The permanent article Hearing God (site is gone) has been updated with an addenda at the end. It occurred to me I could add a concrete example from common human experience regarding how we handle sudden stresses. Here is a copy of the addenda:
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A Practical Application
As we pursue peace with God, it’s rather like chasing after Him through a wilderness, because our civilization has done it’s best to hide the path. It’s been long neglected, and very much overgrown with false fears of spooky demons and other spirits. For anyone seeking peace with God, you’ll spend at least part of your time blazing what seems a new trail, when in reality it is merely an ancient and forgotten road of truth.
There are markers indicating we are still moving, still on the right path. They are hard to read, written in a foreign language, marks of the Spirit Realm based on an entirely alien logic. There is at least one fairly obvious example I can translate for you, providing a key to understanding other markers on the way: How do you respond during an adrenalin rush?
Most of us understand the adrenal glands release a hormone, the effects of which we summarize as “fight or flight.” Actually, the vast majority of us are vacillating rapidly between the two under stress. Precious few of us will always do one or the other to any extreme.
We understand how it works, and with just a little training you can spot the effects of adrenalin in others. At the first instant some portion of the human awareness receives a shock, the rush of adrenalin disrupts the natural heart rhythm. We say the heart “stops” but that’s not exactly true. It’s just changing to an accelerated rhythm. So, for just an instant, the complexion is a bit ashen, colorless. Then a moment later it becomes flushed. The heart rate and blood pressure both go up suddenly. At the same time, the eyes dilate. The gaze of those eyes will be extreme. They will either stare intently, or exhibit rapid and nervous twitching, redirecting the gaze all over the place. Most people vacillate between the two extremes to some degree. The hands will begin to twitch, and exhibit confused and exaggerated movements. The speech pattern changes noticeably, a different rhythm and sings of uncertainty, a different syntax, affecting a different accent, etc. We sum it up by calling it “panic mode.”
As we draw closer to God and become better able to hear His voice through our wills, it is not so much these symptoms are reduced. Sure, it’s great if we can avoid panicking in the first place. However, the essence of a proper spiritual response is when we manage to do the right thing in spite of those symptoms. When adrenalin does not overpower the convictions of God speaking through the will, and the mind finds itself able to hear the voice of conviction, it’s because the link to the spirit is stronger than the link to the flesh. God does not speak through the flesh, in that sense.
Here’s a big useful hint: The signposts on the path of God are read most often in retrospect. The path of truth is marked more on the back side of things than on the front. You realize you have progressed spiritually in the aftermath of some stressful event. This requires prayerful contemplation.
