How Resilient Are You?

Everywhere I turn I hear about the bad things happening in the world. Just last night there was mass shooting with 10 people killed and several wounded. Apparently, the gun man is still at large. While we don't know the motive, we do know that 10 people have lost there lives because someone could not find a better way to voice their issues. It is a travesty in this country of plenty that anyone would take lives that are no threat to theirs. How do we bounce back from incidents like this? How do we cope? 

When things like this happen, I turn to my Father in heaven who knows everything and is ultimately in control of the outcome of every situation. Yes, we have free will do to what we want to do, but God will hold us accountable for our choices - both good and evil. In Romans, Paul tells us not to avenge ourselves. "Vengence is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord (Rom 12:19). Make no mistake, no matter what it looks like, no one will get away with the evil deeds they do. They may not face consequences where we can see it, but they will pay. 

So if we can't take action against the one who wronged us, how do we cope with situations for our own wellbeing? We pray for peace and for God to help us forgive. Remember, forgiving is not the same as forgetting. We never forget the things that hurt us the most, but we can chose to not hold it against a person. It doesn't mean we have to put ourselves in a situation with them again. We forgive because God forgives us (Matt 6:14-15). We forgive for ourselves so we don't grow bitter and hard - that takes a lot of work and we have more important things to focus on. We are to love God first and our neighbor as ourselves. In order to do that, we have to release ourselves from the anger and let the hurt go. That's the only way for us to be whole. 

Resilience is the ability to withstand or recover quickly from difficult situations. So, how do you recover from difficult situations? Do you take time to reflect on the situation and how God is moving on your behalf? Do you put strategies in place with the wisdom of God to address the obstacles? Do you choose to trust that as you move in God's will and trust Him that the situation will work out? Or, do you speak defeatist? Do you consider that you are done? Do you speak negatively over your life (Prov 18:21)? Yes, bad things happen to each one of us. But we can choose how we will respond - if we get up and keep moving or if we give up. Don't give up. If you accepted Jesus as savior and belong to the Lord, He is working on your behalf even when you can't see it. 

Don't ever doubt that He has you. God gives us the ability to bounce back through the power of the Holy Spirit, if we let Him. So, how resilient are you? I pray you will put on the whole armor of God and allow the Lord to strengthen you so you can withstand the forces of the devil (Eph 6:11-13).