re·sil·ience
noun
- 1.the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
"the often remarkable resilience of so many British institutions" - 2.the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.
"nylon is excellent in wearability and resilience"
How do we teach resilience?..... how do we learn it?!
How do we teach our children it is okay to have troubles?
📖 In this world you will have trouble. [A portion of John 16:33]
That it is a part of life, a part of existence. That they are not times to panic or despair, but to learn, to grow strong, to thrive, to bounce back.
I like songs like Eye of the Storm (Ryan Stevenson), Even If ( Mercy Me) and many similar....
They give is hope that He has us in the storm..that no matter what our troubles are or how He answers them He is there....
Important lessons....important truth.
But I want to focus on victory....even in the middle of it! That the light doesn't have to be at the end of the tunnel.....we can walk in the Light during the storm!
📖 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 2 Corinthians 4:7-12
📖 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 1 John 4:1-6
......because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
Good news!?...BEST NEWS EVER!!!!
He has already won the fight!
Wouldn't that help us be more resilient?? Knowing it has already been won!!??
I don't need to worry...stress...or crumble....the work has already been done!
I think of a stress ball..you can squeeze it and make it look all deformed ...but when you remove the pressure it immediately goes back to its original shape.
It is made from resiliant materials.
You notice the return to its shape is immediate...that is the resilance part.
It has "memory"
We as Christians should have that kind of "memory"....as we are being crushed by difficulties, troubled by tragedy, sorrow filling our life...we have in our makeup the knowledge that Christ has gone through all of this before. He has won the battle...and He has victory in the war!
As we remember and rely on Him, and His strength and His truth, we bounce back. The defeated, deforming countenance is gone!
Have you ever, been yourself or witnessed, a strong Christian in the middle of deep sorrow or tragedy exude peace?...show joy? It confounds the unbeliever because it defies the "laws of human nature" ...the one that says when we have troubles we will crumble, fall, be consumed, be destroyed.
But instead we rise, we move forward, we exude victory...resilience! Because that is not human nature, but God's nature!
But back to my question...how do we learn it? How can we teach it??
I wish I had an easy ...quick formula ( maybe the "F" formula from last weeks blog is a part of it!)
I believe a big part in living resiliency is understanding, acknowledging and living WHO God is, WHAT God is and WHERE God is.
Who, What ,Where
Who is He? The creator of the whole universe and all that is in it....
📖 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing... Genesis 2:1-2a
the sea, and everything in them—
he remains faithful forever Psalm 146:6
And He is the creator of you...
📖For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:13-16
He is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
📖 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:6
📖 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” John 10:25-30
📖 “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:25-26
What is He?
📖 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8
📖 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:14
📖 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does. Psalm 145:17
📖 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1
📖 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9
📖 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. Ephesians 1:7-8a
📖 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:7-11
Where is He?
📖 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6
📖 And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19
If we know WHO He is...WHAT He is and WHRE He is....we can trust Him with our very existence.... and we can live resilient lives!
We know that troubles will come, to everyone....so we don't need to wallow or say "woa is me"
Because
📖 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
"What if I were the one to tell you
That the fight's already been won
Well, I think your day's about to get better
What if I were the one to tell you
That the work's already been done
It's not good news
It's the best news ever
Best news ever"
Songwriters: Barry Graul / Bart Millard / Ben Glover / David Garcia / Michael Scheuchzer / Nathan Cochran / Robby Shaffer / Solomon Olds
Best News Ever lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group, Moon And Musky Music
To live showing we believe all that God is and believe that in our troubles He can be glorified!
Live like we trust Him with every part of our being and our lives.
That is how we teach...by living...honestly.
Being honest about the struggles that want to squeeze us into misshapen, former images of ourselves.....
By showing that struggles are not a surprise, that we are ready for them!
By showing that in them we trust the God who knows, loves and gives us strength and hope. We live as victors not as defeated. We live resilient!
📖 ….Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:13-18
Remember our troubles are "light and momentary" working toward an eternal glory!And remember the world is going to tell you something different, about how we should act and react to what comes our way....
📖 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit[a] of truth and the spirit of falsehood. 1 John 4:4-6
Now listen to the rest of
Best News Ever Mercy Me