Resilience

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LESSON 8

*February 12 - 18

Resilience

SABBATH AFTERNOON

Read for This Week's Study: Job 19:25; James 5:10, 11; Ruth 1; Esther 2; 2 Cor. 11:23–28; Phil. 4:11–13.
Memory Text:

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever–present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging”(Psalm 46:1-3, NIV).

Resilience is the process of facing adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or extreme stress and “bouncing back” successfully without becoming too negatively affected by the experience. The concept has received growing attention because of the usefulness of possessing a reasonable amount of resilience in the face of life’s difficulties. After all, who among us doesn’t face major stressors, in one form or another? The question is, How can we have the resilience to deal with what happens and not be destroyed emotionally in the process? In the 1960s, Victor and Mildred Goertzel wrote Cradles of Eminence, which presented biographical analyses of more than 700 subjects who went through great childhood adversity (broken homes, financial struggles, physical and/or psychological handicaps, etc.) and yet achieved great success. The book was updated in 2004. The Bible also tells us of individuals who had to face adversity but who, through God’s grace, bounced back and overcame their problems. Despite difficult circumstances and even flaws in their characters, they were able to be used by God because they had the resilience to press on ahead, even amid adverse circumstances.

*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, February 19.