How to Embrace God’s Strength So You Don’t Run Out of Resilience

Do you feel like life has zapped your resilience and stretched you to your limit? Lynn Simpson, our guest, is here to offer you some hope. Her heartfelt experience of parenting three children under challenging circumstances gives Lynn a unique insight into how to embrace God’s strength so you don’t run out of resilience.

How to Embrace God’s Strength, So You Don’t Run Out of Resilience

Written by Lynn Simpson

Mentally exhausted. At 7 am. Once my children were safe in the hands of the daycare providers, I drove to work, thankful for our brains “autopilot” abilities. Another morning of defiant behavior from my special needs son and the sibling rivalry between my two girls had left me wondering if I could take another day. I considered taking the highway as I had once before, driving an hour from the city edges before my sensibility sprung back. This was my life. And the lives of three that God placed in my care. How could I build up the resilience to carry on?

What is Resilience?

Maree Dee calls resilience “as the ability to persevere and remain strong in the face of adversity.” Developing resilience quickens our turn-around from discouragement to fulfillment.  Our ability to spring back from despair to hope tightens into shape like a released elastic.

But what can happen when we try to build resilience on our own? We can end up discouraged and in despair, stretched to our emotional limit. All our striving to fix our struggles and all our efforts to change our situation can deplete our strength and leave us weak to schemes that pull us into sin.  So how can we persevere? By embracing God’s strength, so we don’t run out of resilience.

How to Embrace God’s Strength

1. Embrace God’s Love

Embracing God’s love for us that reaches the depth of our discouragement and despair turns our hearts back to His immeasurable care. We are never alone in our struggles. His love for us is wide and high and deep!

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love may have power, together, with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” 
Ephesians 3: 17-19 NIV

2. Embrace God’s Word

Embracing God’s word fixes our eyes on Jesus rather than our circumstances. When we fix our eyes on our circumstances rather than God, we can fall into distractions that may help us feel good in the moment but then leave us feeling empty, leading us to sin and possibly addictions. By persevering in God’s word, we build endurance and strength because we learn more of God’s goodness. We are encouraged by others before us who have run their race, persevering through difficult circumstances on God’s strength.

“Finally be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you take a stand against the devil’s schemes.” 
(Ephesians 6: 10-11 NIV)

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of our faith.” 
(Hebrews 12: 1-2 NIV)

3. Embrace God’s Strength through Prayer

Making prayer a habitual response to any of our circumstances keeps our minds and hearts turned toward God’s desires for us. Rather than fixing our minds on our struggles, prayer springs us toward His promises to take on our burdens, strengthen our resilience, and restore peace to our hearts. Prayer also directs us toward God’s call to love others in our community.  We build community and build up others when we pray for all God’s people, for God’s strength to withstand and recover quickly from difficulties.

“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” 
(Philippians 4:5-7 NIV)

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” 
(Ephesians 6:18 NIV)

Discover today from Lynn Simpson three ways you can embrace God's strength so you don't run out of resilience. #nevergiveup #resilience #boostresilience Click To Tweet

My girls and son are thriving adults now. When I look back on those early years as a divorced mother of three, I see a tired soul who withstood with the help of her community, carried on with a hope of changes yet to come, and was restored by God’s everlasting grace.

To remain strong in the face of adversity requires running your race on God’s strength. God gives us all we need to withstand, recover, and spring back into shape.

How will you embrace God’s strength today?

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