Resilience is Like Buried Treasure
In today’s workplace, “29% of workers report they feel” quite a bit or extremely stressed at work” as reported by a survey from Yale University. According to Seth J. Gillihan, PhD as posted April 20th, 2020 , “Massive changes have led to feeling overwhelmed and out of control.” For people in general, this stress has grown worse during the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19. What the world in general is lacking is resilience, tapping into that raw coping power within, the vitality of Christ, and of course faith in Jesus Christ.
As believers in God, we have a safe place and a source of True Joy!
“God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need Him. We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in sea storm and earthquake, before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains. Jacob wrestling God fights for us, God-of-Angel-armies protects us”. Psalm 46:1-3, MSG.
I Peter 1:6-7 NLT “So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold - though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”
He is our ever-present help in time of need. We can be truly glad knowing about the joy of heaven and life eternal ahead. That doesn’t mean we will live a life exempt of feeling burdens, stress, and in today’s verse, promised trials. Faith not tested is not real true faith at all. Anyone can say I will be strong in trials. However, when the storms of life come, they cave as they have not trusted God, built that relationship and resilience, knowing that He is always there for us, even when we don’t feel His presence.
When we utilize Him – His Word and the power of the Holy Spirit within us – we can withstand the trials of this life. In doing so, our faith is tested and purified just as raw gold in mined and later purified to become pure. But, as Peter tells us, this faith is even more precious than gold. A faith tested will be resilient and bounce back in the face of many types of stressors: burnout at work, stress during a pandemic, anxiety from job loss, caring for aging parents, or worry about a child gone astray. But we are not only more resilient through faith, our life becomes more precious because we sense His will and the power of the Holy Spirit through our growth.
As John C. Maxwell states, “Change is inevitable, growth is optional.” We can either grow closer to God, increasing our faith as it is tested and we go through life’s’ trials, or we can be a statistic in a survey. When we seek God first, trust Him and give Him our burdens; we will not be exempted from the pressures of life, the trials. What we are promised is that God, the one who created the universe, is on our side. He will be with us through the trial. We can with 100% conviction believe the promises He made us in His Word and know that we are resilient in Him. Our faith can be strengthened as we elicit the Holy Spirit and His Power within us and demonstrate resilient traits. This hope and the light we reflect through the trials of life will draw others towards us. It is then we can tell our story of resilience and share the greatest story of resilience ever told! The story of Jesus Christ.
Dr. Bennett encourages us to tell your resilience story (the trials endured, the fire tests) as a tool for tapping into our innate raw coping power. Our story of resilience and thriving will include our faith and the ultimate story of resilience of Jesus conquering the grave and sin. He saved us; if you believe in His story, we can have abundant hope. We can view our setbacks as set ups for the King of Kings to launch us ahead. Our resilience will come from the power of Jesus Christ in us. The power to change any life, to heal any wound, to give new life to the burned out. That Good News is more precious than gold and is the buried treasure of resilience – and the growth through Christ’s vitality – that we seek.
In preparing for this prayer, you may make a list of the stressors you are currently facing. Give them to God in your prayer time. Draw on His strength to help you through the trial. Search the scriptures to find a promise like in Psalm 46:1 NLT, “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble”. Or listen to this great song by Shane & Shane, they put the message of Pslam 46 to music.
Prayer: God, please be with me on my quest to increase my faith and resilience knowing that you are always with me. Even when work and life weigh me down, I can have faith that will withstand the pressure. May I bring before You my list of stressors, my trials, my fire-tests, and ask for help getting through them? I surrender these burdens and stress to You. I ask that You let my faith be built as it is tested. Help me, through Your Son to develop my faith. A faith that is a treasure more valuable than gold or any buried treasure on earth. Amen.
Matthew 28:20 b NLT, “And be sure of this; I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”