Everyone needs resilience. Sometimes it’s for big, life-changing crises. And sometimes it’s for the daily pileup of challenges and pressures.
Without resilience, we get stuck. Even if we continue to go through the motions of fulfilling our duties, we become flat—without either creativity or joy.
But that’s not how God intended our lives to operate. In John 16:33, Jesus told His disciples, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
So what can we do on a daily basis to live in the overcoming power Christ gives?
1. Know your calling.
This point is not only for pastors. While God does put a unique calling on some men’s lives to preach the Word of God, all Christians have been called of God to glorify God. the New Testament often speaks of the calling of salvation that is to show forth the praises of God.
Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, (2 Timothy 1:9)
In more specific terms, we have all been given a calling based on the specific roles and responsibilities God has given to us (1 Corinthians 7:20). Sometimes our trouble comes because we are comparing our progress with someone else’s calling. For instance, God has called me to pastor the Lancaster Baptist Church. If I compare even my “successes” of last week with the pastor of another church or a missionary in another field or the CEO of a flourishing company, I can easily be discouraged.
Frustration comes when you compare your progress with someone else’s calling. Share on XThere may be some common items between my to-do list and theirs. But God has not called me to serve in their place or role. If I spend my time comparing, I’ll neglect the opportunities and responsibilities God has given to me.
This is why gaining clarity on your personal roles and responsibilities is so important to daily success. It helps us to mark our lane so we can run the race God has called us to run. (This is also why the Stewarding Life Planner is built around this concept of roles.)
We need to depend on God for the grace and strength to fulfill our calling. And that’s why it is important to first clarify what that calling is. What are the responsibilities God has given to you? Embrace them, and receive God’s grace to carry them out.
2. Lighten your load.
We get weary when we attempt to bear loads God never intended us to carry.
We do not have the capacity to carry either the successes or failures of the past.
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13–14)
God does not give us the strength to carry grudges.
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. (Colossians 3:13)
We don’t have the inner energy to carry worry or anxiety.
We get weary when we attempt to bear loads God never intended us to carry. Resilience is found in releasing those loads to God. Share on XCasting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (1 Peter 5:7)
3. Engage in church body life.
I heard a quote sometime back that really resonated: “Without a community, you are simply a commodity.” It was given in a secular context, but it reminded me of the importance of the church family.
Even the business world understands that humans are more than their total number of working hours or gross profits on a spreadsheet. By God’s divine creation, our lives are multi-dimensional. And one of the key ways God brings refreshment into our lives is through relationships.
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24–25)
Sometimes when we think about the passage above, we’re quick to remember the instruction to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. And that instruction is essential to obeying the rest of the passage. But it’s important to also remember to consider, prompt, and exhort one another—all functions of a healthy church family.
There are many “one another” commands in Scripture: love, admonish, serve, comfort, and more. Engaging in these ways with one another in the local church brings community and resilience.
4. Stay focused.
Be wary of sidetracks. It’s so easy to get distracted from our purpose and responsibilities.
I love how both David and Paul expressed knowing Christ intimately as their central focus was.
One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. (Psalm 27:4)
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13–14)
These men, both of whom had myriad responsibilities, had one center around which their lives revolved—experiencing the presence of the Lord.
Although all of us readily aspire to this goal, the reality is that it’s easy for us to get sidetracked and eventually find ourselves far off course. This is why it is important for us to daily choose time with the Lord to focus on Him and gain clarity from Him on our responsibilities.
And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. … And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth. (Mark 1:35, 37–38)
5. Establish rhythm.
You don’t have to read far in Scripture to see that God created us with daily and weekly rhythms. He made us to exert effort during the day and rest at night, to work for six days and replenish on a seventh.
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. … And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. (Genesis 1:5, 2:2)
Although we are no longer under the Old Testament keeping of the Sabbath, we are wise to recognize the rhythms God has built into our lives and to submit to His design in creating us with a regular need to replenish. (There are exceptional seasons for all of us when it is impossible to insist on these rhythms. But we should beware of allowing these exceptions to become the norm.)
We are wise to recognize the rhythms God has built into our lives and to submit to His design in creating us with a regular need to replenish. Share on XExcept the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. (Psalm 127:1–2)
We can add to the strength and value of these daily and weekly cycles by establishing personal rhythms around them. Daily time with the Lord is a must, and a weekly half hour to assess progress and make mid-course adjustments is a help.
The Resilient Life Book
I have enjoyed working on a book over this past year—the outflow of lessons God has been teaching me about living with resilience through Christ.
The book is titled The Resilient Life: Overcoming the Crises and Anxieties of Life through Christ. It releases next week—November 8. You can, however, preorder now and receive three pre-release bonuses:
- Immediate access to chapter 1
- What to Do When You Need Renewal: A Five-Step Action Plan
- Entry in a drawing for a $250 Carhartt gift card
To receive these bonuses, simply preorder the hardback from Striving Together or Amazon, or order on Kindle. Then click here to receive your preorder bonuses. But remember, they are only available through November 7.
I’m praying The Resilient Life will be a tool God uses to help you press forward for Christ with joy in Him!
