Luke 6:46-49 (NKJV) “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”
The term “strawberry generation” refers to a generation which cannot withstand hardship because they are so well-protected and sheltered by their parents that they are easily bruised and spoilt just like strawberries. But do you know that there are Christians who behave just like the “strawberries generation” regardless of their age? During a time of adversity, they easily give up on their walk with the Lord due to a lack of resilience in their faith.
Resilience is the ability to bounce back from a terrible experience in life and it is God’s grace which enables us to stand strong during the ordeal. Resilience has not been more needed than during the current unprecedented times.
The Christian life is not a sprint but a marathon. We don’t need to run the fastest because our goal is to finish the race. Unfortunately, some have dropped off from the race because their faith was not conditioned for it. The devil will not hesitate to throw us adversities, tribulations, trials, persecutions, and other setbacks to make us give up. These may hit us hard and knock us down, making us feel discouraged, disappointed, frustrated, and too exhausted to continue. We may also question God’s presence and His lack of intervention. However, we need to know that He is speaking if we would only tune into the voice of the Holy Spirit who is our comforter, helper and counsellor, especially during times of adversity. He will draw out Scriptures from the foundation that we have laid. It takes perseverance and resilience to fight the good fight of faith so we can cross the finishing line where we meet the Lord face to face.
For those of us who have done long-distance running, there are times when we feel we just can’t go on and want to quit. Similarly, we are tempted to quit and forgo the Christian walk when the going gets tough in life. Therefore, just like training for a marathon, in our faith walk, we need to develop the resilience to soldier on despite the intensity of our trials and tribulations. God never promised us a bed of roses when we accepted Christ, but He did promise us that His grace would be sufficient for us because His strength is fully manifested in our weakness.
Sermon Series: Resilience (Part 1)
坚持不懈
路加福音 6:46-49「你们为什么称呼我『主啊，主啊』却不遵我的话行呢？ 凡到我这里来，听见我的话就去行的，我要告诉你们他像什么人：他像一个人盖房子，深深地挖地，把根基安在磐石上；到发大水的时候，水冲那房子，房子总不能摇动，因为根基立在磐石上。惟有听见不去行的，就像一个人在土地上盖房子，没有根基；水一冲，随即倒塌了，并且那房子坏的很大。」
“草莓族”指的是那些无法承受苦难的一代人，因为被父母保护和庇护得太好，他们就像草莓一样容易受伤和被宠坏。但是你知道吗，不论年纪如何，有些基督徒表现得就像“草莓族“一样。在逆境中，他们很容易放弃与主同行，因为他们的信仰缺乏韧性。
韧性是指从生活中的可怕经历中恢复的能力，是上帝的恩典使我们能够在苦难中坚强地站立。在目前那前所未有的情况里，韧性尤其重要。
基督徒的生命不是短跑，而是马拉松。我们不需要跑得最快，因为我们的目标是完成比赛。不幸的是，有些人退出了这场比赛，因为他们的信仰经不起考验。魔鬼会毫不犹豫地将逆境、磨难、考验、迫害和其他挫折加在我们身上，让我们放弃。这些可能会使我们受到沉重的打击而跌倒，使我们感到沮丧、失望、挫败，并且精疲力竭，无法继续下去。我们也可能会质疑上帝的同在和祂为何不帮助。然而，我们需要知道，特别在逆境中，如果我们聆听圣灵-我们的安慰者、帮助者和辅导者-的声音，上帝在对我们说话。祂将从我们所立的根基上引出经文鼓励我们。我们需要坚韧不拔和有韧性才能打好美好的信心之仗，才能越过终点线，与主见面。
对于那些经历过长跑的人来说，有时我们觉得自己无法继续下去，想放弃。同样地，当生活变得艰难时，我们也会忍不住想放弃跟随主踪。因此，就像马拉松训练一样，在我们的信心之旅中，我们需要培养在艰苦的考验和磨难中坚持到底的韧性。当我们接受基督时，上帝从来没有应许我们天色常蓝，但祂确实应许我们，祂的恩典够用，因为祂的能力在人的软弱上显得完全。
讲章系列：韧性 (反弹/恢复能力)（第一部分）