Lamentations 3:17-20 English Standard Version

¹⁷ my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness^[good] is;
¹⁸ so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.”

¹⁹ Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall!
²⁰ My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.

The bible does not directly address the subconscious. This is as close as I could come to addressing the issue here. We remember the events of the past and the emotions related to those events. What is not addressed here is the truth of those moments, only the deep seated emotions expressed in a way that the author fails to escape from and falls victim to them.

The subconscious has a powerful affect over our lives and if we fail to expose those memories to the truth, we will constantly misapply our actions based on vanity, emptiness as to results. We will not achieve the growth in Christ we have been promised.

We can see in verses 17 and 18 above the negativity of falling victim to an unhealthy subconscious. The only way to correct that condition is to expose the subconscious to the truth discovered and believed by the conscious mind. It is part of the renewed mind that needs to go deeper than conscious thought.

This relationship with truth is the purview of the Holy Spirit. What we have to do in order to correct the unforeseen errors of the subconscious mind is to accept that our perceptions are flawed and that we do not have to be controled by a past we cannot change.

We all have something that seems to linger from our past that haunts our present. For some it might be abuse at the hand of another. Perhaps a strong emotional response was felt during the formative years when emotions ruled over judgment. Some picture things and anything that looks even remotely similar to the original event triggers heightened emotions. We might even feel helpless to control those moments. The truth can replace those vanities.

We can overcome ourselves.

Psalm 44:18 English Standard Version (ESV) Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way;

We are free in Christ. We can choose to sin. When we do, we have turned our backs to Christ like a defiant child who says, “I’m not listening.” When we do we are not walking in His will. Any way you look at it the same result will surface itself. We are hurting ourselves by hurting the relationship.

Some choose to sin and say I am already forgiven. That sounds like hammering a nail in His hands or feet. Perhaps it is piercing His side. Maybe that image will make us stop and think about what we are about to do when tempted.

When we belong to Him the consequences of sin will always bring us to repentance. If it does not happen right away, the chastening will only get worse. He chastens those He loves. The only question left for the defiant child is how many stripes will it take to cause you to turn?

Blaming the One who chastens doesn’t work. We make wrong choices and we have to own up to the fact that we made those choices by free will. He does not remove free will because love has to be a choice.

Romans 6:12 English Standard Version (ESV) Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.

We serve who we obey.

What does it take to not be one of those defiant children?