But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a disciplinarian. For through faith, you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. For all of you who baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. – Gal 3:25
Friends, God is good, all the time.
In positive Psychology, experts like Luthans, and others, have recently emphasized the benefits of psychological capital: hope, optimism, self-efficacy, and resilience. However, these excellent spiritual resources that have supported Christians to stand firm and undisturbed even during the worst of times for ages to advance the progress of their families and the world. For both Jesus and St. Paul, these resources are available to us as Christians because "now that faith has come" in Jesus Christ, there are several benefits. The Lord himself mentions that those who listen and put into practice the word of God is enabled to receive or do even the impossible. Faith opens the eyes of our hearts and minds to see the things that have not yet taken place so that we can work towards them or await their arrival.
Here is a good way to see the psychological capital as spiritual resources and take hold of them for our benefits as we go through life.
1. Be hopeful: Hope is something we develop interactively from our awareness that God has done so much in the world and continues to do more for us. Our hope as Christians is fixed on Jesus, who has the authority over all things. The apostle says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens “(Phil 3:13). Use Christian hope as the energy that stops despair, defeat, and giving up.
2. Be optimistic: Optimism relates to expectant faith and looking forward to God's right moment for things to happen. Generally, "optimists are people who expect good things to happen to them; pessimists are people who expect bad things to happen to them." God is constantly planning good things for us who follow his son.
3. Be self-efficacious: Self-efficacy is the confidence or trust we have in God and in our ability to rely on God's grace to mobilize our God-given gifts and talents to accomplish what we must do. The grace of God complements our gifts and determination to be or do our best. People who know the measure of God's gifts and grace in their lives move forward with gratitude to act and make a difference in their lives and the world.
4.Be resilient. Resilience is the joy of "bouncing back" after experiencing a setback. Christians experience many adversities and turmoil to test their faith. However, we have the grace to rebound and not be shattered by such setbacks. We see that in the victorious death of Jesus. The bible tells us, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9).
Prayer blessings: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.