Be God's Character Witness

When bad things happen to good people, it tends to generate frustration and sadness. Anger tells us to fight back to regain control. While it’s acceptable to be angry, it’s necessary to keep it in check to prevent overreacting.

 

While Joseph was far from being perfect, he didn't deserve being taken to Egypt and sold as slave. He had choices regarding how he would react. He responded by taking advantage of opportunities to prove he was a responsible person regardless of his situation.

When Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank, was sent to a Nazi concentration camp, he knew survival depended on finding meaning and purpose in this death camp. He did survive while the rest of his family perished. After the war he published The Diary of Anne Frank, which become a classic book and movie. When your heart and mind are set on doing your best even in the worst possible situation, God provides the will and strength for you to be a character witness to his grace and mercy.  

______________________ 

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank him for his answers. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful that the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your hearts and your minds quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus.

~Philippians 4:6-7 The Living Bible

Resilience: Character Strength for Survival - Part 3

Freudian psychology promotes the pain and pleasure principle. Freud developed this theory from his observation of people who tend to avoid suffering and pain by seeking pleasure and comfort. The world's economy is geared toward promising happiness and pleasure rather than pain and sorrow.

Pleasure is irresistible when it fits within acceptable boundaries. Within this context the challenge for acquiring pleasure is invigorating. The desire for pleasure kindles a fire that challenges us to take hold of a promising dream by activating our best mental and physical assets. The desire for pleasure drives us to conquer suffering and pain by using every source available.

It takes resilience to conquer all obstructions that prevent us from securing  peace and joy. Resilience, that inner, God-given strength, resists defeat and any pain associated with it. Like Jesus, the Apostle Paul, and countless others, each of us is commissioned to press on toward the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. This alone brings peace and internal satisfaction.  

Resilience: Character Strength for Survival - Part 2

Suffering is inescapable. Most people experience a balance between suffering and pleasure which life generates for each of us. Very few people enjoy suffering or deliberately seek it out, yet there are those who seem to be stuck in its embrace. Resilience is a character attribute that makes it possible to manage suffering.

Listen to Saint Paul from Philippians 3. "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering." This empowered Paul to finish the task Jesus commissioned him to do. Listen to his determination. "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." Resilience is so ingrained that giving up is unthinkable.

You can be empowered by Christ Jesus to endure hardships and suffering. Regardless of how drastic your situation may be, God will help you reap the benefits of growing stronger in your faith as you mature, grow stronger, become kinder, and learn to care for others. Achieving these strengths of character is a worthy objective.