Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Bouncebackability (06/05/14)
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TITLE: When All Else Fails | Previous Challenge Entry
By Donna Tijou
06/12/14 -
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Where does it come from? What gives us the strength to keep going when we've drained our resources and we are bone dry? How does the Holy Spirit keep on feeding us when we don’t think we can be fed anymore? What does it mean to bounce back when all the air has been let out of the ball? How does one find the strength when there is no strength left?
The bible if full of people who have bounced back when they thought they couldn’t. Abraham bounced back after he had to send away his firstborn son, Ishmael and again, when God required him to sacrifice his promised son, Isaac. Abraham didn't want to follow through and obey God’s command, but because he did, God gave him a reprieve and didn't take his son, then blessed his seed to become a nation.
Joseph bounced back when he was sold into slavery and again when he was wrongly accused of behaving improperly with his master’s wife.
Moses kept going even after he knew he was being denied the one thing he had been fighting for - the very thing he led his people through for forty years in the desert was lost to him when he was denied entrance to the Promised Land, yet he went on to become one of the greatest bible characters.
Peter bounced back after he denied knowing his Savior. The apostle Paul bounced back after being beaten and thrown into jail. John bounced back after being exiled to a deserted isle.
Jesus bounced back after He was beaten, humiliated, nailed to a wooden cross, and bore the sins of the world. Yet He rose from the grave and conquered death and sin!
Oh Lord, how do we bounce back when we’re out of money, energy and ability to go on, when our bodies ache and fail us, when money never stretches far enough? The everyday dramas can be trying when we don’t have the money for the dentist, doctor or prescription medication, when we need new glasses but can’t afford them, when our shoes are worn and we don’t have the money to buy new ones, when there is not enough coming in and too much going out, when children are abused and don’t get enough to eat, when people fight and don’t love one another as they should, when there is needless wars and unkindness. How do we bounce back?
We need you, Father, more than ever. We belong to You and only through You, can we go on. Please give us the courage, strength, and fight to bounce back. We are resilient only because we belong to You and You give us what we need.
We bounce back when we are empty and You fill us up. We bounce back because You love us enough to require it of us and because You forgive our sins. You told us to take up our crosses and follow you. You never promised an easy road, but You did promise joy beyond human understanding. So, to answer my own question - how do we bounce back? - we bounce back when we give it all to you. You turn the morning dew into manna. You give us what we need. You fill us up when the well is dry. You and You alone are our Alpha and Omega, our beginning and our end, our holy Savior who loves and cares for us. When all else fails, Jesus never does. That is the true meaning of bouncebackability.
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Beautifully written and told. Blessed are those that believe...and your story would suggest you're blessed indeed.
God bless~
Many of the bible characters did come back but more could have been written to show exactly how.
We can learn so much from the bible looking at the characters.