From Fear to Freedom: A Testimony of Emotional Healing

by Daniel L. Sonnenberg, 2009.

This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls..." (Jer 6:16 NIV)

While we were living in Florida and attending seminary a number of years ago, I discovered something new and something old about myself and about God and his word. In the process, I discovered an ancient path on which to walk. I began the discovery in a counseling class during our counseling partner rotations. In a group of three, we took turns counseling, being counseled and observing one another. During that rotation as a counselee, I heard myself saying repeatedly that I was angry about this and angry about that, and it got my attention. A few weeks later I asked my professor about it. During the conversation he said some things that also got my attention. One of them was that fear is usually a signal to us that something needs to change. An even more striking statement was that he thought that it was fear behind my anger and that I was perhaps the most fearful person he had ever met. That certainly got my attention because he had been a counselor for some twenty years. We agreed that since he was my professor it would be better if he could set up some meetings with me and one of his colleagues to talk about it some more.

Knowledge of God and Ourselves (John Calvin)

1. Our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid Wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. But as these are connected together by many ties, it is not easy to determine which of the two precedes and gives birth to the other.