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It is well for us, at this stage, to pause to consider what constitutes the wall which caused this temporary separation between the Lover and his beloved, the bridegroom and his bride, Christ and the believer.
It has already been noted that this wall is really a set of internal psychological barriers and defences which existed deep inside the heart and mind of the believer. Before this time they had a good reason to be there as they provided a valid place of refuge and security in the midst of a sometimes hostile and dangerous environment.
It is apparent also that she has little control over them. When she started to understand that to which the Lord was calling her, reason told her that she should follow unreservedly. But she found herself incapable of doing so. It was as though she was bound by invisible cords that paralysed her will.
To understand this better, we need to look into the way we are constructed internally, that is examine the psychology that God has designed and built into us.
Psychologists tell us that our mind operates on two main levels, the conscious and the sub-conscious. These two are connected of course and operate together in many ways. However they are separate entities and can lead very independent lives. Indeed it is quite possible for the conscious to be in conflict with the sub-conscious making us incapable of doing what reason tells us we should do, and conversely the sub-conscious prompting us to do something that our conscious minds tells us not to do. This conflict causes confusion and stress and, in extreme cases, can lead to mental instability.
The simple illustration of driving a motor car gives us considerable insight into how the conscious and sub-conscious minds can work in harmony together.
It is morning and we get into our car to drive to work. We drive out of the garage onto the street and start on our way. The route is familiar as we have driven along it scores of times before.
After a while we are mildly surprised to note that we have reached a certain point along the route. We are barely conscious of having driven that far having been thinking of issues which have to be faced during the day.
What has happened here is that most of the driving activity has been controlled by our sub-conscious with only minimal interaction with the conscious mind. As it is something that we have done many times before, our sub-conscious has been trained to know which roads to follow, which turns to make, what traffic conditions to expect, and so on. As long as things happen in the way we have come to expect then the sub-conscious can handle most of it.
In the evening we leave the office, get into the car and start for home basking in the glow of a successful day. Before we realise it, the car is in our garage and we are sitting down to the evening meal. We have, as they say, been on "auto-pilot" all the way home. That is, our sub-conscious mind has, for the most part, been in control. However, if we meet unusual conditions such as an accident or major road-works, then we have to think about what to do. In other words, the conscious mind has to become involved. When we decide to take an unfamiliar route or drive to a previously unknown destination then we constantly have to be thinking about where to go. In this case we say that we have to concentrate on what we are doing, which is another way of saying that the conscious mind must become more involved.
Some of us would have had the strange experience of setting out for a particular destination only to become conscious after a while that the car is actually heading for somewhere completely different. We jokingly refer to the car "having a mind of its own," but it is of course the sub-conscious mind guiding us in the way that it has been programmed to do.
At a lower level, when we first start to drive a car, we sit in the drivers seat and think to ourselves "where is the brake and accelerator, what do I do with this gear lever, how do I turn the blinkers on" and so forth. Our conscious mind has to be involved with every action we take.
As we become more practised we have to think about these things less and less until, in a situation where we have to stop the car we no longer think about what we have to do, all the actions necessary to stop the car being carried out automatically under the control of the sub-conscious mind. This gives us an insight into how the sub-conscious mind is conditioned or programmed.
Firstly, impressions are made upon the sub-conscious mind by constant repetition. By doing the same thing over and over again it becomes "automatic" which is another way of saying that the performance of that action is controlled by the sub-conscious. Also being exposed repeatedly to the same idea or suggestion will cause it to be registered on the sub-conscious from which it may be recalled in particular situations.
It is also true that events which cause us trauma or pain can leave deep and lasting impressions upon our sub-conscious mind. In these cases the sub-conscious mind may actually set up defense mechanisms so that we will avoid a repetition of the experience. The more painful the experience the stronger and deeper are these sub-conscious defense mechanisms. Imperfect and unreasoning as these may be, they are the best that many have to help them survive in what can be a hostile world.
At this point, we need to understand how these two parts of our make-up respond to the various situations of life. We may summarise the responses as follows:
A simple illustration will help us to understand this. It is early evening and I call briefly at the home of a friend to deliver a document. As I step into the hallway the aroma of a meal being prepared wafts from the kitchen to my nostrils. I am hungry but I know that this meal is not being prepared for me and that there will be a meal awaiting me when I return home.
The sub-conscious mind, however, has no such scruples. All it knows is that my body requires food and that there is food nearby. So it reacts as it is conditioned to act and the mouth starts salivating and the digestive juices start to flow. In other words it immediately prepares the body to receive its sustenance. It is no good reasoning with the sub-conscious mind as it does not posses such faculties.
We are born with our own distinct and unique personality but without, of course, any experience of the world. As we grow up and enter life we have a wide variety of experiences, good and bad, joyful and painful, ecstatic and traumatic. All of these experiences, for good or ill, leave their imprint upon our lives and particularly upon our sub-conscious mind. We are also exposed to a variety of influences and ideas which may profoundly affect the way we approach and deal with life.
The problem is that the effect of these experiences can remain buried within our sub-conscious long after they have been forgotten and long after we need any defense against them. Our behaviour can be, at times, greatly influenced by these things in ways that defy all logic and that we find almost impossible to understand or explain.
When we come to Christ, accept by faith his saving grace and become "new creations" in Christ, we are made alive in spirit and become partakers of the Divine Nature. We are rescued from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of the Son he loves. This is a permanent transformation that fundamentally changes us at the very core of our being.
The experience of salvation affects people in many different ways. For some it is accompanied by a dramatic and immediate change in their behaviour. For others, the change is more gradual. However, in either case, it should be understood that although the spiritual transformation is instantaneous and complete, the change to the rest of our personality has only just begun. The journey to spiritual maturity is, at least in part, accomplished by the "renewing of the mind."
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Rom. 12:2)
The reason that the journey to which we have been called can appear, at times, to be so difficult is not because the Lord demands of us things we cannot do, but because of the prior conditioning of the sub-conscious mind. It is this that the Holy Spirit sets about to change.
As we read and take in the Word of God and the glory and wonder of Jesus’ redeeming work on our behalf begins to break in upon our consciousness, we naturally move forward in our hearts eager to embrace these wonderful gifts and to live the new life that has been given to us. As we learn of his longing for our love and fellowship we long to give ourselves to satisfy his desires in us.
It is here that we start to falter, for although our conscious mind has comprehended these things, when we try to claim them in practical terms we, at times, find ourselves unable to do so. It is as though we were bound by invisible cords that paralyse the will and restrain our actions. It may also be that we find ourselves reacting to people and situations in ways that make us ashamed. While our conscious mind tells us that we should not act in this way, we seem powerless to do anything about it.
The problem is that our sub-conscious mind is reacting not in line with reason but according to the defense mechanisms which it has built up over the years. This is compounded by the fact that being a child of God carries with it great expectations and high responsibilities. At these our sub-conscious may well balk.
The Holy Spirit is constantly at work within us to bring about the renewal of our mind. It is by this process that we are transformed more and more into the image of Christ.
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:18)
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph. 4:22-24)
The Holy Spirit works within each individual in different ways as our needs are all different. However, it may be said that a common thread can be identified by examining the manner in which the Lord deals with the beloved Shulammite in the Song of Songs. The Lord calls upon her to come out from behind her wall. In other words, he brings her into situations where she has to confront those inner weaknesses and fears and act against what would be her normal sub-conscious response.
So it is that the Holy Spirit brings these buried attitudes of mind, one by one, to the surface, exposes them to our gaze and to the light of day and then expunges them from our lives. This can, at times, be an extremely painful experience as we had buried these things deeply because of the pain they caused. We resist strongly anything that may cause us to feel those emotions again.
But face them we must. This is the only way they can be erased from our lives. The Holy Spirit with great understanding, gentleness and love, but also with great determination and persistence, works in us to bring this all to pass.
He carries this work on in his own way and according to his own schedule. The only part we are called to play is to believe and trust him and to co-operate as best we can.
Jesus answered. "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." (John 6:29)
The Lord does not carry out this work too quickly as we simply could not cope with the rapid change.
But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land. (Ex. 23:29-30)
It is a gradual and continuous process ("little by little") that this great work is done. We must leave it to the Master as it is far too difficult and delicate a job for human hands. He charts the course and sets the timetable. We can trust him utterly.
It is important to understand that the Holy Spirit never takes anything from us without replacing it with something far greater. The main way to repair the damage done by past experiences is to cause us to have new experiences that are the reverse of those that originally caused us such pain. Where we failed we now find success. Where we were humiliated we find ourselves honoured. Where we were weak we find ourselves to be strong. Where we would have been timid and withdrawn we find boldness. In a situation where we would have panicked we find ourselves calm and in control. Where we would have lost our temper we find instead gentleness and love. The list is endless and there is no doubt that before long you will be able to make a list of your own.
Whatever our need may be, the Holy Spirit knows just what to do to repair the damage. We are called to trust him completely as he carries out the work. It is by this process that we come to know in practical terms the indwelling life of Christ.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. (Gal. 2:20)
It is through the power of this life that we gain our new experiences. We begin to find that weakness and fear are unnecessary because as we face them with the help of the Holy Spirit, they are replaced from within by the very life and nature of Jesus himself.
Oh what joy the beloved finds in coming out from behind her wall to join the Lord in the newness of his life, leaping across the mountains and bounding over the hills.
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