subject catered to in the first chapter is because I feel it is important for us to understand, as Christians, that our human nature will cry out against our attempts to push through mere feelings in pursuit of our need of discovery. It is only natural that we will face a rebellion from our human state as we seek with the fullness of our faith to grow closer to God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Our desire for wisdom will create a sense of turmoil within us.

With the revelation of modes and the exposure of insecurity, it is so easy for us to cater to feelings. Furthermore, with the aid of human reasoning (mode) we could easily disassociate ourselves from introspection. But let us not be like Logos was originally whereby we would merely attempt to manipulate the indicators of our deficiencies. Let us run with earnest in the effort of exposing all that hinders us from having a deeper relationship with our Lord. Let us trust with the God Will Resolve mentality, which is only natural to the new creation and those reborn who follow Christ, that the Holy Spirit will reveal to us our purpose and direction.

Welcome To My Revamped Website

LandonM_042 RET-2Thank you for visiting my site. Please feel free to peruse and see my latest projects. I am an Actor and Christian Writer living in Atlanta, GA and I am invigorated, encouraged, and inspired by so many people that pursue their passions and genuinely seek to grow in truth and positivity. Reach out if you have a page or an interest that you would like me to check out and comment on. Thanks!

Landon Metts

Timid Heart

Oh my timid heart,
Tis passion you command.
For better or for worse,
My attention you demand.
For reason governs logic
Guiding A to B to C,
But a tug of the nostalgic
Will bend reason to its knee.
And so my timid heart
Forget not what you are.
Though you incur the hurts,
You also set the bar
For how long you shall endure
The intensity of offense,
You have power to move on
From the pains you can diminish.
So look to the horizon.
You were never meant to be
Confined, stalled, or stagnant
Go forth, my heart, run free.

A Child’s Hope

She came into my arms,
Eyes red and full of tears.
I queried with alarm,
Oblivious to the harm
Inflicted by her peers.
They wouldn’t play with her.
She was crushed and quite dejected.
My heart began to stir
For what I once endured
When young and first rejected.
But how could I reply
Except by warm embrace?
I couldn’t tell her why.
Her age was merely five
And words had seemed a waste.
She wiped her face and ran away
At once, without a care.
Determined, she returned to play,
Forgetting their maligning way,
Choosing hope and not despair.

Broken China

No longer shall I tarry
In fearful wilderness,
Afraid, alarmed, and wary
By the burdens that I carry,
Perspective quite contrary
To desirable bliss.
I let the china fall,
Having want to be reformed.
It shatters in the hall.
I’m judged and shunned by all.
I brace against the wall,
Enduring the great storm.
I peek a careful squint
To see if I survived,
And maybe catch a glimpse
Or possibly a hint,
A life beyond incident,
Where peace may be derived.
And I’m pleasantly greeted
By a warm and tranquil scene,
No scoffers have entreated,
No ambulance is needed,
Nor am I impeded
From existing as I deem.
So I gather up the pieces
Of the shattered, broken idol.
My confidence increases
As practicality releases,
My consternation ceases
And frees my timid soul.

That Precious Laugh

That precious laugh has caught my ear,
Interrupting my endeavor.
I rise, move closer, perchance to hear
New sounds you may deliver.
IMG_1146And hark! Again, a jubilant cackle
emits from your sweet face.
The task I’d meant to formerly tackle
Is easily replaced
By the impetus to lift you high
And twirl you all around,
And the joy of watching as you try
To articulate your sounds.
Oh precious child you have me.
Your joy shall be my plight,
And nothing will deter me
From engaging in your life.
IMG_1143I’ll applaud your successes
And cry with you in pain,
Watching as God blesses
Amidst the pouring rain.
For nothing less compels me
Than to see your joy fulfilled.
Your laugh, a start before me,
From here, our love, we’ll build.

A Rising Tide

Do you feel it in the air,
A sense of something coming?
The likes of which you can’t compare,
An insatiable longing?
A growing wave forms steadily,
Just breaking the horizon.
The tide comes in readily
Beyond the bounds of reason.
Oh beckoning breeze, you welcome me
Preemptive of fruition.
Anticipation builds frantically,
A mix of hope and tension.
Some may dread and fear unknown
Recourse of such submission.
They hide away all alone,
Afraid of vain delusion.
But no, not I, my purpose forms.
I’ll hope for nothing less
Than providence amidst the storms.
My life, my King shall bless.

What Virgil and Longfellow Can Teach Us About Pain

Through pain I’ve learned to comfort suffering men.” Virgil, The Aeneid.
footprints-in-sand1

Sometimes rocky roads can leave us feeling broken and alone, not knowing all the while that they are shaping us to be better men and women for those the Lord puts before us. As Longfellow says:

 

Footprints, that perhaps another, 
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main, 
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, 
Seeing, shall take heart again.” Longfellow, A Psalm of Life

Lessons From The World

The lessons from the world,
Are hard and tough to bear,
And ne’er abstract from God,
They are filtered by his care.
But confusing it may be,
When the enactors of the trial,
Show hate and malice freely,
Their tact and method vile.
It’s then we look to God,
And mix the lesson with this method,
Supposing he’s forsaken us,
Like a world who’s not invested,
In our quest to be like Christ,
A journey without end,
No, he gave his Son for us,
And those he loves he disciplines,
We must grow by what we learn,
But sternly separate,
From the understanding of this world,
A wisdom fueled by hate.
Rejoicing in our sufferings,
Mayhap they be deserved,
But knowing that he loves us,
Through all we shall endure.

The Christian Bubble

There is a dome,
Under which contains,
A Christian home,
Beautiful yet strange.
The inhabitants vary,
In weakness and strength.
They are constantly wary,
Of what outsiders think.
Yet within this bubble,
Often worship will shine,
And influence troubled,
Hearts to incline.
They act so stable,
And socially secure,
They seek to enable,
Generations to be pure.
Wanderer, pass through.
Make a stop at this hamlet.
Let their healing renew,
But halt not your transit.
For the Gospel is out there,
Amongst thistles and thorns,
Amidst the thieves and the fallen,
Amidst the confused and the scorned.
Do not condemn,
The settled fellowship.
Pray for them,
For a faith dynamic.
And never stop coming,
To their place of meeting,
For the Lord is there,
Offering rest for the weary.