Why Become a Soul on Fire?
"The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire"- Ferdinand Foch
Mr. Foch knew a lot about war. He eventually became the Supreme Allied Commander in World War One and was a very distinguished French military thinker and leader.
The allied forces had over 42 million men1, not to mention all the tanks, ships, airplanes, explosives, and guns at their disposal. So out of all that, why would he choose the human soul as the most powerful weapon?
Let me attempt to answer for ole Ferdinand. The human soul is the only thing on earth that can freely choose to be a conduit of God’s will…..and God is pretty powerful.
Think about this:
There have been over 2,000 nuclear weapons detonated since 19452 and yet we are still standing. People died and it was probably not great for the environment but more or less, things are still status quo.
Let’s contrast that with little old Adam and Eve. They were sitting in the garden, minding their p’s and q’s, when the serpent rolls up and tricks them into CHOOSING to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
So what’s more powerful, detonating 2,000 nuclear bombs or eating an apple?
Turns out, under the right circumstances, eating an apple is.
That decision immediately brought a judgement onto the entire universe. With it entered death, destruction, a rupture in the structure of reality, and the need for God to die in atonement for it. All over a human choice. So ya….the human soul is for sure a weapon of war.
Ok, great. How does this have anything to do with my mental health issues?
You have this tremendous suffering and difficulty in your life with your mental health challenges. We want to harness that energy into a powerful means of war by voluntarily accepting this challenge.
I believe the world is in the throes of one of, if not the, greatest battles of all time right now. This one is for all the marbles….and no one is coming to our rescue.
Listen, I am not suggesting we go out and hurt or threaten anyone. These are largely covert operations. We want to win graces of healing for individuals and families, peace in the world, and the rightful order of the universe to be restored. Your suffering is extremely valuable and I want to help you get the most bang for your buck.
The war around us is being waged on a spiritual level and our primary weapons are surrender, love, and suffering.
“For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.”- Ephisians 6:12
Mr. Foch said “the will to conquer is the first condition of victory”. One of his main tenants was the importance of thought, will, and going on the offensive in winning a war. From the man himself:
"War = the domain of moral forces.
Victory = moral superiority in the victors; moral depression in the vanquished.
Battle = a struggle between two wills."3
This is the problem with us (me in particular). We don’t have the will to conquer. We have the will to get by, to give into compulsions, to make it to the weekend, to stay under the radar, to not speak up. God said the opposite to us:
“Jesus said to him: No man putting his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”- Luke 9:62
When Jesus says it, we get all bent out of shape and start complaining. At least I know I do. When worldly leaders say it, we get all fired up:
“Surely the opening vistas of space promise high costs and hardships, as well as high reward. So it is not surprising that some would have us stay where we are a little longer to rest, to wait. But this city of Houston, this State of Texas, this country of the United States was not built by those who waited and rested and wished to look behind them. This country was conquered by those who moved forward--and so will space.”
“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard…..because that challenge is one we are willing to accept”4
- John F. Kennedy
“You ask, what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory. Victory at all costs—Victory in spite of all terror—Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival.”5
- Winston Churchill
So, how do we do fight this war?
The first step is to acknowledge that we are completely incapable of it and surrender our wills to God. Nothing good is capable of flowing purely from a human will. That was what got us into this mess in the first place (serpent, apple, disobedience…ring a bell?). As I stated above, the problem is that WE don’t have the will to conquer but I know someone who does.
The first thing we need is for God to take our wills and give us His in return. Now as it relates to your mental health struggles, I suggest, simply start each day with a Surrender Prayer. Don’t worry about how you feel, your resistances, what you think, your fears, etc….just keep on surrendering.
If I could honestly have only one weapon in my fight against mental illness, this prayer would be it. It’s not a panacea. I still take my medication, engage in helpful behaviors, try not to be such a selfish, narcissistic jerk and all that. However, when it doesn’t flow out of this surrender, there is a difference. I am faaaaaaar from perfect in my surrender. In fact, I would say trying to manipulate God and refuse His will is one of my biggest strengths. If I am still qualified to say this prayer, anyone is.
Your mental illness is not just about you anymore. Your suffering has purpose and value….the world honestly needs you to embrace this and the first step to embracing it is to give it all to God.
“I am the vine: you the branches: he that abideth in me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.”- John 15:5
Let’s start by acknowledging the mess our lives are in and ask Dad to help us clean it up.
The other thing we want to work on is the disposition from which all our efforts flow. I’ve spent a lot of time, effort, and money trying to “fix” myself and my situations but unfortunately it didn’t all flow from love. Well actually it did….but it was self-love. Love of God and neighbor is what we are aiming for. Why?
“We know that all things work for good for those who love God”- Romans Chapter 8:28
If you are anything like me, you have a lot of evils you have done in your life that need be worked out for good. To be honest, I find it really difficult to love God about half the time. There’s good news though, God will actually let us borrow his love to love Him in return.
God takes our evils and brings good out of them. In fact, that is one of the things that differentiates Him from false Gods…..but we have to love Him first. Love is not primarily a feeling but a decision to do what is best for others and yourself, in light of God’s designs.
I know that if you are really struggling with mental health challenges, loving God can seem like the furthest thing from your mind…..but it really does change things. Instead of ruminating on our problems all day, which really doesn’t accomplish anything let us instead start trying to love God.
"Since love completes all, makes all hard things soft, and the difficult easy, let us strive to make all our acts proceed from love."
–St. Arnold Janssen
Arnie has a point here. It’s cliche but love changes things. The primary love we need right now is God’s love for us and our love for him.
But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
- Romans 5:8
God loves you, like for real. Even if you are the most flamboyant, satan worshiping, actively practicing homosexual, God hating person out there….God still loves you. In fact, God still loves satan. He’s God…..He is incapable of not loving. The problem is that we put things in the way of His love (another topic for a later date). So surrender to Him and let Him love you where you are at…..wherever that happens to be.
We have established our disposition of surrender and love, there’s one more thing we need to discuss.
We have an ace up our sleeve in this fight…..and it’s our royal heritage.
We are sons and daughters of God.
“Oh wow, I’m a son of God. Laaa dee da, that’s a nice pious platitude. I need a real solution.”
No, no, no. This actually means something. As Ferdinand pointed out above
“War = domain of moral forces”.
As sons and daughters of God, we have THE RIGHT to have dominion over our bodies (including our mind) by virtue of our birth….EVIL HAS NO RIGHTS OVER US. None, not even a little bit…..but unfortunately, we have to fight to maintain this order.
Dad’s army has a code of conduct. When we violate it, we hand over our rights to evil. If we do this, believe me, they will take advantage of it.
As we go through this process, we will discuss some of the ways evil gains entry into our lives to influence us, particularly as it relates to OCD and mental health. Even when we sin though, God still determines the degree to which evil is allowed into our lives AND even then, He only allows it for our potential good. For right now, let God do the worrying and us do the surrendering.
The king is responsible for all the battle plans, the coordination, providing the resources, and ultimately the victory or defeat rests on his shoulders. We are just responsible for deciding which side we want to be on and accepting the assignments he gives us.
God, as creator of all, also has a right to rule in every human heart. All the evils that we see in the world come from the human heart so the first area we need to re-capture in this war is right inside our chest.
“Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.”- Mark 7:15
God really does love you and want what’s best for you, no matter what you have done. You are a son or daughter of the king……so be that. That’s where your true power lies to set the world ablaze.
“Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire”
- St. Catherine of Siena6
World War I: Troop Statistics (scottmanning.com)
The Nuclear Testing Tally | Arms Control Association
First World War.com - Feature Articles - Unjustly Accused: Marshal Ferdinand Foch and the French 'Cult of the Offensive'
John F. Kennedy – Speech To Rice University (Excerpt) | Genius
Winston Churchill - Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat - Online Speech Bank (americanrhetoric.com)
St. Catherine of Siena’s Fire Was Stoked in Conversation With God| National Catholic Register (ncregister.com)