“We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
2 Corinthians 4:7 ( NLT)
Although the word “resilience” is not mentioned in this scripture verse, it is surely implied. We are all fragile clay jars that contain the great treasure of resilience. Webster’s dictionary defines resilience as the ability to recover, spring back or recoil after some sort of compressive stress. Our resilience is because of Christ living within us.
Compressive stress refers to being squeezed, crushed or intensely pressured. I think everyone has gone through something at some time, that felt like any of the above. Some things cause us to feel squeezed beyond our capabilities, and yet God gives us the grace of resilience to recoil and spring back.
I believe that we are all more resilient than we think. While we are in the eye of the storm, we feel like we will never recoil or spring back, but resilience has a way of emerging within us, over time.
If we stop and think about all that we have already been through and recoiled from, we would admit that a resilience somehow developed within us. Paul wrote that the great power that is within our fragile clay jars, our bodies, is from God, and not from ourselves. The beautiful mystery of it all, is that in every affliction, we have resilience because of Christ, who dwells in our mortal bodies.
(2 Corinthians 4:11)
I call it a mystery because we have resilience even when we don’t know that we have it. We are all like David, the shepherd boy, more than we realize. We all face a Goliath of some sort, at some time in our lives. We never expect to face the giants that we face, and we are not seeking to be heroic either. But like the humble shepherd boy, we put our fragile trust in God, using the stone in our hand and let a little faith take action. We step forward, and God does the rest, because the power to overcome giants comes from Him, who is within us.
With every Goliath we face and every trial in our lives, resilience is built up within us, because Christ dwells in us. A person may tell us how strong our faith must be, to handle what we are going through, and yet we never feel strong or resilient in the moment. We just keep moving forward, one day at a time.
It’s beyond positive thinking or mind over matter. It’s not some “thing” that empowers us, it’s someone, and that someone is Christ in us.
Our resilience develops as we face a giant in some form, whether it’s a medical problem, loss of a loved one, financial stress or encountering some new source of anxiety. I felt intense anxiety five years ago, in taking on the new role as a caregiver for my late husband, during his progression through the horrible illness of ALS.
The role of a caregiver comes with sleepless nights, financial worries, and continually adjusting to medical equipment brought into the home, with exhausting routines, that need to be carried out each day. Besides that, there’s a deep sadness in watching your loved one suffer daily, with no hope of a cure. Yet, even in the deepest darkness, the light of Jesus still shines within us. His light also gave my husband the resilience needed to leave his fragile clay jar and meet Jesus.
During that period, I felt like my clay jar was about to crack, but Jesus was within me, building my resilience through every stage of the pressure. I didn’t know it at the time, but as I look back, He made me resilient.
The power of this scripture says it best,
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”(2 Corinthians 4:8-9)
We might be briefly knocked off our feet, but we will rise again, because an enduring light dwells within us. It shines through the frail clay jars of this earthly body, and it’s the Spirit of Jesus. He is always within us, giving us the strength to recoil and spring back. He never allows us to be tested beyond what we are able to endure, since He knows each of our limitations.
“God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it.“ (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Lord, we give you all the glory and gratitude for making us resilient, despite how fragile and weak we may feel at times. Thank you for your Presence within us, and we trust that we will overcome all things in the power of your name. Amen