How to Encourage Yourself 101 (Part 2)

1) Redefine failure
Mistakes can be valuable learning experiences. There is a well-known definition of insanity attributed to Albert Einstein: “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” If you take yourself too seriously, you may want to give up when you make mistakes instead of learning from them and moving on. The real difference between success and failure is a matter of character. It helps to have a clear understanding of the grace of God and how He works in our lives. If we continue to grow in our walk with God and our relationships, while staying on course in the purpose for our lives, we are successful.

2) View stress as a challenge, not a threat
People tend to run or hide from a threat, but rise to a challenge. In his book “Adversity Quotient: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities”, Paul Stoltz teaches individuals and organizations how to boost their “AQ” and help the people they lead to do the same by isolating stressful events and responding in a positive way to bring resolution. One of my favorite empowering verses is: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13)

3) See beyond difficult times
This, too, will pass. Can you endure your trial for one more day? Ask God for the strength, peace and joy for today, just taking it one day at a time. And one day, you will be looking back on that trial as a thing of the past. The lessons you learned during that time will be helpful for someone else who is going through similar difficulties. 2 Cor 1:3,4

4) Read and listen to encouraging materials
I am always reading the Bible and some other book. It is a habit I began more than twenty years ago, having learned it from my father. But I am always amazed by the study habits of great men and women a century or so ago. I suppose they had fewer distractions than we do in the modern age, but we have a benefit they never had. We have immediate access to information, music and videos online, which can serve as a source of study, inspiration and encouragement. I am also greatly inspired by music. I am always encouraged when I listen to my favorite artists.

5) Encourage others
When I take time to encourage someone else, I often come away with a better perspective of my own situation. My trials usually seem smaller. God refreshes us when we minister to others. “He who waters will himself be watered.” Prov 11:25

6) Pray
I can’t think of anyone better to talk to on any given day about any concern than God. Enough said!

How to Encourage Yourself 101 (Part 1)

Life has seasons which include times of difficulty and isolation, but these times can serve to stretch us in a positive way and not crush us with discouragement when we make the most of them. I am sure you can come up with a list of your own, but here are the ways I find encouragement time and time again, like warm slippers and a mug of hot chocolate on a cold, wintry day.

1) Gratitude
This is usually the quickest, sure fix when I am in a quagmire. Once when I was growing up we invited an atheist over for our Thanksgiving celebration (an American holiday). We had a family tradition of going around the table for everyone to say what they were thankful for over the past year. Our guest said she had nothing to be thankful for. She not only lacked a “for what”, but a “to whom”. It was sad because her life was consumed with bitterness.

2) Don’t dwell on the past
Learn from it, but don’t live there. Albert Schweitzer said “Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.” Today requires our attention; tomorrow our planning and foresight. Which season is the best in your life? The one you are in, or at least it can be. God does not waste a life fully surrendered to him in love.

3) Find encouraging people
I don’t like to be around people who have the “spirit of rebuke,” meaning that they feel it is their duty to constantly correct others. You probably don’t either. Everyone is in the battle of their lives, so they need encouragement. Everyone needs at least someone who is their biggest fan and who has a heart to stand with them even when they need to be challenged or corrected.

4) Find encouraging places
I already have a favorite region in the city where we moved to recently. It is “Podol” in Kiev. When I walk up St. Andrews Descent where artists sell their works in the cool, autumn air and look out over the river, the trees covered in colorful fall leaves and the beautiful, ancient architecture, I feel so refreshed.

5) Rehearse truth
Feelings are transient; truth is not. Truth encourages because it has the power to lift us above our circumstances and transform us. For example, Martin Luther was profoundly liberated by the truth that we are saved by grace on the basis of faith, delivering him from the dungeon of trying to earn his salvation through meaningless religious practices that had no power to change him on the inside. Also, the truth that God is simultaneously perfect in love and perfect in justice is greatly encouraging. Then there are the truths about our lives personally, such as knowing our unique value, purpose and potential in the areas of our talents. And the list goes on.

Six more ways soon to come . . .
Next post: How to Encourage Yourself 101 (Part 2)

Is the Unexamined Life Worth Living?

“Every man dies. Not every man really lives.” - William Wallace

Socrates made the claim that “the unexamined life is not worth living”. Many people go through the motions of life without really considering what it is all about, giving little thought to why they do what they do.

I remember having lunch with a Japanese friend in Manila. She is an accomplished pianist who speaks English with a posh French accent, owing to her years of study in France. During the course of our conversation, I asked if she had ever given thought to the purpose of her life, and if there was a God who created her, giving her the beautiful gift of music she enjoyed. Her answer was no, she had never thought about it and she considered that quite common in her culture.

The next few times we met, it was clear that she was giving it some thought and as we said our good-byes, she confessed that one of her struggles with faith was the behavior of some people who claim to believe in God. I have been reading a book by a journalist who is an atheist (his book is a current US bestseller), and many of the arguments he brings up have to do with strange practices, ridiculous statements, and even evil acts perpetrated by some people who believe in God. I can’t help but think that God cringes, yes, is even heart-broken over these same things. Still, He says we are without excuse.

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

Some who claim that belief in God is a “leap of faith” are ice skating on the edge of reason in their disbelief. They fall off into nothing. According to Ravi Zacharias, “If there’s such a thing as evil, you assume there’s such a thing as good. If you assume there’s such a thing as good, you assume there’s such a thing as a moral law on the basis of which to differentiate between good and evil. If you assume there’s such a thing as a moral law, you must posit a moral law giver, but that’s whom they are trying to disprove and not prove.”

There is a difference, a huge chasm, between God and humanity. We are responsible and accountable before God for our own lives. I enjoy being around children who take in the wonder of everything around them with a steady stream of “wow!”s and “why?”s. Even though I grew up in a Christian home, my own faith has been challenged and examined. I am a believer in Jesus Christ because I believe His claims are true and answer the major questions of my existence. We were never meant to live a life lulled to sleep in the “comfort” of unchallenged tradition or belief systems encouraged by the cultures in which we live. Some time between the inquisitiveness of childhood and adulthood, a kind of alarming stultification can set in. Sometimes the events of our lives can bring us to a place of confusion and cynicism.

Where is the curiosity? Where is the wonder? Where is the passion for life and knowing who we are and to whom we owe this wonderful existence? It is not just an intellectual pursuit; it is a matter of the heart – God’s pursuit of our hearts.

Take some time to examine your life and what you believe:

What do I believe?
Why am I here?
What am I living for?
How did I arrive at my belief/disbelief in God?
How much of my belief is shaped by my culture or by disappointments and bad experiences?
Have I seriously considered the claims of Jesus Christ?

How do I live my life?
Does my life follow what I believe?
How do I treat the people closest to me?
Do I help others with my abilities and resources?
Do I take positive risks to live life to its fullest and fulfill my dreams?
Is my heart filled with love and compassion?

Related posts: Life Has Been Answered; What is a Christian?
Next post: How to Encourage Yourself 101 (a lighter topic)