Resiliency

As everyone is aware, this last year has been a difficult one. It has required a lot from us. Today I want to talk about resiliency and how it figures into our approach to life as Christians.

The dictionary definition of resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.

Or: the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.

As people of faith we have a strength, a resilience, that others do not.

A lot of you know that I spent 40 years in government service, military and law enforcement.

In that line of work, you spend a lot of time in briefings and a lot of time in training. In a great deal of that training, resilience is one of the key themes.

When businesses and schools and churches, started getting shut down, I knew that some resilience was going to be required.

We all experienced that disruption to our lives. After a while, things started to open up, then, in some places, things shut down again.

There is an emotional struggle that goes on within us just from not knowing what is going to happen next.

The medical profession was overwhelmed, not just by the virus, but by the aftereffects. Depression, and substance abuse greatly increased. Suicide rates went up. Domestic abuse rose.

It caused us to struggle as a people, as a nation, and as a church.

In the last year many of our families have lost loved ones. And to add to that tragedy, not many families have been able to conduct the type of memorial service that they would have liked to have had for their loved one.

At a time when families most needed that closeness and that support from others, it was just not possible.

There has been many changes within our lives. Resiliency is the ability to bounce back when those unwelcome changes occur. The ability to face struggles and then move on in life.

You may be familiar with the late comedian Jerry Clower. He told a story from his childhood about being on the way to school when he met his good friend coming back from the direction of the school. Jerry asked his friend where he was going because school was soon to start. His friend said, “Ain’t no use going to school today, someone done let all the air out of the basketball.”

We are sometimes like that basketball, it we don’t have the opportunity to be “pumped up” we lose our resiliency, our bounce.

We're going to look at four different ways within our lives that we can have resiliency.

Someone who knew a little about resiliency was Vince Lombardi. Best known as the Green Bay Packers head coach. He said one time, ‘It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get back up again’.

I love that, friends. It's not whether we get knocked down, it's whether we get back up again.

How do we get back up and carry on? Let’s look at some ideas.

(1) The first one deals with the physical aspect of our lives. Whenever I'm talking with someone who’s had a major trauma within their life (myself included), I ask the question, ‘How are you taking care of yourself physically?

Are you getting outside to walk or run? Are you eating healthy? Are you getting enough rest? Are you getting the exercise that you need?’

The Apostle Paul says in Romans 12:1

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Scripture calls for us to take care of our bodies because we offer that to Jesus Christ. We offer our bodies to God as a sacrifice.

Paul also says in I Corinthians 6:20 that

For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

One interesting quote that I recently found read: …we can come through this pandemic as either a hunk, a chunk, or a drunk.

I know it’s hard to tell it from looking at me now, but I used to be kind of a gym rat. For those who don’t know, a gym rat is a person who spends a lot of time in the gym.

I used to spend a lot of time in the gym, a lot of time running or riding a bike. I, as much as anyone, need to get back into taking care of my body, getting enough exercise. The building I used to work in had a gym in it, but since I have retired it has been difficult to feel motivated to keep in shape.

However, I know when I do something physical it helps my mental resiliency. God is the creator of body, mind, and Spirit and they all are interconnected.

Also remember that a good physical work-out is relative. What to some might be a 5 mile run might be a walk around the block to another. The point is to do something that is going to prevent our bodies from rusting up and coming to a halt.

We need to take care of our physical bodies. We need to eat right, we need to get enough sleep, we need to get enough exercise.

(2) The second aspect of resiliency is the mental aspect.

The Apostle Paul says in Philippians 4:8

…whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

What do you like to think about? What comes to mind when you don’t have much on your mind. The mental gymnastics that we do within our own mind can lift us up or pull us down.

The Apostle Paul says to think on what is honest, and just, and pure.

We aren’t supposed to be thinking on the evil stuff that we see going on around us.

Hebrews 12:1 puts it this way,

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

The author says in Hebrews 12 ‘We're surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.

Let us throw off everything that hinders us and let us fix our eyes on Jesus who is the author and the finisher. The perfecter of our faith. Consider all that He endured that we may not grow weary.’

When we get stuck in that regressive type of thinking, we need to open our scriptures. We need to spend time with the Lord and keep our eyes on Jesus Christ.

Resiliency…the ability to bounce back.

In addition to taking care of our physical body, we also need to take control of our thought process. As Paul says, focus on what is right, pure, honorable. Be focused on Jesus Christ.

(3) The third aspect of good resiliency is the social aspect. Family, friends, and being involved in the community.

Ecclesiastes 4 says:

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 KJV 1900

9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. 10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. 11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

What the author here of Ecclesiastes is saying is that three strands are stronger than one or two. Think of the many strands of a rope that make it stronger.

Think of the Golden Gate Bridge. The steel cables that support that bridge consist of wires about the diameter of a pencil, but there are over 27,000 of those wires in each cable. How many of us would even cross a footbridge if it was supported by one thin wire?

We need that social aspect in our lives. We need to be together. Whether it's phone calls, social media, or face to face, however we work that out, we are called to be the body of Christ.

Early on, a lot of people thought that this new way of life would go on forever. Fortunately, we are starting to see some significant changes. I believe the Great Physician Jesus Christ is going to give individuals the wisdom to prevail the wisdom for how things can move forward, and sometime soon, we will be able to come back together in a more normal fashion.

This pandemic has changed the way we think about the social aspects of our lives, but it has not changed the need that we have to spend time with other, like minded, believers.

Resiliency…I know this might sound like a military briefing, perhaps in some ways it is, but it is a Biblically based teaching as well.

We need to take care of our bodies because our bodies are ultimately God's.

We need to take care of ourselves mentally as well. Focus on the good that Christ has done within your life.

Socially, be part of the body of Christ. Reach out to others who are in need.

(4) Finally, we should have spiritual resiliency. I'm not talking about spirituality, at least as the world interprets it today, the new age spirituality that says to go out and find whatever fits, the “do your own thing” spirituality. I'm talking about a committed daily relationship with Jesus Christ.

Find your purpose in life. If you've never read the book A Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, I highly encourage you to read it.

We need to be part of that family of faith. I've heard so many people say, ‘well I can be a Christian without being part of a church family.’ I say, you know what? Christ died for the church. When you're denying the family, the church, you're denying your relationship with Jesus Christ.

Some of you might be tempted to say “isn’t that a little harsh preacher?” When Audrey and I decided that we wanted to be “one” we got married. I wanted to become the husband to Audrey, we got married, and we were as one. If we genuinely want to say that we are part of the Body of Christ, then we need to be part of the Body of Christ, a part of a local church.

Jesus says to us in John 11:

25 …I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

He says this to Martha when Lazarus, her brother, had died. He came to Mary and Martha and He says, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.’ Do you believe this?

There is no other resurrection in life, friends. Nobody else can give us that resiliency, that strength, that buoyancy that we need…except Jesus Christ.

Three chapters later in John 14 Jesus says, ‘I am the way, the truth, the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me. I am the way.’ Christ says He is the way, the truth, the life.

I love it when Pilate is judging Christ and Pilate says, ‘What is truth?’ Truth was standing in front of Pilate. Truth is Jesus Christ as the way the truth and the life.

Spirituality is the strongest pillar of resiliency within our life.

Okay, hopefully I have convinced you to work on your resiliency, now how do we go about building resiliency?

Physically we need to take care of ourselves.

Mentally, the Bible tells us to be mentally focused on what is good, pure, and lovely. The Bible tells us to have mental focus.

Socially we are called to be that Body of Christ. The Bible tells us that we are called to be that Body of Christ.

Spiritually we need to be walking with the Lord Jesus Christ daily. Be in relationship with Him as the way, the truth, and the life.

I started off by saying that we all are going through struggles. There are some days that I think, Lord…what are you doing? Then I stop, and take a deep breath, and say, ‘Lord. where are you leading?

What is Your purpose in my life? How do You want me to reach out to others? Lord, I desire to walk with You daily.’

Friends, I encourage you to go back through and check out these passages that I listed. May the Lord bless you; may the Lord grant you grace and strength. May the Holy Spirit be the One which buoys us up when we’re feeling down and depressed and alone and like all is lost.

May you know that Jesus Christ gave His life for you and me so we can walk in relationship with Him here and now with the joy of the Lord knowing we’ve got better things to come.