Be Strong
By Winifred Wilkinson Hausmann … as seen on unity.org
Strength is not simply a physical quality. As with all the Twelve Powers, it expresses itself on three levels, each one complementing the others in this life expression on the earth plane.
In the physical realm, strength is vitality, endurance, the ability to persist. In the mental area of expression, strength is that quality of mind which enables one to lead, to accomplish, to follow through on decisions, to establish purposes in life, and to hold firm to spiritual principles in daily living. It expresses itself as stability of character.
The highest expression, and the one that should determine the direction of strength in the other realms, is the spiritual realization of this quality. Here strength is closely allied with faith. In the symbology of the 12 disciples and the 12 qualities of mind that we are to develop as Jesus encouraged and developed his closest followers, strength and faith are represented by the brothers Andrew and Peter.
Peter must be the first of our qualities to be unfolded in a spiritual way, because without faith there is no impetus to action and no foundation for a program of spiritual growth. Faith also is our innate ability to see the unseen, plus the desire to persist in order to bring it forth. But faith has to be established in strength. The “two brothers” must grow together, both under the loving direction of our own Christ nature, the “perfect human” idea within us.
Faith must continually be strengthened, and strength must be inspired to right action by spiritual faith. In a spiritual way, then, strength enables us to persist in prayer, to build a stronger and stronger faith in our spiritual nature and the activity of God through us, and to do the things that need to be done by us as a part of becoming the “fourth dimension” person that our Twelve Powers, spiritually developed, enable us to be.
The person who depends on physical strength alone is constantly being challenged by others in the human thought and eventually will be overcome by one who is stronger. … Mental strength alone—pitted against the strong mind of another—may result in a test of wills, a human contest, with the same results. Only spiritual strength remains nonresistant, triumphant, regardless of the challenge.
For the best results, both physical and mental strength must be rooted in the spiritual development of the strength faculty. …
… Strength is a quality that we can and must develop if we are to bring forth our God-given potential. It is to be brought forth along with the other 11 powers, but it must be basic in our growth.
As you begin your development of this faculty represented by Andrew, declare quietly to yourself: Through the will and the work of [Spirit] within, my God-given potential of strength is developed and expressed—easily and in divine order. Remember that strength is to be developed easily, not with tension and strain, but with a relaxed, trusting attitude.
… As with all the powers, strength is consciously awakened first in the intellectual nature and then developed (through prayerful concentration on the idea) to be a spiritual realization of oneness with the Source of all strength.
.
