My God, I wish to give myself to thee.
Give me the courage to do so.
– Francis Fenelon
#AGuidetoPrayer
Tag: Courage
How’s Your Spirit Doing?
So what does a healthy spirit look like? What’s some language we could use to talk about how our spirit is doing?
Since the YMCA is about putting Christian principles into practice for a healthy spirit, mind and body, what are some Scriptures we could use to guide our search on words to use to figure out how our spirit is doing?
Check out these examples of how a healthy spirit is described and embodied in everyday life.
Ask someone how they are doing, and we have standard answers: Fine. Good! Not bad. Ok. Hanging in there.
It’s pretty easy to talk about how your body is doing – we can chat for quite a while on aches and pains, surgeries and sickness, weight and appearances.
Ask someone what they are thinking about, what their plans are, what’s on their mind, and an answer is not hard to provide.
But ask someone, “How is your spirit doing?” and you’ll likely create an awkward silence.
It’s just not a question that gets asked.
But in the YMCA, our mission is centered around building a healthy spirit, mind and body for all.
So what does a healthy spirit look like? What’s some language we could use to talk about how our spirit is doing?
Since the YMCA is about putting Christian principles into practice, here are some Scriptures we could use to guide our search on words to use to figure out how our spirit is doing:
- Gospel According to Luke, 1:46-47 And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”
- Luke 23:46 And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last.
- Second Letter to Timothy, 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power and love and discipline.” – Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus
- Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
- Psalm 51:17 “My sacrifice is a humble spirit, O God; you will not reject a humble and repentant heart.”
- Ecclesiastes 7:8 “The end of a matter is better than its beginning; Patience of spirit is better than a prideful spirit.”
Based on this small selection, here are some words we can use to answer the question of “How’s your spirit doing?”
You could say, I’m happy and full of joy.
You could talk about people or projects you are committed to.
You could be vulnerable and describe your lack of courage and confidence, or share about your strengths, your passions, and self-control.
You could describe the despair within you in response to the brokenness of the world around you, or of your own personal failings.
You could be courageous and talk about the wrongs you’ve committed and how you’ve tried to make amends.
Finally, you could let them know how easily you can wait for what you want.
Does that help?
It helps me give some language to how my spirit is doing. Am I easily irritable? That’s a spirit thing. Am I constantly disappointed and discouraged? That’s my spirit. Am I frustrated with others? That’s my spirit.
Pay attention to your spirit.
Give yourself time to breathe deeply and slowly.
Let your spirit rest by being alone to reflect on your blessings. Get some sleep. Build margins into your schedule to play and pray.
Laugh at yourself, encourage everyone around you more often.
Let go of grudges and slights quicker, stay focused on making amends more authentically.
As Christians, we are called to solidarity in our spirit with the Spirit of Christ. Paying attention to the spirit of Christ within us is also the way to build unity with other Christians.
It’s through the Spirit of Jesus Christ that we can humbly and patiently embody the power of God’s love and justice in our world together.
We want his strength to strengthen us, his love to empower our love for others, his healing to flow through our spirit, his courage to encourage us to love, serve and care for all – friends, family, and enemies.
How’s your spirit doing?
Patient or prideful?
Courageous or unconfident?
Humbly happy or angrily resentful?
Thankful or unforgiving?
Now, try asking yourself:
How’s my spirit doing?
How To Be Strong and Courageous When You Don’t Feel Like It
“Be strong, be courageous, all you that hope in the LORD.”
Research shows that you experience life primarily through your feelings, and then you process it with your thoughts. From there you make the daily decisions which culminate in where you are today.
Everybody faces daily challenges, and for most of us, it can get wearisome. It’s hard to feel strong when you’re chronically tired. It’s hard to think of yourself as courageous when there is so much to worry about. And hope? That seems like a dream amidst all the bad news we get bombarded with each day.
But it’s precisely when you’re worn out that strength is most needed, and when anxiety is prevalent that the call to courage is so crucial. It’s when times are toughest that our strength and courage can be revealed best, not when times are going well.
What are the challenges you are facing in your everyday life? What are the areas you wish you were stronger in? In what circumstances do you wish you were more courageous? With your health? Your family? Friends? The community? Our nation?
The Psalmist reflects on the role of hope in helping us be strong and courageous. Not hope in general, but hope in the LORD. When you face injustice, when life is unfair, when friends disappoint you and family saddens you, the Psalmist invites you to put your hope in the LORD. [Psalm 31:24 Good News Bible]
When your hope is in the LORD, you trust that he hears you, that he listens to your complaints, that he knows your situation, and that he is with you in it. When you hope in the LORD, you’re trusting that he is at work to bring good out of the difficult situation.
This kind of trusting hope can sustain the strength and courage to keep doing what is right. It can undermine the despair and bitterness that creeps in, and keep us from turning sour and cynical as you try to right what is wrong in the world.
Hope in the LORD does not prevent all of our sufferings, for we live in a beautiful but broken world where every living thing will die. Hope does enable us to be healed from the brokenness and it can magnify what is beautiful in life.
Jesus suffered in this beautiful yet broken world, and it was his hope in the LORD that enabled him to forgive those who betrayed him, bless those who tortured him and love those who hated him.
Of course, this was not easy for Jesus. It was with blood, sweat, and tears that he prayed for strength and courage to endure the coming crucifixion. It was prayer sustained by hope in the faithfulness and love of the LORD.
Don’t try to feel strong or courageous, don’t try to feel hopeful.
To be strong, to be courageous, to be hope-full in the LORD are all actions. It’s how others will describe you as they observe you doing the hard work of not despairing, of forgiving, of persevering in justice, mercy, humility, and joy.
How can you become more hope-full in the LORD?
It helps to hang out with others that are also hope-full. Learn from them, talk it out with them, watch them, pray with them.
Together, be attentive to the presence of Christ in your life. Trust that the LORD is with you, always working for the restoration of all things in your community.
Read the gospels of Jesus being strong and courageous, and that of the apostle Paul in the New Testament. Read the stories of the prophets in the Old Testament too.
Take a moment to give thanks throughout the day for what is going well, and ask others for help when it’s getting tough trying to do what is right.
You can also make this your breath-prayer, let it be on your mind and in your spirit throughout the day: “Be strong, be courageous, all you that hope in the LORD.”