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.
