Preparing to Bounce {Before You Can Bounce Back}

If your life is at all “normal”, you’ve likely bounced back from something, and you’ll probably bounce back from something again - heartache, frustration, sickness, loss. I’ve been kicking around some thoughts about “how to bounce back” for the past few days, for those times when you’ve been down or have been sidelined for whatever reason. I was coming up with some ideas for reclaiming life, for starting small and not getting overwhelmed. And then a completely different thought hit me and sent my mind turning in other directions…
You have to bounce before you can bounce back. So here are a few thoughts on preparing to bounce.

We talk about bouncing back, so let’s take a look at the first bounce - the one that causes the pain from which you’ll have to bounce back.

Jesus was honest with his disciples in John 16, as He was preparing to leave them and return to the Father.

In the world you will have tribulation.
John 16:33b

For our purposes, He’s saying that in this world, we’re going to have pain. We’re going to hit hard.
We’re going to bounce.

But that’s just one small part of the verse. Look how Jesus surrounds that portion of the verse with hope:

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

He surrounds the problems, the pain we’ll have in the world, with peace and salvation.

If we were to summarize the thoughts in this verse, it might read something like this:

Jesus wants us to have peace in Him.
There will be trouble.
He has already overcome the world.

Or, to put it in even simpler terms:

Peace.
Trouble.
Salvation.

This verse reminds me that we aren’t walking through life blinded to the fact that we’re going to have trouble. Therefore, (and I struggle with this) we shouldn’t be blindsided by troubles that come. (Don’t get me wrong - we don’t know when trouble will hit, but we shouldn’t be surprised that it happens, or blame God that it has happened.)

Who, from the Bible, do you think of when you think of “bouncing back”?

Noah - bounced back from the scorn of the world and was saved because of his faith to build the ark
Isaac - bounced back from near death at his father’s hand - a life redeemed by God
Hosea - bounced back from the adultery committed by his wife
Gomer - Hosea’s wife - bounced back from adultery to be loved by Hosea as Christ loves His people
Saul - bounced back from being blinded by God and later imprisoned as Paul (and much more!) to become a great man of God

There are many others - open your Bible to just about any passage and you’ll find a story of someone enduring trouble.

And this week I was reading about Joseph (Genesis 37-50):

Favored.
Hated.
Plotted against.
Abandoned.
Sold.
Enslaved.
Trapped.
Imprisoned.
For years.
Interpreted.
Ruled.

There are so many other things that happened in Joseph’s life. This is just a quick turn-of-the-pages as it relates to his life.

Look at all the negative things that happened in his life. If ever there was someone who wondered if he’d bounce back, it would be Joseph.

Here’s a man who endured hit after hit - bounce after bounce - yet the Bible doesn’t record much in the way of Joseph begging for mercy. When he is imprisoned, he asks the others to mention him to Pharaoh.

He continued to trust God, no matter his situation, and God’s favor was upon him. He was placed in charge of Potiphar’s house, he was given charge in the prison, and he eventually came to be second in command.

Now I’m sure that Joseph didn’t just go along quietly with all the trouble he endured. Let’s face it - if family gathered, plotted against us and sought to do us harm, we wouldn’t just go along quietly with what they did. No doubt we’d cry out for mercy, and I’m sure that was true in Joseph’s case as well.

But the bigger story is God’s power of redemption despite all the troubles that Joseph endured.

Joseph took some hard hits.

But all of those things - every hit he took, every time he bounced hard - were what propelled him to the position God planned for him. By becoming second in command, he was able to provide for the safety of his family - the same family who abandoned and sold him originally - when famine hit the land.

Talk about raining mercy and grace on someone’s head…

Joseph’s brothers started the long chain of awful events that happened in Joseph’s life.

And then for Joseph to be the one who provided for their physical needs during famine, for salvation for the family - the mercy and grace of God!

Joseph accepted the evils that came his way, fully trusting God for a way out.

And God provided.

We can learn about handling the hard times from Joseph’s story.

God doesn’t always provide a way out, but He certainly is faithful in walking us through the tough situations we face.

The hard circumstances in our lives are propelling us to what God has for us. The troubles may hurt, they may cause extreme pain in our lives, but the story of Joseph reminds us that God will be faithful in those hurts.

God is going to provide a way to bounce back, but you’re going to have to bounce first. The troubles are going to come. But, we can remember the super-simple summary of John 16:33 - peace, trouble, salvation.

We can live in peace, despite troubles, because we know God has made a way of salvation.

original photo source