An Elaborate Soul Meets an Extraordinary Force

Paul writes to the church at Corinth in 2nd Corinthians chapter 1, reflecting on the power of encouragement, even when hope could be waning:
7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.
9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

Believers in Christ have the ability to hope in Christ, even when hope seems lost. And, we can know God is faithful - just think, when Jesus had been crucified and laid in the grave, that was not the end of the story...on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead. That's the point of what Paul is saying here - even in times of despair, when life's challenges are overwhelming, we can know the presence of the abiding God, who loves us and gives us enduring strength. Great pressure can produce great faith in our Almighty Lord! So, when the pressure hits and our vision becomes clouded, we can begin to see through the eyes of faith to a God who gives us sustaining power!

In reflecting on a victory, David reflected on the power of God, whom he credits with the triumph.  Here is what he wrote in Psalm 9:
1I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders.2I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.3My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you.4For you have upheld my right and my cause; you have sat on your throne, judging righteously.

Malcolm Gladwell has established quite a reputation in seeing and analyzing activities and trends that are not necessarily readily seen.  In his bestselling book, The Tipping Point, according to his website, he talks about that moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Blink deals with how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant - in the blink of an eye - that actually aren’t as simple as they seem.

In David and Goliath, Gladwell is said to uncover the hidden rules that shape the balance between the weak and the mighty, the powerful and the dispossessed. And, in an interview with Sarah Pulliam Bailey for Religion News Service, he states that in the familiar Bible story, David might not have been as much of an underdog as you might think or that we have been taught to believe.   He says:

David was very skilled at using the weapon and he was filled with the spirit of the Lord. Put those things together, why is he an underdog? He’s smarter than his opponent, better armed and he had this extraordinary force in his heart. When you understand that perspective, you understand that sometimes our instinct about where power comes from is wrong.

Well, apparently Gladwell has encountered this "extraordinary force". He tells Bailey that, after being raised in a Christian home, with a Mennonite background,

This book has brought me back into the fold. I was so incredibly struck in writing these stories by the incredible power faith had in people’s lives, it has made a profound impact on me in my belief. That’s been the completely unexpected effect of writing this book. I am in the process of rediscovering my own faith again.

In the interview, Gladwell does highlight how the book relates that much of what is beautiful and powerful in the world comes from adversity and struggle.   He says that the other theme is that people who appear to have no material advantage are much more powerful than they appear.

In the process of rediscovering his own faith, Gladwell says that, "Here I was writing about people of extraordinary circumstances and it slowly dawned on me that I can have that too."

It is gratifying to see a trusted, high-profile author talking so forthrightly about his personal faith journey.   And, he offers to us some pertinent points for our lives.   Even in books like The Tipping Point and Blink, he examines occurrences that are not readily seen - you may even say that he offers analysis into the unseen. Faith operates in that realm - providing, as Hebrews 11 says, evidence of things not seen.   And, in David and Goliath, he really examines what is in the heart.  

God has wired us in a certain way, and there are seemingly hidden components of our souls that govern the way we think, our method of operation, and the decisions we make.  You have an elaborate soul, and there is much in you that the Lord wants to bring out. You have been created in the image of God, and He wants to activate and illuminate our souls so that we operate in tandem with Himself.  

Even the decisions that are made in the "blink of an eye" result from what is within.   And, within each of us, because of the presence of that extraordinary force of the Spirit of Almighty God, there are wonderful things that He wants to bring to pass.

And, we have experience from which to draw.   Gladwell points out that even our adversity in our lives can help to teach us and shape us, and help us in the actions we take.  Who we have become results from what we have encountered in our lives, and even though we may not realize, in the struggle, God is producing character in our lives.