Nelson Mandela, endured 27 years of what was meant to be a will-crushing imprisonment, fighting against the injustices of apartheid in South Africa. He was locked up at age 46 and released at 73. Most of us would have emerged with our spirit broken, just grateful to be alive and free, and certainly resentful of our captors. Not Mandela, he arose with strength and grace, with a forgiving heart, and the will to lead not only those who had battled with him, but those who fought against him. President Mandela said, "The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." Resilience.
Jesus, suffered the greatest agony ever known to be our atoning sacrifice:
the anxiety of the Garden of Gethsemane, an unjust trial, and the
cruelest death by crucifixion. He was not only marred physically until
unrecognizable; He carried the entire weight of sin for the whole world,
past, present, and future. He felt the separation from His Father that
sin brings, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46) Jesus was not only left for dead; He was dead, and buried.
But on the third day, He bounced back! rising from the dead with a
glorified body, appearing to His disciples many times, showing them his
wounds, and even walking through walls! Jesus emerged not as a suffering Savior, but as God and King! and the same power that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us!
We can bounce back from sin, faults and failures. When we die, those who
have received Jesus as Lord and Savior will live again eternally with
Him! Even now in this earth, if we have a spirit of resiliency that is willing to go through whatever it takes... we can recover! What was dead can be raised! What was hurt can be healed! The broken can be restored! What was lost can be found!
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.(Romans 8:11)
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