If you are a regular reader of my posts, you have found the last seven posts have featured many quotes by John Eldredge and some of you might even know that he is a favorite author of mine. John’s new release in June has been challenging my thoughts and stirring my reflections and contemplation as a good book does. This one seems to be “right on time” in the life of so many of us and if you haven’t checked it out yet, I would encourage you to do so.

The focus of Resilient is looking at the impact of the past few years on all of us because of the pandemic and the steady stream of one crisis after another with no pause. He leads the reader to consider what is motivating us now to keep looking for ways to deal with our longing to “make life good again” and how the depleted reserves within us are still not replenished.

“Right now we’re in a sort of global denial about the actual cost of these hard years (which are not over). We just want to get past it all, so we’re currently trying to comfort ourselves with some sense of recovery and relief. But folks, we haven’t paid the psychological bill for all we’ve been through.”

John Eldredge

Each of our stories over the past two years is unique despite sharing a few common elements “to be suddenly stripped of your normal life; to live under the fear of suffering and death; to be bombarded with negative news, kept in a state of constant uncertainty about the future, with no clear view of the finish line; and to lose every human countenance behind a mask.”

Considering that humankind was designed for Eden, we have been adapting to a very different world ever since and largely been remarkably resilient and time and time again learned to tap into the reserves within us to weather the latest crisis whether it was personal or global.

Eldredge points out that while we are resilient, we are also fragile and as we tap into our resources as we have done during the last few years, we have also tapped into our reserves. What do we do now to replenish them? Many of us have been blessed by vacations, family gatherings, movie-going, and more, but things within us still have the imprint of what we have dealt with and used up.

Our experiences have left us with little to call upon for the next crisis and how we shepherd our heart and replenish these reserves is critical. Who and what is capturing our attention? Are these life-giving or leaving us unfulfilled?

So, how does a book help us? That depends on you, the choices you make, and if you allow it to be more than information you log into your mind or give it a chance to permeate your heart so you can experience joy again.

“In Resilient, John Eldredge provides the awareness and support you need to strengthen your weary soul. Drawing on wisdom from Scripture, Christian tradition, and powerful true stories of grit and survival. Resilient gives you prayers and practical steps to learn new ways to strengthen your heart and soul so you can live with joy; tap into supernatural graces God promises his people; understand how shifting political currents are warning signs of more change to come; and discover renewed freedom and strength through Christ who lives within you.”

John Eldredge

This is a book to read slowly and savor, to practice the exercises John Eldredge offers and then to listen to the audiobook or read it again. Its truths and help are even more powerful if you download the free One Minute Pause App and utilize the section entitled “30 Days to Resilience” that gives you short morning and evening meditations to refocus your heart, mind, and spirit.

I have finished the book now and am on Day 23 of the app. Next step for me will be to listen to the audiobook little by little to allow the gems Eldredge offers sink more deeply into my life, so I am restored, replenished and ready for action.

“Perhaps all this crazy and erratic human behavior in this hour might indicate the loss of bearing that comes when something strong begins to overwhelm our internal compasses. Someone is approaching.

What sort of magnetic pull would the approach of our Lord and Master have on the hearts that love him?”

John Eldredge