Monday, July 28, 2014

Resiliency


How resilient are you with life’s challenges and setbacks? That was our topic last Saturday at our MERGE Workshop. Tim Hoerr, CEO of Serra Ventures, led us through a morning discussion of how to move forward in times of failure and challenge.  It was an incredible message for me as I stepped back and got God perspective on how God sees these times and how He wants to use them. No waste in the Kingdom.

Tim led us through practical tools for overcoming our challenges and setbacks, put into a simple acronym of REBAR.  Rebar is a steel bar that is used in laying concrete to reinforce the strength of it. For our purposes, rebar stands for:

R – Resist the enemy: If you discern temptation or attack, arm yourself with prayer. 
E – Embrace the circumstance: Flight, denial, use of “should: and “oughts” are counterproductive. Embrace the circumstance for what it is.
B – Be honest with yourself: As you embrace the circumstance, seek discernment on the cause. “Own” your stuff.
A – Accept the Holy Spirit’s help and instruction: The Holy Spirit wants to comfort and direct you in the midst of your circumstance. Accept what He’s doing.
R – Rest in Jesus: All who are weary…come to me.

Rest was a big one for the group and the realization that as business professionals we are all about fixing our stuff, getting out of the situation as fast as possible, and working hard not to repeat it.  These do not keep us resilient for the enemy attacks. We need to invite and welcome God into our situation and know:
  • God is not mad.
  • God is in love with you and wants the best for you.
  • God is intimately acquainted with our situation.

That is good news. Jesus’ completed work on the cross was a success and we get to be in relationship with the one who knows all about our struggles. We are not guaranteed to be challenge and setback free but only that He has our back!  I love the verse from Message that Tim used James 1:12:

Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.

For many of us, we realized that we aren’t risking enough and maybe life is a little too comfortable. Time to get out of the boat and keep our eyes on Jesus. We will discuss more of this at our next MERGE on August 13th at 11:30…join us.