One of the buzz words in our world and age that will be around at least till 2030 is the word, ‘’sustainability.’’ Since 2015 when the United Nations launched the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to replace the 8 Millennium Development Goals, organizations, and even individuals world over have been on a frenzy about building sustainable enterprises and businesses.

Today, we hear a lot about financial sustainability, brand sustainability, economic sustainability, political sustainability, environmental sustainability and a gamut of others. However, a missing piece that any smart Christian should be quick to add is ‘’spiritual sustainability’’.

Sustainability is a long-term strategic plan that forces you to take actions in the now that births successes and results in multiple folds in many years to come. Strong businesses know this, especially those who have been around for many years with billions of profit in their kitty, but so do strong Christians.

You see, the Christian life is a marathon, not a sprint. Marathons require that you have a strategy that can sustain you till the very end of the race, and ahead of others too if you want to win.

This brings me to ask that, are you not always intrigued by individuals who have been committed and faithful Christians for decades, who in spite of the distractions and attractions in the world, continue to be consistently diligent and productive in their Christian experience? How about ministries that have been existent for 50, 60, 70 years and are still at the cutting edge of God’s move in this time and age?

Think about personalities like Kenneth Hagin and his ministry via his books and sermons that have blessed millions of lives, and have been an immense inspiration to the birth of many churches world over, even though the man himself is no more physically alive.

The core question here is, what makes someone stay for long and still be relevant in spite of changing dispensations, trends that come and go, earthquakes, and pandemics? What makes us remain unmoved, unshaken by political systems, policies, innovations and inventions? What makes your voice catch on quickly and for so long in a world with millions of voices struggling to be heard? This is the very concept of sustainability, and it’s amazing that scripture, long before the word became a ‘trend’ provided some poignant answers to these questions. The very concept of ‘’sustainability’’ cuts right through the heart of Scripture, and a few verses provide us with a framework of how we can be spiritual sustainable.

Let us examine the first scripture in Proverbs 18:14 which says;

“The spirit of a man will SUSTAIN his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear”

Infirmity is the kryptonite to sustainability. There is a lot of infirmity in our world that hampers sustainability. Infirmity is not just about sickness in the body. There is also the infirmity in the mind where deficiency in wisdom or a knowledge gap stalls progress. This is the case of those who achieve some major success suddenly but lack the skill and brilliance to sustain it and slowly go into oblivion,

For example, a new believer who experiences powerful times of fellowship in prayer and meditation at the early stage of being converted but fails to realize that in order for this to be sustained, there has to be a growth that undergirds the sustainability, otherwise infirmity will set in and the believer will slowly begin to doubt God and his or her conversion.

What this verse affirms is that, a strong spirit is the pillar of sustainable spirituality. This can never be overstated. There are so many Christians but with weak spirits, struggling to stay consistent. In being spiritually sustainable, you can never rule out the role of a strong spirit. A strong spirit is the most powerful asset on the faith lane that sponsors spiritual sustainability. No Christian remains faithful and consistent for many years without having developed their spirit being. When adversities, difficulties, trials, and temptations, lined up in years ahead, meet a strong spirit, they bow and cower, and that individual continues to stay relevant and consistent, but a weak, wounded spirit, easily becomes a victim of situations and events.

It is vital to note that a cardinal element in every form of sustainability is the ability to think long term without being distracted or attracted by short-term results that don’t yield much. This is what a strong spirit facilitates. Someone with a strong spirit is able to discern times and seasons and forego and replace momentary, fleeting pursuits for eternal treasures that do not immediately appear but will count and weigh more in the future when they do. This is what aids strategic planning that guarantees sustainability.

This is how God thinks and how He wants us to be. God does not want us to be just a flash in the pan, one-hit wonder kind of Christians. God wants us to be rooted and grounded in our spirits so we can be consistent and forever relevant in our world.

The pursuit of a strong spirit should be the priority of every Christian. It is our ticket to spiritual sustainability. Which brings us to the second scripture that speaks to this in Isaiah 33:6;

“And wisdom and knowledge shall be the STABILITY of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his treasure.”

Stability is required for sustainability. The more stable you are the more sustainable you can be. And what this scripture is telling us is that for you to be stable, you need to be exposed to wisdom and knowledge. The type of wisdom/knowledge and the destination of these are questions worth answering. The type of wisdom that truly stabilizes is the word of God and where it has to go to is your spirit for it to be effective.

True stability that births spiritual sustainability is anchored on a strong spirit that is steadily furnished with revelation knowledge from God’s word.

As I round off, the question for you this week is, are you developing your spirit? In a world that forces you to only think in the now, a strong spirit forces you to plan for the future. In a world that strives to sustain businesses and companies, a strong spirit forces you to sustain your relationship with God. In a world that tries to squeeze you into a mould that soon becomes extinct in the wake of inventions and innovations, a strong spirit creates its own mould based on patterns revealed in scripture that are age-old originating from the Ancient of Days Himself.

This week, and forever, please prioritise the growth of your spirit. That’s what you do when you study and meditate on God’s word, pray, fast and walk in love. These are sure-fire strategies for staying spiritually sustainable even well beyond 2030.

Do have a stellar week!