Letter 9: Law of Undulation

Review:
Talked of 'Law of Undulation' and how troughs (valleys) are used by the Lord.

Outline:
  • Trough periods are great times for temptations, better than peaks because energy to resist is higher then.
  • Pleasure is from God, so demons must make it unnatural.
  • 'An ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure is the formula.'
  • Use patients own thoughts
    • Keep knowledge of 'law of undulation' away from patient
    • Then go to one of the extremes: despair or wishful thinking for despair make him think he needs to do it himself via will to get his old feelings back for hopeful type, allow him to become content with the trough.
  • Direct attack on faith - just a phase (use jargon).
Terminology:

  • Innocuous - harmless, inoffensive
  • Concomitants - things that accompany or attend
  • Anodyne - something that relieves pain, a soothing agent
  • Redolent - reminiscent or suggestive (also of fragrance)
  • Ardours - warmth of feeling, zeal
  • Acquiesce - to consent or comply without opposition

Questions/Discussions:
  • Do we pervert the pleasures God has created for us?
  • When we really need the Lord, do we seek comfort in a distorted pleasure? (shopping, drinking, pornography, sex)
  • Do we need increasingly bigger 'rushes' to get by on it?
  • Are you the type that despairs or a wishful thinker?
  • Do you know folks who 'went through a phase'?
  • Self help books?
  • 'I just cannot help myself'
  • It's really an all or nothing, you can't have just a little bit of God; or religion up to a point
  • Look at Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest devotional entries for October 1st and October 2nd.

Scripture:

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