In my earlier post I included a passage from The Screwtape Letters, written by, C.S. Lewis one of the most well-known Christian writers and theologians of the twentieth century. 

The passage was from his chapter entitled Anxiety. 

This book is a form of satire. It is written from the viewpoint of Screwtape who is one of the ranking demons in the army of Satan to a demon underling named Wormwood.

 Screwtape in his letters advises Wormwood on how to make life for humans on earth meaningless and hopeless.

To do this Screwtapes perverts what God says in the Bible about how humans can lead a life of hope and meaning by following His instructions in the Bible. 

I once again post this passage from C.S. Lewis’s book. The passage is in italics while in parenthesis I share my thoughts about what I believe C.S. Lewis is saying about human anxiety and how it prevents us from seeing the will of God for our life.

 Anxiety, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis: 

There is nothing like suspense and anxiety for barricading a human’s mind against the Enemy. 

(Remember, this is one of the demons speaking to a demon underling…so their enemy is God) 

He wants men to be concerned with what they do; our business is to keep them thinking about what will happen to them. 

 (According to the Screwtape, God wants us to think about what we do with our lives and not be worried about our lives) 

 Your patient will, of course have picked up the notion that he must submit with patience to the Enemy’s will.  

(The patient is any human being the underling is concentrating on. Screwtape is giving advice to  Wormwood on how to make life hopeless and meaningless for humans) 

What the Enemy means by this is primarily that he should accept with patience the tribulation which has actually been dealt out to him—the present anxiety and suspense.  

(Screwtape’s understanding is that God calls humans to accept God’s will for our lives even if we presently are going through difficult times with no clear-cut human resolution) 

It is about this that he is to say, “Thy will be done,” and for the daily task of bearing this that the daily bread will be provided.

 (Screwtape tells Wormwood that humans will accept God’s will submit to it and then expect provision for the day because God rewards those who accept His will in their lives)

 It is your business to see that the patient never thinks of the present fear as his appointed cross, but only of the things he is afraid of.  

(Screwtape is already concluding that, humans at first afraid will, if they are in alignment with the idea of God’s will for their lives, believe their present-day difficulty is somehow preordained as God preordained His Son Jesus to go to the cross)

Let him regard them as his crosses: let him forget that, since they are incompatible, they cannot all happen to him, and let him try to practice fortitude and patience to learn them in advance.  

(Here Screwtape is saying to allow humans to accept their difficulties as allowed by God. This conditions humans to expect the worst and wait for difficulties to arise even before they occur. This spurs anxious living; life full of anxiety waiting for the next cross God places on us. 

For real resignation, at the same moment, to a dozen different and hypothetical fates, is almost impossible, and the Enemy does not greatly assist those who are trying to attain it: resignation to present and actual suffering, even where that suffering consists of fear, is far easier, and is usually helped by this direct action. 

(It is according to Screwtape impossible for humans to resign ourselves to God’s will when we are busy worrying about the “what if’s” in our lives; the fears we build when we assume the worst. Screwtape goes on to say that God does not help those who are in that position of constant worry and fret of what might happen to them. This is not true because God by His grace comes to our rescue in His timing; but when we are worried about a dozen or more hypothetical fates we take our eyes off God and cannot hear his voice or sense His will for our lives. Screwtape concludes by explaining to Wormwood that resignation to God’s will  occurs only when humans focus only on the real suffering that is happening today even if that involves fear. Only then can humans in calmness and faith rest in God’s will. Anxiety therefore is what our enemy, the Screwtapes and the Wormwoods, use to keep us from seeing God’s will for our lives.) 

I based my book God’s Guide to Inner Peace on what the Bible says about inner peace and how we can use the Bible to build and sustain inner peace. 

Order a copy today so that the Screwtapes and the Wormwoods will not get the better of you with their reliance on our human episodes of anxiety.

Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as Jack, was an Irish-born British novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist. 

He is also known for his fiction, especially The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Space Trilogy. 

C.S. Lewis was baptised in the Church of Ireland but fell away from religion and became an atheist. With reasoned arguments his academic friends including J.R.R. Tolkien convinced him the Bible and Christianity stood the test of scrutiny and he converted to Christianity. 

He is now considered one of the most convincing and well-known Christian theologians and apologists which refers to the study of apologetics the greek word meaning reasoned argument backed by evidence. 

In his book The Screwtape Letters, Lewis uses a reverse type of playbook. Screwtape is one of the leading demons under the head of all demons Satan. 

Screwtape gives advice to Wormwood a demon underling in how to foul up humankind. 

The book is how demons connive with each other to make life for humans meaningless, and hopeless. 

Here is how Screwtape recommends Wormwood deal with the issue of human anxiety:

 There is nothing like suspense and anxiety for barricading a human’s mind against the Enemy. He wants men to be concerned with what they do; our business is to keep them thinking about what will happen to them.

 Your patient will, of course have picked up the notion that he must submit with patience to the Enemy’s will. What the Enemy means by this is primarily that he should accept with patience the tribulation which has actually been dealt out to him—the present anxiety and suspense. 

It is about this that he is to say, “Thy will be done,” and for the daily task of bearing this that the daily bread will be provided. It is your business to see that the patient never thinks of the present fear as his appointed cross, but only of the things he is afraid of.

 Let him regard them as his crosses: let him forget that, since they are incompatible, they cannot all happen to him, and let him try to practice fortitude and patience to learn them in advance. 

For real resignation, at the same moment, to a dozen different and hypothetical fates, is almost impossible, and the Enemy does not greatly assist those who are trying to attain it: resignation to present and actual suffering, even where that suffering consists of fear, is far easier, and is usually helped by this direct action. 

Anxiety, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis 

I will share some of my thoughts about this passage in my next post and how it relates to my book, God’s Guide to Inner Peace. 

But I would appreciate hearing what you think about what C.S. Lewis is saying here and if you have a favorite book by C.S. Lewis.

I first heard of the Peace Pilgrim during my third year in college. Our philosophy professor invited her to speak to us and share her pursuit for peace.

The Peace Pilgrim, an elderly yet vibrant woman, logged over 25 thousand miles in 30 years walking across and up and down the United States promoting her idea of peace to anyone and everyone who listened.

She possessed nothing except the shoes on her feet and the clothes on her back, including her white-lettered-embossed deep blue sweatshirt declaring “25,000 Miles for Peace.”

She had no income; she only ate when offered a meal; she slept under the stars unless offered a roof over her; but impoverished she was not. The Peace Pilgrim was healthy, well-fed, physically and mentally fit. And most of all, she was at peace. 

The Peace Pilgrim described to our professor and his class of 13 students, her mission of peace; she shared stories of her travels; defined her life’s philosophy; but most of her presentation centered on why she believed the world lacked peace.

The Peace Pilgrim proclaimed the world lacked peace simply because people of the world lacked maturity.

She explained immaturity breeds personal discontentment leading to public disruption and disturbance causing violence, fights and even war and destruction.

And like insecure and bullying children in a sand box, immature people rob from others; immature government officials engage in corruption; immature countries take land and resources from other countries.

She said immature people fill our towns, cities, countries, and continents representing a world struggling against peace.

I cannot give a dissertation on the Peace Pilgrim’s philosophy of peace. I did not even take notes when she addressed our class. But her concept of world peace and how it could be achieved remains with me. 

I confess I believe the achievement of world peace is more complex than moving from immaturity to maturity. However, individuals taking responsibility for their own maturation, is a crucial step toward a more peaceful world.

And I treasure my meeting that courageous woman who believed with all her heart we people have to grow up before we destroy each other.

I was sad recently to hear  that the Peace Pilgrim died on her way to promote her idea of world peace; she was killed in an automobile accident in Indiana, while she was being driven to a speaking engagement.

The Peace Pilgrim promoted world peace walking cross country spreading her message of world peace with people she encountered on her journey. Her goal was to talk to as many people as she could and encourage people to build world peace by leading a mature life.

My goal is less ambitious. I am not trying to establish world peace with my book God’s Guide to Inner Peace.

But I do believe there will be more peace in our world if more people enjoyed a higher level of inner peace than they already do.

And if you follow the steps outlined in this book you will enjoy a higher level of inner peace and with that I pray I honor the memory of the Peace Pilgrim to who’s memory and legacy I dedicate my book.

Is there anyone who has affected your life in some way as the Peace Pilgrim affected mine? Please take a minute to share with us all…

I live in the car chase capital of the world, Los Angeles. Police pursuits broadcast live on TV is the norm.

I watched a pursuit last month that was so reckless that police, for the sake of public safety chose to chase their suspect, who had already collided with one car, by helicopter rather than by car.

Police hoped he would slow down if he did not see cops in his rear view mirror. Nonetheless, he continued his frenzied escape, driving as if death was on his bumper. Even for LA standards, this was a dangerous situation.

I confess. I wanted to see a spectacular ending. Then my conscience spoke to me. Or should I say, the Holy Spirit convicted me.

I realized that, as a Christian, I had an obligation to pray for a quick and safe end to this madness. I prayed, “Lord, cause this pursuit to end safely. Cause the suspect to crash and then be taken into custody by the police. Let no one be injured in the process. In the name of Jesus, Amen.”

For the next ten minutes the suspect, with impunity, continued burning up the highway.

Finally, he attempted to squeeze between two cars stopped at an intersection, but realizing his car would not fit, he slammed his brakes.

He collided and lodged his car between the parked cars. He climbed out of his disabled vehicle and bolted up the street.

He jumped a fence, trying to escape, only to find police waiting for him. He surrendered without further incident.

I was surprised that an unusually dangerous pursuit ended peacefully. Then I remembered my prayer.

The suspect crashed. The newscaster reported the people in the cars he hit were not injured because the suspect tried to stop before the collision. He was apprehended without anyone being injured.

Had my prayer been answered, or was this a coincidence?        

In the Bible we read in Proverbs 15:29,  it states that God hears the prayer of the righteous.

The righteousness of Christ is imputed to His followers.

Romans 5:9 states that believers are justified by Christ’s blood.

The Greek word for “justified” is dikaioo which means “To declare righteous or just.”

Therefore, when we pray in the name of Jesus, God hears our prayers.

However, “in the name of Jesus” is not a code phrase that automatically gives us favor with God and an instant answer to our request.

When we pray in the name of Jesus, we are declaring that Jesus backs our request.

We have the privilege to approach God with our requests. But we are called to pray responsibly.

It is written in James 4:3 that prayer delivered with wrong motives will not be granted.

Praying for a lottery jackpot is not responsible prayer.

Instead pray for peace to overcome violence, good to vanquish evil, law and order to contain lawlessness.

I prayed selflessly, and discovered the power of righteous prayer…and so did that guy who jumped over the fence.

The Bible is the number one bestseller of all time. Whether you believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God or if you think that it is a book of well meaning stories or if you simply believe it is a book of fairy tales you cannot deny the influence it has had on human kind.

Whatever you believe about the Bible it is a guide to life. Some call it God’s instruction manual for life. 

But there are some religions that use it to condemn or control people. This is why many people choose not to read the Bible. Many relate the Bible to those who would hold themselves as the saying goes, “Holier than thou.” 

And this is a great shame and tragedy because the Bible was meant to show God’s love for humankind not to condemn humankind. God loves humankind and He shows us in the Bible how we can live a life filled with inner peace. 

Who better to learn how to develop inner peace than from God? 

But the Bible is full of information on all aspects of life. You need a focused study on one subject such as developing inner peace to glean from the Bible what it says about inner peace and how to develop inner peace. 

The book, God’s Guide to Inner Peace, was written for those who either do not have the time or the desire to sit and study the Bible. 

The book is a compilation on what the Bible says about inner peace and how we can develop it using God’s word the Bible. 

You do not have to be religious to benefit from this book. All you have to be is open minded; open to the idea that perhaps the Bible is the answer to the question on how do you stop the doubt, the fear, the thought that deep down something is not right in your soul. 

Of course if you are a student of the Bible then none of this is a surprise to you. The Bible as you know is life’s instruction book. 

But perhaps you have not studied the Bible exclusively as a guide to inner peace. 

This book will help you in your continuing understanding of the Bible as never before.

Wherever you are in life take a look at God’s Guide to Inner Peace…and enjoy a measure of inner peace…divine inner peace.

Inner peace is a misnomer when it is referred to as peace that comes from within ourselves.

The most important inner peace concept is that lasting inner peace comes from without not from within.

Inner peace is defined heretofore as a personal realization of not only tranquility and harmony in one’s life, but a confidence and unshakeable belief and knowledge, that one’s spirit and mind rest in the truth that all is, in essence well with one’s soul.

Genuine and enduring inner peace comes from an outside source. It Comes From God.

Hi World…my name is George Angel. 

Welcome to my blog! 

The purpose of this site is to help us build and enjoy a deeper sense of inner peace.

 Inner peace has many different meanings to us all. 

But it is my hope that when you visit my site you will have a deeper sense of serenity, inspiration, and faith. 

So once again welcome and thank you very much for visiting! 

Sincerely, 

George Angel