Jason's Blog

Maria Drews summarizes four approaches that we can take when we face adversity:

• Succumbing: We can succumb to the adversity and enter a downward slide -, decreasing our level of functioning and ability to cope with everyday life.

• Surviving with Impairment: We can survive the adversity, but never fully recover to a previous level of functioning.  We are left with long term hurt by the adversity and become more vulnerable to future adversity.

• Resilience: Resilience is the capacity to recover from adversity and return to a former state of ell-being.  We bounce back.

• Thriving:  We can overcome an adverse situation and actually surpass our previous level of functioning.  This is because adversity can be an opportunity to grow, gain new skills or knowledge, new confidence about their future, or strengthen trust in personal relations.

Then Drews observes accurately that “because adversity can lead to either succumbing or to resilience/thriving, we should see it as both a threat and an opportunity for growth.”

What adversity are you facing in life right now?  How has adversity shaped your life?  What scars can you show for the life that you have lived?

Everyone faces adversity, but not everyone can thrive or even bounce back from the hard knocks of life.  However, I do not think that God wants you to succumb or to even live beaten down by the circumstances that you are facing.

What does God want from your life?  What has He given you for the journey?

1.  Sufficient grace – the apostle Paul faced enormous challenges in his life, and in some ways He would appear to be a great hero.  If we didn’t know better, He might look like a perfect success story.  But we know from his own writings that he was overwhelmed by the adversity that he faced.  In writing to the Corinthians, he mentions that he came in “weakness and fear and with much trembling” (1 Corinthians 2:3).  Perhaps this is because his experience in Athens was less than successful.  You might read again Acts 17:32-34.  Later in writing about weakness, Paul boasted that God’s grace was sufficient even in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:8).

2.  Deep Wisdom – No matter how hard our circumstances might be, we can trust that taking the path of goodness is always a sure approach. It is never right to retaliate, take vengeance, hold grudges, harbor evil thoughts, or withhold kindness.  Even those who persecute us should receive our blessing.  “Bless and do not curse” (Romans 12:14) is our mantra.  The cross is our glory.  It marks the path to bouncing back and thriving.

3.  The Right to Pray – Adversity can take everything away, but not our faith.  At our wits end, we can turn and pray.  That may in fact, be all that we can do.

4.  Opportunities to Lean On Others – Just when we can’t seem to step any farther, we may finally be open to allowing others to carry us along.  We may need that for some time so that we can become healthier.

What advice would you give to someone facing adversity?

How can we move from succumbing and limping to resilience and thriving?

Any thoughts?

So we have started our new series of adult classes on love for truth.  This has really got me thinking about applying truth to everyday life.  Sadly at times, truth only rises to the level of a yellow light.

Perhaps across the country people deal with yellow lights differently than they do here in College Station.  But these days, I rarely see anyone actually take a yellow light seriously.  I see cars go on there merry way, and they feel so justified that they have in fact a right to drive through lingering yellows.  I looked up the transportation code just to clarify what a yellow light actually means.  The statute is pretty blunt:

“An operator of a vehicle facing a steady yellow signal is warned by that signal that: (1) movement authorized by a green signal is being terminated; or (2) a red signal is to be given (effective Sept. 2003).”

Is that clear enough?  I think so.  So why is it that I think yellow lights apply to everyone else except me?  Have you found yourself justifying your acceleration or at least your maintenance of speed as you approach a steady light?  Does the light not apply if your late for class (or work) or on your way to the grocery store?  Which story can we tell that rises up to cancel out the reality that the traffic light is telling us to wait our turn?

Yellow lights do not mean – “Quick, think up  an excuse that will make it okay for me to run a red light.”

I don’t think anyone really likes red light cameras, but it is interesting to me how many people feel their rights are being violated by these machines.  Do we really love truth?  All the machines are doing is documenting car after car that feel they have a right to be next.  Each one declares, “Yellow lights don’t apply to me!”

BTW- some towns have been investigated for shortening their yellow light times just as they install red cameras.

So this week – slow down.  Stop at every yellow light.  Don’t be angry about it.  Breathe and thank God for Truth.  It is staring you in the face.