Confidence by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

Author:Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780824934729
Publisher: Guideposts
Published: 2013-07-15T04:00:00+00:00

ENTHUSIASM MAKES LIFE GOOD

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

—John 10:10 NIV

One of the greatest words in the English language is enthusiasm. It describes a spirit that adds zest to life. In fact, enthusiasm makes life good. It is a gift of God. The very word enthusiasm relates to God. It is derived from two Greek words, en and theos; en meaning “in” and theos being the Greek word for “God.” So enthusiasm means in God or God-in-you; it means full of God.

Of course, the idea of enthusiasm isn't “in” with a certain segment of the American population today. For them enthusiasm is out; glumness is in. Enthusiasm is out; cynicism is in. But many of these bewildered souls will eventually discover to their sorrow that they are “out” by being “in,” for enthusiasm does make life good.

How is your enthusiasm? Life with its buffetings may have knocked enthusiasm out of you. Or you may have become so sophisticated that you think enthusiasm is something that belongs to a bygone generation. Don't delude yourself. Get enthusiasm back. Without it life is poor; with it life is good. It makes you feel strong. It gives you a sense of mastery. It gives you a consciousness of your own value and worth. You take hold of the world when enthusiasm takes hold of you.

Enthusiasm, however, is a quality that must be affirmed and reaffirmed. My friend Donald Curtis, pastor of a church in Los Angeles, has a devotion that he suggests for daily use, and I think it's very good. He suggests you affirm to yourself each morning this or something equivalent to it: I move serenely forward into the adventure of life today. I am filled with inspiration and enthusiasm. I am guided and protected by the Infinite in everything I say and do. I project confidence and authority. I am sure of myself in every situation. With God's help I am filled with the strength and energy to be what I am and to do what I have to do. . .

That is the deep, rejuvenated consciousness you get when you let enthusiasm take over. Don't resist it. Don't reject it. Don't cast it out. Don't say you're too old for it. Don't say it isn't the “in” thing. Get in with this and you are really in.

The Christian religion is full of this. In the thirty-sixth Psalm, the ninth verse (KJV), are the words, “For with thee is the fountain of life.” What a picture—the fountain of life! It brings to mind one glorious Sunday at the Palace of Versailles when all of a sudden they turned on the fountains and the water burst forth with a gush and a roar and an upthrust as though reaching for the sun, dancing and singing. “For with thee (God) is the fountain of life.” When you get God in your life, you get so excited that you can hardly endure it.

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