“Resilience . . . the grace to remain strong after going through something that almost breaks you.”- Ron Luce
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”- Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)
Ron Luce, president and founder of Teen Mania Ministries, wrote Resilience in response to a plane crash that took the lives of four young men. Two of the men were ministry staff members and friends of his daughter Hannah, the sole survivor of the crash. Furthermore, thirty percent of Hannah’s body received third-degree burns. In addition, her lungs had been burned.
During times of tragedy and adversity, as Christians, we know that:
- Jesus loves us
- one day, Jesus will comfort every heart and dry every tear
- we’ll be with Him forever
However, Ron personally points out, those facts seem of little help to those suffering intense grief. So, the author asks, how do Christians respond when circumstances careen out of control and we no longer comprehend what’s going on? Such uncomfortable situations block us from making much sense of those situations.
Unless we prepare ourselves for these moments and develop the steel backbone needed to take us through them, our response may be toxic. Mr. Luce summarizes:
“All too often when those things happen, people slide off the end of their faith and back into the world’s ways. They get mad at God and give up on Him. Their anger turns to resentment and even full-blown rebellion.”
As a result, Ron emphasizes, it becomes imperative to build or reinforce our foundation on Jesus before life hits us in the face.
Today’s question: What Bible verses give you the grace to remain strong during your desert, transformational time? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Feel-good Christianity” (the second of four excerpts from this book)
