The Isaiah Gifts: Fortitude

Solomon was one of the wisest men in the world—some say the wisest—yet for all his wisdom he did some pretty foolish things. Like, for instance, marrying 700 women! Leave aside the practical difficulties inherent in this situation, what he did was in direct violation of the commands of God.

They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. (1 Kings 11:1-3).

What's the lesson here? That while wisdom will let us know the right thing to do, it will not ensure that we do the right thing. That requires a special gift: a gift of fortitude, or courage.

The farmer in the field (see previous entries), knew what he had to do—he had to sell all he had to possess the treasure and everything else around it. But how easy was it for him to do that—to get rid of everything he had? He wouldn't have had much of value. Perhaps a photo album with a thousand memories; a treasured keepsake from his deceased mother; an old couch that he spent hours in before the fireplace; a stamp album passed down through the generations .... It may not seem like much, but I am sure that he found it difficult. Just as we find it difficult to get rid of things we are attached to. It takes courage, tremendous courage, to do so and that's a gift we need in our lives.

A few days ago I spoke about the struggle I had in recommitting myself to God (see Hineni, Abba). What was the struggle about, really? I spend a lot of time in prayer. I spend a lot of my time in ministering to his people. I am extremely close to God and try to ensure that I live in His will. So why did I find it difficult to recommit? Because I knew that he was going to ask me to give up things again the moment I said "yes." And I didn't want to! Let me explain.

During the first few years after I had first committed myself to God, all I thought about was Him. I had lost all interest in the secular world and all it contained. I wouldn't watch movies, or read books, or do anything that was unspiritual, not because they were bad, but because they were a distraction from the mission I believe I had been called to.

Over the past few months, however, I discovered I was slowly slipping back into old habits, and they were starting to feel comfortable. Kinda like a warm, old blanket that you hadn't used for a while. Not a bad thing, really, except you eventually begin to like it, and there is the very real danger that you might like so much, you wanna stay snuggled under it. And that doesn't make God too happy. Not when there is work to be done. And he asks you to say, "Hineni" again. And you find it hard. Because it is painful to come out from under, to cut off the things you are attached to—be they people or possessions. And it takes a lot of courage to do so.

But then it's a gift that God will give us if we ask. And we need to ask. Because we are all called to give up everything for the kingdom of heaven. And we can't do it without the gift of fortitude.