The godly virtue of resiliency begins small and grows with time. Boys with just a little strength now may become men of great fortitude tomorrow. Large oaks begin by seed. Floods start with drops. A frog was once a tadpole. A lion was once a cub.
Cowards fear man, not God. They fear offending. They fear the consequences of exposing others’ sins. They worry the truth may bring them unemployment, poverty, imprisonment or even death. Proverbs 29:25 says: “The fear of man lays a snare.” Cowards are trapped. They can’t move. They say, “What will others think?”
Cowards are the sail on a boat. Popular opinion is the wind. They go where the world tells them. Courageous men, on the other hand, do what is right. They are resilient regardless the outcome. When cowards bow, heroes stand. When cowards whisper, heroes proclaim. When cowards run, heroes stand firm. They do not quit. They persevere amidst trials. Why
In 1 Corinthians 4, Paul teaches that despite his afflictions and difficulties, these weaknesses do not disable him. He gives four word pictures to show that his infirmities give him more strength. He’s “afflicted” but “not crushed”; he is “perplexed” but not “driven to despair”; he is “persecuted but not forsaken”; he is “struck down but not destroyed.” The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that will help us survive our trials (v. 7). God makes us weak so he gets all the credit amidst our resiliency, as shall be seen in the life of Hugh Latimer.