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A Strong Spiritual Life By Braden Douglas

8 Qualities of a Strong Spiritual Life

How do you tell the difference between right and wrong?

The answer is your spiritual life, which encompasses everything you believe in and value. You don’t need to be a religious person in order to have an impact on the world, but you do need a strong moral compass—a spiritual life with the eight qualities in this list.

These characteristics are known in the Bible as the “fruit of the spirit.” Just as you know a good apple tree by the taste, size, and beauty of its apples, you can know your spiritual life by these characteristics in your life.

Love

Love has so many meanings with so many cultures. It’s defined as an intense feeling of deep affection. You can say you love someone, but it’s really shown in action.

As the New Testament in the Bible describes, when you’re patient and kind, that is love. Showing love means not being jealous, boastful, or rude, but hopeful, faithful, and honest.

Jesus even said to his disciples that the world will know you are my followers by the way you love each other. How are you showing love in your life?

If you can think of many actions of love, that’s a sign of a strong spiritual life.

Joy

Joy is defined as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness, but I think that definition is limited to an emotion. Chasing after emotions is like trying to get rich. When do you know you’ve achieved it?

I believe joy is actually a confident assurance of a positive outcome. If you’re a Christian, you know that you’re going to be in heaven one day. You’ve won an amazing prize that you didn’t even deserve.

That understanding should fill you with positive emotion that lasts and gives you spiritual strength even when your present circumstances challenge you.

Peace

The next sign of a strong spiritual life is peace. Today, we tend to view peace as the absence of conflict. However, to the apostle Paul in the Bible, peace or “shalom” means to be safe in mind, body, or estate, which is why “shalom” has been used as a salutation.

Its underlying meaning is to capture a sense of wholeness or completeness. In this definition, if you have peace in your life, you not only have an absence of conflict, but also a contentment that prevents conflicts from occurring.

Patience

Patience is, perhaps, the hardest quality on this list to master. It’s difficult for a lot of people to practice, especially if you have a type-A personality.

Patience is your capacity to accept or tolerate delay or suffering without becoming angry or upset. It’s an endurance character trait. People and circumstances will not always work or abide with your timelines or expectations. They will disappoint you. Responding with patience instead of frustration shows humility and spiritual fortitude.

Kindness

Kindness is the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate toward others.

A strong spiritual life will give you a heart that wants to help others. You don’t give out of guilt or an expectation of something in return. You give because you’re a kind person, and that’s what you do.

Kind people also tend to earn trust easier, build stronger relationships, and have more empathy and insight into the struggles of others.

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Braden Douglas is an advisory board member of LeaderImpact, a volunteer-led movement  which challenges all leaders to accomplish more through developing their personal, professional, and spiritual lives.

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