resilience

Resilience is built into humanity by God's good creation of us. But this trait and characteristic, like all of God's good gifts, can be sorely misused by us, and is. We're often resilient in doing what is evil or putting ourselves first over the good of others.

In Jesus there is a resilience which comes from God's working. This salvation we receive as a gift by faith, includes the work of the Spirit in our lives, so that time and time again, we bounce back from big and little problems or troubles, which by themselves would drag us down and out. I'm amazed at the resilience I have experienced from God, so that I can look at life with all the problems I carry around as fresh and new. Having a sense of a new day or new start.

This points to the new day in Jesus already here, but someday to take over so that all the old is gone. God in Jesus will make all things right and all things new in judgment and grace. This will be the just judgment of a kind Judge. One not out to get us, but out to help us and save us in Jesus. Jesus took on himself what each one of us richly deserves, so that we can be forgiven of our wrongs and changed to be what God intended in creating us.

I love the fact that in Jesus, no matter what we face, we can be resilient. I so much appreciate Scott Steiner and his testimony. In the face of incurable cancer (and his son-in-law as well), and on top of that, an ill-timed severe leg injury which complicated everything for him physically, and medically, I saw him the other day, and I could see the joy of the Lord in his face. But plenty of issues, and plenty of pain all the way around, I'm sure. Yet God is present for him and surely for all of us. We must count on and rely in that. God is faithful for us, in Jesus. God will see us through and make his joy to be our strength, through it all.

Resilience. Here for us in Jesus during this present life in which time and time again, we'll need it.

What would you like to add to this? How has this been true in your own life?