"WE ARE HARD PRESSED." (2 CORINTHIANS 4:8 NIV)
Resilient people (2)
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Two other traits resilient peoples share are: (1) They allow pain to spur growth: At the peak of her career when photographer Linda Joy Montgomery learned she was going blind, an inner voice said, "This isn't the end; it's the beginning," She began writing poetry, discovered her calling as a motivational speaker and created the True Vision Institute, teaching kids to tap into their inner resources. The Bible says: "Though good people may be bothered by trouble...they are never defeated" (Pr 24:16 NCV). Finding purpose in your pain isn't a new idea. Survivors of life-threatening illness, natural disasters and the Holocaust, and parents of chronically ill children continually demonstrate how overcomes find the proverbial silver lining by reinventing themselves. Paul talks about being "battered by troubles, but...not demoralized...thrown down, but [not] broken" (2Co 4:8 TM). Meeting challenges helps develop confidence and a can-do attitude that says: "I've been there, done that, and I'll survive." Michael Jordan once said, "I've missed over 9,000 shots in my career...lost over 300 games...26 times I've been trusted to make the game-winning show, and missed. I've tried and failed over and over again. That's why I succeed."
(2) They insist on changing what they can: Paul says: "Whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord" (Eph 6:8 NKJV). Workers digging through the rubble to help rescue survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing, though understandably distressed, showed fewer symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder later on. In concentration camps POW's who routinely gave away their last morsel, proved that you can choose your attitude in any given set of circumstances. How? By drawing strength from God and learning to control the one thing you can control - yourself.
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