Sensory Deprivation
Isolation and separation. A common tactic used in war to breakdown and destroy a captured enemy. But this also represents the state of our lives today, living through a pandemic. Isolation and separation, over a long period of time, can cause sensory deprivation, the inability to perceive by means of your 5 senses, which can give place to extreme anxiety, depression, hallucinations, and delusions.
Unfortunately, this pandemic has forced us into our current state of existence, making our homes feel like a type of concentration camp. Which, of course, is an exaggeration, but worth mentioning. We may not have guards outside our doors to ensure containment, but we cannot lose sight of the fact that we have an invisible foe who stalks us with an intent to destroy.
We know the physical world mimics the spiritual world. It got me thinking. Are we experiencing sensory deprivation on the spiritual level? What senses are being hindered in our individual and collective lives?
We were created with 5 God-given senses to not only live in this world, but also to experience our Creator.
We have been endowed with sight so we can see God’s Goodness; our hearing allows us to hear the voice of the Lord’s Words; our sense of smell to determine the fresh, sweet aroma of our sacrificial gifts; touch so we can receive Jesus’ healing; and taste to enjoy the sweetness of the Lord’s Words.
Have our spiritual senses become dulled and void of understanding?
The Holy Spirit spoke a warning through Isaiah the Prophet about sensory deprivation. “Watch for hearing without understanding; seeing but never perceiving; all resulting in a calloused heart that will pervert the remaining senses. Calling evil good and good evil; calling darkness light and light darkness; and putting bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
The Apostle Paul also had a warning for us against quenching the Holy Spirit, who is our most crucial sensory receptor, and critical to discern all things.
At some level, it appears our invisible enemy has been successful in a round of sensory deprivation, complete with perceptual delusions.
Will we heed the two warnings?
O God create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us!
Inspired by 1 Peter 5:8; Psalm 27:13, 34:8, 51:10, 119:103; James 3:14; Philippians 4:18; Matthew 14:36; Job 6:30, 33:8; 2 Timothy 4:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; Acts 28:25-27; Isaiah 5:20.
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As I stare into the woods with a blank gaze, I feel hope drain from my heart. Illusive hope, appearing just out of reach, blocked by circumstances. My dreams are becoming faint images, no longer recognizable. Are You schooling me in hope, Lord?
The ground below my feet feels unstable, as I attempt to scale this mountain in my life. I am immobilized as I look out over the pinnacle with its avalanche of loose gravel, trying to negotiate my first step, Lord.
Sitting here sipping my tea, I watched a storm move in from the northwest. I could see the dark clouds coming over the treetops, their sparse dead leaves beginning to shutter with the advancing winds. The storm was bringing a cold front with it, rushing over the landscape, overtaking everything with its invisible force. Snowflakes began to fall, swiftly changing the environment, inducing a shift in my attitude, emotions, and behavior – and not necessarily for the better.