Mossy

Moss grows slowly and often in challenging environments, and yet, it has the ability to cling to almost any surface. When you try to remove it from whatever it is clinging to, it is surprisingly difficult, because it is stuck fast to it.

A friend recently said to me that she appreciated Dan and my resilience and perseverance in ministry, despite sometimes difficult circumstances. I was thankful to hear that because sometimes it seems as if we haven't done so well. Yet, when I look back over our decades of ministry I realize how much of an accomplishment that is. There have been times when we wanted to give up, and yet, we have kept trusting God and moving forward. 

2 Kings 18:5-7a says, "Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook." 

If you read the rest of the story, Hezekiah was in difficult circumstances and could have been tempted to give up, or go the way of previous kings, but he clung to the Lord and His promises. When we hold fast to the Lord, He will hold fast to us. 

Hezekiah was praised for his obedience to God's commandments and he was a man of prayer. His reign was marked by God's blessings and his story is an example of God's love. Hezekiah gave way to fear and was tempted to despair when threatened, but he continued to listen to and follow the Lord.

That is the very definition of what a resilient life looks like. The ability to keep going back to the source of our faith no matter what is happening around us. It doesn't mean we won't be tempted to give up and get discouraged, but we get back up, trust God and keep following where He leads us. And that means even in the hard places.

I want to be a woman of resilience. Moss clings tightly to a surface and grows patiently and slowly even in an inhospitable environment. May that be true of all of us who profess to follow Christ.