Step into the ring!

Last week I was somehow discouraged and my responsibilities, which I do voluntarily and actually enjoy doing, seemed tedious and exhausting. Then a text caught my attention which is quoted a lot and which touches me again and again. It is part of a speech by Theodore Roosevelt from 1910:

“It is not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

In my state of discouragement, however, I found that this sounds great and heroic, but that I lacked the strength for it. I urgently needed a boost of energy and some joy to go with it! I need to understand that God is with me so that I can step into the arena. Otherwise I won’t have the strength, courage and endurance for it!

God is with you and with me! If we move into his awaiting presence, we feel his peace and his power. Then we realize once again: He has put an enthusiasm in our hearts that wants to be put into practice, so that a another spark of God’s glory comes into the world. And he equips us with everything we need for this!

It is comfortable to stay out of it and let those do it who have the supposedly right skills for it. It is comfortable to think of oneself as weak and to say, “What can I do anyway?” To dare to enter the arena is associated with the thought and the fact of making mistakes and failing. It’s not comfortable. But it is not the critic who counts, because he does nothing and gets nothing done, he has no new ideas, and even less does he accomplish anything new.

The glory belongs to the person who enters the ring, who dares to stand up for his convictions, who allows themselves to be ridiculed for new ideas, who makes a splash because they want to change something, who takes steps towards a better future. The glory belongs to the person who gets up again, doesn’t let themselves be put off and continues to fight because they want to help the weak and see the good come to pass.

With everything we do, there is a risk of being criticized. But the opinions of people are not important, especially from those who do not step into the ring. What is important is what God thinks. And he loves us beyond all measure and is immensely pleased when we take steps and are courageous. There is a reason he tells us 365 times in the Bible: “Do not be afraid!” God is serious about it!

Do you have an enthusiasm for something that is so worthwhile to you that you are willing to take a risk? Has God put something in your heart that keeps moving and attracting you? A certain group of people that you want to help? Do you have a special way of doing that? Serving, creating, teaching, practical help, comforting, designing, praying, listening, playing…?

Let the Spirit move you and lead you there! Let’s make the decision to be brave with our lives and take risks. It certainly doesn’t make life more comfortable, predictable or constant. But God does not call us into things that we dislike or that do not suit us! And he is with us! He has put a passion in you and me. To pursue this makes us alive and is exciting. Let’s be courageous, let’s step into the ring, he has prepared wonderful things for us.