Strength, Agility...

             The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. For the director of music. On my stringed instruments. (Habakkuk 3:19)

 

Viktor Frankl (1905-1997) was the son of Gabriel and Elsa Frankl. They were Jews who lived in Austria, which means that when Hitler annexed Austria, he was thrown into a concentration camp. He was already a psychiatrist and had already published papers on his perspectives (called Logo Therapy,) but according to Man’s Search for Meaning, he at least confirmed to himself the idea that if someone had a “why,” he could survive the “how.”

Now, I am not suggesting that God cannot and does not supernaturally give strength, agility, and ability. I’m not limiting or discounting God. Rather, I’m doing the opposite. God can and does also give “normal” strength, agility, and ability, and “normal” determination to people. And He can and does give all those things in levels somewhere between normal and supernatural. Sometimes, the gift is given in supernatural ways. Sometimes, it’s in what we’d consider normal ways.

And one of those normal ways of giving strength involves what Viktor Frankl suggested. If we have a why, we can survive the how, or at least survive it better. The bigger, stronger, and more important they why is to us, the bigger, stronger, and more difficult hows we can endure.

Think in terms of the various superheroes popular today. Would Bruce Wayne be Batman if his parents hadn’t died? Many of them have a why, if only in a sense of responsibility or comradery with other superheroes. Think of the real heroes who go into burning buildings, catch murderers, learn to perform surgery, or even give blood that saves a life. If they didn’t see what they were doing as good and important - if they didn’t have a why, they probably wouldn’t do what they do, and the world would be worse for it. Consider the stories we hear about people doing amazing things for their loved ones.

          How much more should we be strong when our why is God? At least, when our why is really God. But this is where I demand the supernatural. If my dedication to God isn’t proven at the level of a super saint, or a martyr, If I’m not in full-time ministry… if I’m not Moses, David, Elijah, Elisha, Daniel, Esther, and Deborah all rolled into one, is my why too small? Am I a failure because I’m not living a bigger life than I do?

          I’m not looking for pity or advice. These are questions we all ask, or should. And the answer isn’t to go look for bigger things to do for God. The answer is to look for a bigger God- not another god.