Be Resilient Like Job

When life’s trials pull us down, how do we get ourselves back up?

I recently heard a sermon where the minister told a story of a set of twins who had an alcoholic father. One became an alcoholic like their father, and one did not. They both had the same response when asked the question, “Why did you end up the way you did?” Both responded, “How could I not?”

The first one was saying, How could I not become an alcoholic since that was the example I had? The second twin was saying, How could I not have stayed away from alcohol after seeing how it destroyed my father’s life?

This hit home for me. Sometimes bad situations in our lives can bog us down and make us think, Why me? Why is this happening to me? What could I have possibly done to deserve this?

This is definitely not the best attitude to have. I’ve had to constantly remind myself that God has a bigger plan for me.

We have to get to the point where we decide, this is my life and I have to decide my path. And we have to let God be the One who leads us down that path.

The story of Job’s resilience

When I think about the trials I’ve been through that have taught me to be resilient, Job always comes to mind. He went through more trials than any of us, and no matter what, he kept praising God. In the first chapter Job went from having a nice home, great wealth and several children to losing everything! If it had been me, I would have found it very hard to stay positive and continue to honor God the way Job did.

Sometimes God gives us trials to test and strengthen us. We should all strive to be like Job, and thank God even in our trials. Job endured all of that and still continued to praise God. And that’s what we should do—even when things don’t go our way.

James 1:2-4 says, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

I wouldn’t change any of my trials

When I look back at all the trials I’ve gone through, I wouldn’t change any of them. Trials help shape and form us into the people we were meant to be. God will never give us a trial that we can’t overcome.

Isaiah 41:13 says, “For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’”

God is always with us, and if we seek guidance from Him, we can learn to be resilient like Job. But we’re the ones who decide how we’re going to let trials affect us. We have to decide which twin we are going to be like: the one who accepts that because his father was an alcoholic then he will be too, or the one that learns from his father’s mistakes and rises above the trials in life.

With God’s help, we can have the strength to rise above anything life throws at us.

To learn more, read “4 Ways to Find Joy in Trials.”