Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero

Week 3: Chapter 2 — Know Yourself That You May Know God

Read Chapter 2 of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero. Key reference: Psalm 139.

Scazzero draws on the ancient wisdom of John Calvin — that knowledge of God and knowledge of self are inseparably linked — and shows us what that means for our emotional and spiritual lives today.

Discussion Questions

7 questions

1.Scazzero opens with Calvin's famous observation that knowledge of God and knowledge of self are intertwined. In your own experience, do you tend to pursue one more than the other? How have you thought about "knowing yourself" in spiritual terms?

2.He makes the case that ignoring or suppressing our emotions is not holiness — it is actually a barrier to knowing God. How does that reframe the way you've been taught to handle difficult emotions like anger, fear, or grief?

3.Scazzero uses Psalm 139 as a foundation, noting that God knows us fully — our sitting and rising, our thoughts, the words before they reach our lips. What does it mean practically to allow yourself to be that known — by God and by trusted others?

a.What parts of yourself have you most tried to keep hidden from God, even unconsciously?

b.What would it feel like to bring those parts into prayer rather than pushing them away?

4.He discusses how our family of origin shapes us far more than we typically acknowledge. What patterns — positive or negative — do you notice you have carried from your family into your adult life, relationships, or faith?

5.Scazzero argues that our emotions are a signal, like a dashboard warning light, telling us something real about what is happening inside us. What has been your default response to strong negative emotions — acknowledge them, suppress them, spiritualize them, or something else?

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Closing Prayer

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O Lord, You have searched us and known us. You know when we sit and when we rise. You are familiar with all our ways — even the ways we have hidden from ourselves. Forgive us for the energy we have spent maintaining a presentable self while the true self goes unexamined and unloved. Thank You that Your love does not depend on what we perform or conceal. Lead us in the everlasting way — the way of honesty, of self-knowledge, and of freedom. Amen.

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