Resilience

Resilience

Written by Erin Allen

I recently listened to several podcasts on the topic of “resiliency” and have been inspired about the importance of being resilient and raising kids who are as well.

What is resilience? It is the ability to recover quickly from illness, change, or misfortune. It is also the property of a material that enables it to resume its original shape or position after being stretched, bent, or compressed. As a psychological term it can be defined as the ability to cope and recover from setbacks.

Do you think we are lacking this necessary character trait in our nation and in the Church today? Can we admit to ourselves that we lack resilience? Are we easily offended or feel attacked when someone says something we disagree with? Are we stuck in grief, or do we give up because we face a setback?

My favorite stories are stories of resilience, stories about the underdog rising up and winning the game or overcoming impossible odds. I love the story of Milton Hershey and his years of bankruptcy. If he had allowed his setbacks to define him, how would you make s’mores today?!

The story of the USA Olympic hockey team in 1980 is absolutely one of the best stories of resilience! These boys who had just been beaten by the Russians a few days before the Olympics rose to the challenge and fought through impossible odds to not only defeat the Russians who had been unbeatable, but also went on to beat Sweden and win the gold medal.

In Colossians we see some tools for becoming resilient. In Colossians 1, Paul expresses his desire for the church to be fully pleasing to God, increasing in knowledge, strengthened and patient. He goes on to express that Jesus needs to have the preeminence in our lives. How can we be resilient? How can we bounce back from the setbacks that come our way in this life? Give Jesus preeminence! The word defined is: supremacy, notable, above all others.

Colossians 1:17-18
(17) And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
(18) And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Bouncing back from life’s setbacks is a process, no doubt about it! Sometimes we need help from someone who can walk us through the challenges life brings. When the rubber meets the road, being resilient has everything to do with where Jesus is in our lives – is Jesus supreme? Do you trust that He is sovereign and that ultimately He allowed the setback you are facing? Do you believe He is working in your life right now?

When Jesus is King of your life, you will have the power to be resilient!

Make Him King today.

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