new church life: march/april 2015
treat them with contempt, and are therefore called conquerors. No visible bonds
restrict them, for they are free. (Secrets of Heaven 81)
Swedenborg also says the following about people involved in spiritual
conflict over one or another part of themselves:
People who believe in God say to themselves, “With God’s help I will conquer this.”
And they pray for it and obtain it. (Charity 203, part of Posthumous Theological
Works)
Spiritual battle can be challenging and painful. It’s not for the fainthearted. At times, even a person with a good attitude may feel like the Israelites
did, who felt victimized by their harsh wilderness circumstances. They might
even feel inclined to give up in the struggles that they’re engaged in and return
to an easier, slave-like existence. Reading from Numbers:
So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that
night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the
whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if
only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall
by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? So they said to
one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.” (Numbers 14:1-4, emphasis
added)
But a heavenly attitude won’t listen to the voices of self-pity and
victimization:
But Joshua and Caleb, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their
clothes; and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The
land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights
in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us. Only do not rebel against
the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has
departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.” (Ibid. 14:6-9)
In the end, people possessed of a heavenly attitude are those who court a
sense of hope, and who trust the Lord’s leadership in their lives. Reading from
the doctrine of our church:
The words of Scripture, “Lot urged the angels strongly” mean a state of temptation
when a person overcomes. As has been stated, temptations involve feelings of
doubt regarding the Lord’s presence and mercy, and also regarding His salvation.
The evil spirits who are present with a person at such times do all they can to
infuse a negative outlook, but good spirits and angels from the Lord in every way
disperse that doubting attitude, all the time preserving a feeling of hope and in the
end strengthening an affirmative outlook. One who conquers in temptations still
experiences feelings of doubt; yet he or she who allows him- or herself to be filled
with hope remains steadfastly in an affirmative outlook. (Secrets of Heaven 2338)
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