Christian Comment with Clive Lewis, Member of The Church of God of Prophecy, Stroud

Resilience

LIFE can be tough.

On occasions we all have to deal with set-backs, disappointments and hurdles.

It has always been this way and is unlikely to change anytime soon.

What is important is that we build our level of resilience to be able to bounce back when bad things happen.

Resilience is defined as an individual's ability to properly adapt to stress and diversity.

Examples of adversity can include family or relationship problems, health problems, workplace or financial worries.

Resilience is finally being recognised as a subject we need to talk about and understand.

Schools have recently even taken up the topic to help pupils prepare for the bigger world.

This is great news.

I recently gave a talk at a school in Cheshire and gave a personal example of how resilience helped me.

About four years ago I stood on a stage in a church to give a public talk.

Right from the start I felt as if something wasn’t right.

I wobbled and stumbled and could hardly speak.

Around five minutes later I walked off the stage hugely embarrassed.

It was a disaster.

Even now, I have no idea what happened.

My fear continued for the next few weeks.

I eventually went to the doctor.

I decided against taking the doctors’ prescription and decided to kame a fight back.

For a period of about nine months the struggle to speak to small or large groups of people continued.

I had made up my mind to dig in and be resilient in the face of adversity. Eventually I remember the shakiness subsiding a little after every talk I was invited to give.

I kept going and imagined that one day I would be back to normal.

Eventually, that day came.

Everything is now back to normal but in recounting my story to pupils at the school I wanted to encourage them to keep going in the face of adversity.

What about you?

Are you currently facing a period of difficulty where being resilient would help?

Psalms 31:24 reminds us to “Be strong and confident all you who wait on the Lord”.