At some point or another we have all felt it: fear. Some
of us have felt that emotion more than others. I personally, struggle with
anxiety. It is a bit hard to explain how exactly it feels but I can tell you in
my experience my heart feels like it's beating fast, it feels hard to catch my
breath, and my brain sometimes feels like it is tingling.
I've learned some ways to help combat my anxiety but
that's not what I want to talk about today. One week I had a mini anxiety
attack. Then, that same week, I went to Camp YoliJwa for a meeting. We had a
time of worship there. While I was singing, I started to get a tingle in my
brain again. This time the tingle made me feel joy.
I found it incredibly odd that I would get a tingle in my
brain when I was afraid and when I felt joy. Why would my brain do that? Then I
thought about the devil and how he tries to move us away from God. The devil
likes to copy God. He literally wants to be God so that makes sense. One tool
the devil uses is fear. What's the opposite of fear? Some would say courage or bravery,
but I think the Bible has another answer as well.
1 John 4:18 says: "There is no fear in love, but
perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever
fears has not been perfected in love." Throughout the Bible we see the
devil spreading fear and God showing love. Even in reading God's word we see
his love in us physically.
There have been a few studies done on the connection
between the Bible and our brains. Dr. Michael Ferguson is a man who studied
this. He found that: "The researchers also noticed that while reading the
Bible, high amounts of dopamine were released through the brain. When your
brain releases dopamine you are likely to be more focused, motivated, and happy
overall."
We literally get happy and have joy when we truly read
the Bible. Not skim it, read it. Dig deep into it to grow and find out more
about our Lord. It is also like when we worship God.
So, what tingle are you feeling: fear or joy? How can you
grow closer to God? How can you help others grow closer to God?
https://www.therapyforchristians.com/blog/what-are-the-psychological-benefits-of-reading-the-bible
