Resiliency and the Resurrection

Resiliency has been an important topic in many psychological circles.

First, as a grammar geek, I have to admit there are two forms of the word: resilience and resiliency. Both have the same root buried deep in Latin from the 1600s, resili meaning to spring back. Around 1850, the words’ root started to acquire the additional meaning of “power of recovery.” Resiliency is mostly used in North America, while resilience is preferred by most of the rest of the world.

In psychological circles, resiliency is a quality or set of traits that allows people regardless of background to overcome risk, trauma, and adversity. With resiliency, people with hardship choose to keep fighting on to live a full life with strength, wisdom, and power. It’s not that resilient people don’t have negative thoughts and feelings about the past, present, or future; it’s that resilient people have learned to admit to the negativity and process it properly.

As a Christian, I believe true resiliency is based in believing in the power of Christ’s resurrection. In Philippians 3:10–11 (ICB), Paul prays:

All I want is to know Christ and the power of his rising from death. I want to share in Christ’s sufferings and become like him in his death. If I have those things, then I have hope that I myself will be raised from death.

Christ’s suffering — the agony in the garden, the scourging at the pillar, carrying His cross, falling three times, hanging and dying on the cross, losing the Father’s presence temporarily — was truly traumatic. It is probably, with the exception of acts of war, genocide, and religious extremists, far more traumatic than anything I could experience.

But had He not risen from the dead, my faith would be in vain (1 Cor 15:14). There would be no point in faith in Him. He would have been just one more dead leader or great teacher.

As a result of this resurrection, I can believe that He can make all things work for my good, even risk, trauma, and adversity (Rom 8:28). As a result, even in my weakness, I can choose to spend my life to help others according to His plan (Eph 2:10). I can also believe that I can do all things through His strength (Phil 4:13). When I fail and confess it, He forgives it all and washes my heart, soul, and mind clean (1 John 1:9); however, He is also going to continue to do the good work of bringing my faith to completion (Phil 1:6).

Simply put, the resurrection and its power is just resiliency magnified to infinity by the grace of an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Father.