Essay

Resilience – Recovering from Adversity

By Rev. Dr. Roger Braun, Retired Methodist Minister, guest columnist

Everyone has to deal with adversity. In the Bible, the Book of Psalms has many verses crying out to God to be released from adversity. In Psalm 62, David describes the adversity he is receiving from his enemies: “How long will you assault me? Would all of you throw me down? With their mouths, they praise me. But in their hearts, they curse me.” In Psalm 3, it reads, “O Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!” Every person on earth deals with some sort of adversity, either from another person or from health, mental, or spiritual anguish. As a pastor, most of my pastoral ministry involved helping people navigate adversity. What kind of help can one give as a caring Christian? Start by putting into words the pain the adversity is causing and its source. Once you vocalize what the adversity is and how it is affecting you, then you can start to control the situation. Then shift your focus from backward- looking analysis of causes, to a forward-looking focus to regain a sense of purpose and direction.

As a Christian pastor, I focus on the future God has for each person and how faith and trust in God will move a person toward a future filled with praise for God. It may sound absurd, but faith and trust in God, who loves us and does not forsake us, will move a person from overwhelming adversity to a place of peace and praise within as a new future opens up. I am inspired by these words from the prophet Habakkuk: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vine, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will rejoice in God my Savior.” Habakkuk 3:17-18.