By Vanessa Brobbel
Manager of Special Projects for The Voice of the Martyrs Canada
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted."
Hebrews 12:1-3 ESV
Someone once described nouns as words consisting of a physical component; words referencing a “person, place or thing.” Put that way, the physical definition of resilience in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is: “The capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress.” Wow! Have you ever felt compressed by stress and wondered how on earth recovery was possible?
At the start of 2022, the word “resilience” was heavy on the prayerful heart of VOMC’s CEO, Floyd Brobbel. Therefore, his editorials throughout the year have focussed on different aspects of resilience as it relates to lessons learned through the strained body of Christ. There is not one person alive who hasn’t at some point had to face up to this painful question: "Why, Lord, are You allowing me to suffer? I don’t understand it. I don’t like it. Like Job, I want answers explaining the reasons for my suffering!”
The words in the above-quoted verses of Hebrews 12 hint at the deep truth that is brought into clear focus when viewing through the lenses of suffering: It all comes down to the cross. The cross of Jesus reveals the character of God like nothing else. What important character trait is revealed through such sacrifice? LOVE. For God is love.
In her book, Suffering is Never for Nothing, Elisabeth Elliot wrote the following:
“The love of God is not a sentiment. It is a willed and inexorable love that will command nothing less than the very best for us. The love of God wills our joy. I think of the love of God as being synonymous with the will of God…. If you really believe that somebody loves you, then you trust them. The will of God is love. And love suffers. That’s how we know what the love of God for us is, because He was willing to become a man and to take upon Himself our sins, our griefs, our sufferings. Love is always inextricably bound with sacrifice. Any father knows this. Any mother knows this.”1
Neither resilience nor love are within our grasp without the sacrifice of our loving Lord. Joni Eareckson Tada commented: “…true maturity, joy and contentment have less to do with a mechanistic assessment of God’s plan, and more to do with being pushed and, at times, shoved against the breast of your Saviour…. When affliction decimates you, then you understand…. The Bible’s answers are never to be separated from the God of the Bible.”2
For the 2023 Visual Arts Contest, I encourage you to prayerfully reflect on the theme of Resilient Love and Hebrews 12:1-3. May the testimonies of those who have been shoved into the Saviour’s breast – and experienced resilient love like Mathew’s – capture your heart and creativity. Press into His presence, for as Janet Erskine Stuart has discovered, “Joy is not the absence of suffering but the presence of God.”3
May Resilient Love pour out of you as you create its image for this contest.
Together in Him,
Endnotes:
1 Elisabeth Elliot, Suffering is Never for Nothing, B&H Publishing Group, 2019, pg. 41.
2 Ibid., pg. viii
3 Original resource unknown
