Life has moments that can shake us to our very core.
One moment we are riding high, feeling almost invulnerable and in absolute control of our lives, and in the next we find ourselves lower than we ever thought possible. Our illusion of control is painfully shattered and we experience seemingly hopeless and endless uncertainty. Rejection, failure, lies, and death can all serve to precipitate this painful impact on our lives.
“Break in, God, and break up this fight;
if you love me at all, get me out of here.
I’m no good to you dead, am I?
I can’t sing in your choir if I’m buried in some tomb!”
However, one unexpected yield from these traumatic experiences is that of clarity. Broken down and shaken from the fictitious world our mind has built, that which truly matters comes into sharp focus. We find ourselves suddenly able to discern the substantial from the trivial. This clear perspective allows us to reorder our priorities into better concert with that which we truly value.
“Adversity may be necessary for growth because it forces you to stop speeding along the road of life, allowing you to notice the paths that were branching off all along, and to think about where you really want to end up.”
In Psalms 6, David finds himself in the midst of a terrible struggle which has left him, “beat up badly in bones and soul.” He cries out for God to rescue him and alleviate his pain, fearing he may be entirely consumed and destroyed. As if to illustrate none are immune, we witness the man who overcame Goliath and served as a great warrior king robbed of his confidence and hope. The Psalm however concludes with hope.
People are among the most resilient life forms on Earth. We readily adapt to and even colonize the most extreme environments. For people are not fragile but anti-fragile. Untested we are weak and vulnerable, but like our immune systems, we become increasingly resilient upon exposure to adversity.
Adversity is an unavoidable but necessary part of life. Let us therefore renew our perspective and in the midst of our next struggle remember the clarity and growth that are sure to follow.