Resilience Part 1

<p>In this new series, Pastor Anthony teaches us how to build a strong life - how to build resilience. God has called us to great things and we need to be resilient in order to achieve those great things.</p><p><br></p><p>The dictionary defines resilience as 'the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity'.</p><p><br></p><p>Therefore, in whatever situation we face, we need to be able to spring back into shape when it's all said and done. </p><p><br></p><p>Jesus is the model for resilience. We see this in His life and crucifixion. He suffered so much and endured because He was focused on the end goal. He endured the cross and since we are His followers, we ought to endure in this life. </p><p><br></p><p>In order to do so we need to keep our eyes on Him. He should be our only focus. If we keep our focus on Him then we will finish the race. He is our finish line. This does not mean it will be easy, but  we must persevere. In order for us to endure, we must build hope and courage and develop a tough spirit, soul and body. As mentioned, it won't come easy and that's why we need to endure. By being resilient we will live a fulfilled life.  </p><p><br></p><p>Principles of resilience:</p><p>- Big trials equals big faith which equals a big life. </p><p>Trials result in our faith and this is evident in the stories of Joseph and Esther. Trials are not obstacles but they are the fuel that keep us going. 'God uses our trials to build our faith, draw us closer to Him and give us a testimony of His faithfulness for others to see'. Our testimony is the proven work of God in our lives. He gets the glory from our testimony. Therefore we need to have faith in Him.</p><p><br></p><p>We need to endure because we might be faced with resistance along the way. Resistance shows our heart and the depth of our faith in God. This is why we need to be anchored and rooted in Him. Our faith must be strengthened in times of trouble, trials and adversit