“This is the secret of all recovery and resilience — that Jesus Christ himself comes to dwell within our created nature, deep down at the center of our being. And it is down in the depths that we must learn to tap into him, for the strength that prevails.”- John Eldredge
As John Eldredge moves on in Chapter 8 of Resilient, he labels and describes the three levels of our being.
1. The Shallows. The distractions of life characterize and rule the Shallows. In addition, John likens the Shallows to “a fluttering array of randomly distracting thoughts flitting away like a thousand butterflies.”
Finally, these distractions keep you in the Shallows most of your day.
2. The Midlands. At the Midlands level, the cares of life characterize and rule this roost. Because the Midlands terrain consists of weightier matters, you find them deeper down in your being. Above all, the pressures of the Midlands keep you up at night. Also, the Midlands tend to be the place of our tears. Furthermore, this level causes us to pray – and gives us ulcers.
3. The Depths. In the Depths you find the essence of your existence and the dwelling place of God. And eternal things like faith, hope, and love characterize and rule the Depths.
Whether we pay attention to it or not, we all possess a deep inner life. This provides great hope. Because we can learn to access it.
In conclusion, John observes, our descent to our inmost being begins with simply giving God our attention. As a result, John cites Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894), who instructed:
“One must descend with the mind into the heart, and there stand before the face of the Lord, ever-present, all-seeing, within you.”
John refers to this as undistracted focus. There you look for God with all your attentiveness, something you give your whole being to.
Today’s question: How do you apply this secret of all recovery and resilience? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Untangled from all that distraction”
