When our decisions are based on God' will, this imparts courage. It doesn't mean that we don't have fear but the confidence gives us courage to carry on. A peaceful conscience is a great gift. I end the podcast with a reading of ChatGPT's AI response to Soren's reflection on Bierkergaard and a little "Shop Local" illustration of the Incarnation. Remember the Reason for the Season.

This episode is me sharing the 5 books that I am reading. 4 are Kierkegaard-focused. One is sort of. The last one, which I just got but not reading yet, is about the worldly effectiveness of Stoicism in addressing both the adversities and joys of life. Yet, It has little hope of eternity and a better world. Share the podcast on social media, write a review on your podcast platform, and reach out on the X for Bierkergaard. And get a review of social media firestorm I created and have been caught in the last 18 or so hours minus sleep. I have no agenda but the truth. So help me God.

Soren writes that pride and cowardliness are the same. The focus on self and not God seems to be the underlying similarity. "The proud person always wants to do the right thing, the great thing, and he is actually struggling not with people, but God" because he wants to do it in his own power. Doing so can also make us fearful because it is all about us. A lot of us is vulnerable when we attempt great things. When we dedicate our efforts to honor God, that self-focus dissipates. We leave the results to him and do not look for affirmation, applause, and attention, from others-particularly the fickle crowd. Those things are wonderful if we receive them. It just can't be the reason why we do it to start with. That is what Soren calls the "Reward Disease."

Soren writes that "That even the progress through life for the most honest contender is difficult" and fear/cowardliness "Gnaws asunder the chain of resolution." So, facing that life is, to one degree or another, difficult for everyone helps us make difficulties normative. And cope with them. When the evening comes, let us say that we continued to walk in the day of difficulties even though it might have been hard. Complaining about the difficulties does nothing to put us on the path of progress. Cope or Mope. Therapeutic culture can trap people in the pain of their past. Face it, cry if you need to, then wipe your tears,and start to walk anew. God is with you. Remember: Jesus is well-acquainted with suffering.

The Apostle Paul writes to younger Timothy in 2nd Timothy 1:7 that "God did not give us a spirit of cowardliness but a spirit of power and of love and of self-control." Soren sees an "Abundance of intentions and a poverty of action" and "One becoming so high-flying in resolution that one forgets to walk" as evidence of being cowardly. The goal is progress, not perfection. Crawl if you must, just creep in the right direction. There is genius in small beginnings. So start. Dream big, just remember it starts with small steps.

Soren writes, "It (the past) becomes quieter, it becomes gentle, it becomes sad." The Apostle always remembered who he was before he was called by Jesus. A persecutor of the early Church. He didn't live in the past but neither did he forget it. Soren advises that it is good to not look back too often while on the good path. Neither is it wise to be anxious about the future by looking ahead too often in terms of possibility; it makes time go agonizingly slow. As "anxiety borrows strength from the future." Above all, the Apostle Paul's Thorn in the Flesh "reminds us that the highest life also has its sufferings."

The takeaway is to learn from the past and prepare for the future. Don't live there.

Thralldom is a noun that means "the state of being under the control of another person or being enslaved." Paul's Thorn in the Flesh was something that tethered him to the passing world. But, as a result, he also looked up with the revelation that God was giving him. So, the thorn was used for good as it made Paul not dependent on the world. But, to transcend the allure and the pride of temporality. Adversity can be our friend, building an eternal weight of character. If you can avoid adversity rightly, do so. But, if you cannot, assume God is permitting it for a higher purpose. That you may not know or ever know. Even in glory.

Soren writes of the Apostle Paul's "Thorn In The Flesh" pouring "All of the agony into the brevity of the moment." This episode explores the existence of pain and joy in the same cup. And the more God uses us for His purposes, the more we may suffer.