IT’S OKAY TO FAINT!

Proverbs 24:10

If you faint when under pressure, you have need of courage (TPT).

If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small (AMPC).

If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn’t much to you in the first place (MSG).

Hello, I am here to appear unscriptural, but not negate the holy scripture. The first time I saw the scripture highlighted in multiple versions above, I thought to myself – I must be resolute, I must be courageous my strength and my mind must be on point at all times, I can’t be caught fainting or being referred to as “there wasn’t much to her in the first place”. However, a couple of days before this article was published, I saw the statement again and guess what, the very first thing that came to mind was – it’s okay for your strength to fail in the days of adversity, it’s okay to faint, very very okay. 

Why is it okay, you ask me? Very simply, fainting shows you where your lapses, are and where the gaps are. Let me break it down further, soul exhaustions and body exhaustions are valid. Fear and a lack of courage or willingness to continue on a path and to want to turn tail and run is valid and again I say, it’s okay to feel this way.  

But when does it stop being okay, when does it lead to becoming a failure? – when you don’t introspect on the WHY and what that fainting, fear, lack of courage, smallness in strength, and exhaustion is showing you. While it’s okay to feel all of these, there is something all of these tell you about a particular area of your life, your mental strength, your soul wellness and your mental health. If you listen well enough and introspect, you then have to proceed to brutal honesty. Be strict with admitting to yourself that this area of my life needs to be worked on, and my strength/courage/resilience needs to be built. 

While being honest with yourself, also be kind enough to remember that this area of your life doesn’t need perfection, it needs growth. Once, you kindly admit to yourself that it isn’t about perfection, but about growth, the next step and question to ask would be what do I need for this growth to happen? What do I need to grow in this area of my life?

If you are doing this at the beginning or start of the year such as we are in, focusing on this growth area should for example be your goal or one of your goals for the year or season. It’s easier to keep up with such a personal self-revealing goal than goals such as,  “I must read 20 books this year” or “I must increase my income to 1 million naira monthly this year”, all of which are not invalid. However, the more you grow in life, the better you realize that mental strength, inner strength, and soul prosperity make it way easier to achieve every other goal, ambition, resolution, or outward appearance of success. 

Again, it’s okay to faint, but, when you do, revive and refresh yourself, and start growing again after all growth is a constant thing in life.