Spiritual Psychosis

Jeremiah 10:14,15 “Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge;
Every metalsmith is put to shame by an image;
For his molded image is falsehood,
And there is no breath in them.
They are futile, a work of errors;
In the time of their punishment they shall perish.”

Parapsychology is a field of study that investigates paranormal or “psychic” phenomena, including purported mental abilities such as telepathy and telekinesis.

It doesn’t take a vast understanding of the human mind to recognize the depth of its complexity. With complexity comes questions and not every question is easily answered. It seems that whatever aspect of life that is difficult to understand, there is a movement that attempts to draw conclusions about the unknown. Nearly every instance where mankind attempts to fill the void of misunderstanding (apart from God), is an attempt to elevate man into a position of god-like status or other form of deity to fill out the equation.

A psychosis is a severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality.

How we think often dictates who we are. If we live skeptically, we struggle with trusting anyone, even occasionally ourselves. If we perceive our circumstances through the lens of our experiences, we run the risk of misinterpreting what we think we know or understand.

Romans 8:5-6 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.  For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

A parapsychosis is then a psychosis characterized by abnormal or unnatural thinking.

There are many instances in the Bible that relate the need for a change in perspective. This is one of the great influences of God’s Word, the ability to shift our perspective into alignment with God’s will and purpose. If we lose contact with the Spirit of God, we lose the influence needed to make right decisions. The world looks at life by what they can see, hear, or touch. The Kingdom of Heaven is composed of people who live for what they cannot see.

2 Corinthians 4:18 “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

It is not easy to change old habits and ways of thinking, the moral bankruptcy of a sinful nature is a great obstacle that inhibits our growth and development. We must allow God to change our way of thinking.

Philippians 3:18-21 “For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.  For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,  who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”

The transforming power of God changes us into images of His glory.

Living in Fear

Fear is also an aspect of unnatural thinking. Perceiving imminent danger isn’t as straightforward as it may seem. I had a fear of other peoples dogs as a kid. Having had newspaper routes for a few years the nature of throwing a newspaper up to someone’s doorstep was too much for a dog to handle. After being chased down by dogs on a few occasions I began to consider every dog a threat and thus I developed a fear that was probably unwarranted on many occasions.

We are reminded to not fear.

Luke 12:4-7 “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!

“Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Growing in wisdom helps in recognizing danger and not becoming fearful, but rather being cautious. If you notice sharks circling in the water, you would think twice before jumping in for a swim. But if the Lord commanded you to cross the water, you would be more apt to listen to how He plans to accomplish the task.

The Lord wants His people to be reasonable and consider their actions with a mind to common sense. Knowing we can’t control every variable in every situation requires us to trust that the Lord to take care of the things we can’t control.

1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober-minded. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Many people place themselves in harms way by ignoring common sense. The world ignores the wisdom of God and places themself in harms way by the way they live.

Forsaking wisdom can have dire consequences, which is why we are encouraged to pray for wisdom on many occasions.

Ecclesiastes 7:25 “I applied my heart to know, To search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things, To know the wickedness of folly, Even of foolishness and madness.”

The Occult

Practicing or dabbling in psychic phenomena is the practice of the occult. The attempt to conjure up a connection to the dead will not connect you with a lost loved one, that is what they want you to think. To partake of this practice is actually an attempt to connect with some form of supernatural being through the use of black magic. Any occult practice is masks its true intent and the intention of the enemy is to use a person’s emotions to open them up to demonic influence.

Evil doesn’t want to show itself for what it is otherwise it would be repulsive, so it hides itself and attempts to manifest as light or something good.

Isaiah 29:15 “Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the LORD, And whose deeds are done in a dark place, And they say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?”

In my encounters with men in discipleship, I’ve met many who have dabbled with practices of the occult and have subsequently suffered incredible harm as a result. Whenever a person opens themselves up to an encounter to a spiritual entity that hates them, they are asking to be abused. The mental twisting that occurs can take years to recover from, the lies they are fed by demonic spirits are hard to break free from and if they open themselves to some form of possession, they place themselves and others in danger.

The enemy finds all kinds of creative ways to lure victims to a place of vulnerability, either by pride, fear, hedonism, or directly into the occult, the damage done can leave a person wandering for years, hopeless, and without any sense of purpose.

How are people so easily lured?—They either don’t know better or their point of reference for determining what is a good or bad is based on a worldly point of view.

Ultimately, it is the fool that walks right into trouble.

Knowing Falsity

In the Hebrew and Greek languages, there are words used to consider, to see, or know someone or something.

When God looked upon His Creation in Genesis 1, He saw (or knew) all that He had made and declared it to be good. In the Hebrew, the word ‘saw’ is the word Raah. When Jesus gave the encouragement to consider how God cares for the birds, will He not care much more for you, the term ‘consider’ is the greek term ‘Katanoeo’. This term is very similar to Raah in that we are encouraged to look beyond the superficial and with a godly perspective.

The enemy can never partake of God’s model for His people so they try to mimic what God has already established.

The Spirit of God is the source for seeing beyond the flesh and into the divine. The more a believer walks in the Spirit, the more clearly they will see.

There is a great difference between walking in the Spirit and walking in the occult, it all determines your source. There are many avenues for darkness, voodoo, witchcraft, astrology, drugs, or even meditation if focused in the wrong direction can lead to an opportunity for a demonic spirit to influence your life.

James 4:4 “You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.”

Walking in the Spirit is to walk with God and that comes by having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Those who dabble in the occult make themselves an enemy of God.

When a person walks in Christ, the darkness is exposed for what it is, deception. False religion, black magic, witchcraft, and every other practice that attempts to supplant God is exposed by the light.

Job 12:22 “He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into light.”

The enemy has no authority over a Spirit filled believer.

Be very cautious of what you partake in, let godly wisdom be your guide, pray and trust the Word of God for every course of action and you will see clearly to avoid the pitfalls in a world that wants to destroy you.