The Spirit Of A Man

The strong spirit of a man sustains him in bodily pain or trouble, but a weak and broken spirit who can raise up or bear?” (Proverbs 18:14 Amplified)

David Rabin was a professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University. When he was 46 he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease. He knew what would happen. Stiffness in the legs, then weakness; paralysis of the lower limbs and then the upper. Eventually his body would no longer obey his commands. He could form words only with the greatest difficulty and eventually not at all. He lost his ability to treat patients and could no longer go to the hospital to work. He would have had a brilliant academic career; now he couldn't even turn the pages of a book. But there was one thing he would not surrender: His Spirit! One day he heard from a fellow physician who also had Lou Gehrig's Disease about a computer that could be operated by a single switch. That switch could be operated by anyone, however physically challenged, who retained the function of just one muscle group. David Rabin still had enough strength in one part of his body - His Eyebrow. So for the next four years he used it to speak to his family, tell jokes, write papers and review manuscripts. He carried on a medical consulting practice. He taught medical students. He published a comprehensive textbook on endocrinology and achieved a prestigious award for his work. And he did it all with the only thing he could control - A Single Eyebrow. He reminds me of the quote: “The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground.” (Author Unknown).

The Bible says: "The Strong Spirit of a man will sustain him in bodily pain or trouble..." (Prov. 18:14 AMP). David Rabin proved that to be true! With a Spirit that refused to give up, and one eyebrow, he served God and blessed the world around him! G.B. Shaw said it right: “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.”

If the truth be told, far too many of us are allowing circumstances, no matter how big or small, to stop us from persevering forward! For one man to accomplish all he did with only the use of one eyebrow, do you really think you can come up with a suitable excuse for why you haven’t accomplished all that God has assigned to your hands?! Therefore, stop whining over what didn’t work or what fell to pieces on you! And follow Flavia Weedn’s advice: “If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again.” It’s not about all that went wrong, it’s about having the right attitude about what went wrong!

Victor Frankl was a highly respected psychiatrist in Vienna who lost everything when the Nazis rose to power. They took his home, career and freedom. His parents, brother and wife were all killed in the gas ovens. He spent years in Auschwitz where he was beaten, starved, brutalized, and dehumanized. He saw his friends die daily. The manuscript he had devoted his life to, pinned all his scholarly hopes on, was found and destroyed. The suffering and torture inflicted on Frankl are difficult to comprehend and absorb. He was even made to compete with other prisoners for scraps of food and made to work in the snow with no shoes, forced to watch the random execution of friends at the whim of a guard. Never knowing from one day to the next if he would be forced to shovel out the ashes that the day before had been his friends bodies or if he would be part of the ashes himself. Gradually, emaciated, naked, humiliated, sick, without reasonable hope of liberation or reunion with loved ones, Frankl began to realize that there was one freedom left to him! He saw how some prisoners even though they were starving, would offer their bread to others. He saw how some prisoners, though weakened, tried to comfort those even weaker. He came to realize the last of the human freedoms is to choose one's attitude...in any given set of circumstances! There, in that camp, Frankl began to make decisions. He chose to cherish the thought of those he loved. He chose to give what help as a doctor he was able to offer to others. He looked for ways to exercise his freedom. He grew very conscious about making choices....the things he would think about, the words he would use, the tone in which he would speak them, how he would respond to humiliation....and his freedom began to expand! And all it took was a choice to possess a made up mind about how to have the right attitude! If you need some help adjusting your attitude, try to remember 10 of my favorite quotes:

1. “Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.” (Anthony J. D’Angelo).

2. “Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples, don’t count on harvesting Golden Delicious.” (Bill Meyer).

3. “The only disability in life is a bad attitude.” (Scott Hamilton).

4. “When you feel dog tired at night, it may be because you’ve growled all day long.” (Author Unknown).

5. “No life is so hard that you can’t make it easier by the way you take it.” (Ellen Glasgow).

6. “Too many people miss the silver lining because they’re expecting gold.” (Maurice Setter).

7. “We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails.” (Author Unknown).

8. “The world is full of cactus, but we don’t have to sit on it.” (Will Foley).

9. “Optimist: someone who isn’t sure whether life is a tragedy or a comedy but is tickled silly just to be in the play.” (Robert Brault).

10. “Physical strength is measured by what we can carry; Spiritual strength by what we can bear.” (Author Unknown).

Frankl had an attitude that said: you can keep me in the cemetery, but you can’t stop me from walking around and putting fresh flowers on every grave! Do you have an attitude that powerful?! If not, get one! “Stubbornly persist, and you will find that the limits of your stubbornness go well beyond the stubbornness of your limits.” (Robert Brault).

Lastly, I’ve come to find out that one of the greatest Bible Champions in handling hardship is Daniel. Circumstances beyond his control caused him to lose his freedom, his home, his culture, his friendships, his status. And had he chosen to, Daniel could have spent all his time complaining, asking, ‘Why me?’, and wondering ‘What if?’ and being totally consumed and obsessed about things over which he had no control. You know, like a lot of us tend to do! But Daniel chose not to do this. Instead, Daniel made some choices about things he could control. One of which was his attitude! Daniel flourished because even in exile he refused to believe he was helpless! Now, we, like Daniel, will spend some time in Babylon, in exile, in prison. Sometimes dreams will go unfulfilled, health will disappear, and hopes will fade. But the question is never, “What have I lost?’ It's always “What do I have left?’! Saints, “Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway.” (Emory Austin).

Rabin, Frankl and Daniel all proved that adjusting your attitude helps you to see life with a Proper Perspective! This day determine that you will allow nothing and no one to deplete your strength; or invade your atmosphere with negativity! Make it your business to adjust your attitude that your vision of life is no longer impaired by temporary circumstances!