Resilient: Restoring Your Weary Soul in These Turbulent Times

John Eldredge has been a leading Christian voice ever since his first book, The Sacred Romance, so many years ago. His books have been timeless in finding one's purpose, and connection with God. His latest, Resilient, is essentially a sequel to Get Your Life Back. While the latter came out in 2020 before the pandemic (made so much worse by the horrible response by the bureaucrats), Resilient comes out as the world tries to normalize.

Except, it has never been normal. We have been on this crash course with destruction for decades. Resilient isn't a 5-steps-to-get-better type of book. In Eldredge's typical style, he shows how Christ will get us through turbulent times - and has gifted us to be Resilient.

In many ways, Eldredge's book All Things New serves as the conclusion to these two books (even though it was published first). Together, these will be a manual to restoring your life and how it's meant to be.

As always, John Eldredge writes to readers' hearts and souls. In this case, he addresses the situation we find ourselves in and discusses with great insight how these times are influencing our lives, especially spiritual lives. His prescription is to become more aware of how we are being impacted by stressors of life and to become determined to be built up in the faith through a closer, more earnest relationship with the Lord. Eldredge gives practical devotional guidance and disciplines along the way -- that in Eldredge style is marked by anecdotes, movie and book references that often convey the experience of people in stressful, dangerous times. Overall, this is an encouraging book that as much as anything is a gentle rebuke to people who have probably slackened in their faithful devotion to the Lord or have maintained the status quo in the face of heightened spiritual danger.

Love this author and all his writings- download the app to go along with the book.

Christian author and counselor John Eldredge‘s “Resilient” is the perfect read after all we’ve been facing. He used the recent pandemic and prophecies about the end of the age to share with readers a way to access the source of our resiliency and strength found in Jesus Christ.
Eldredge said “comfort culture” has made us softies with our easy and fast access to so many of our wants and needs. We’ve become less resilient than previous generations. For example, my grandparents lived through the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and World War II. They became more creative and resourceful when facing supply shortages. They learned how to tighten their belts and band together in their communities. They didn’t have this vast access to up-to-the-minute news and demands for their time from electronic devices.
Eldredge said we likewise have been through trauma with the global pandemic. Even before the pandemic though, he said we were headed toward burnout. We already had the perfect storm brewing with the constant connection to social media and steady stream of news updates on the death count, mask wars, the need for a vaccine and then societal and political unrest. No one could make plans. The end seemed nowhere in sight. Now, we just want things to go back to normal, he said. We want life to be good again.
But he said the last years of grief, loss, fear, strife, heartache and soul-crushing desolation took a toll on the human spirit. Eldredge then said something Karl Mordo said to Dr. Strange: “The bill comes due.” People who stayed the course during the pandemic had to rally many times. They didn’t have time to recovery and replenish their emotional and mental stores. Even when it looked like things were back to normal, people found that sense of desolation and disquiet in their spirits. Many became like camels who will walk many miles through the desert showing no signs of distress …and then drop dead (an example from the opening chapter).
Eldredge thankfully didn’t wait to help readers learn how to regain a spirit of resilience. He discussed skills in every chapter to help draw from the river of life found in Jesus Christ, the sustainer and ruler of life and the universe. Nothing escapes God’s notice. Nothing is out of His control. Eldredge wanted readers to cling to this fact and ask for God’s strength to endure and draw upon His endless supply of resilience. He encouraged readers to become “singlehearted” and make God the center of their daily lives. We need to take our attention off the world and refocus attention to our part in His love story.
Eldredge shared stories of people who survived (and didn’t survive) traumatic events in a way that drew me in and had me scouring the Internet for more information.
He provided prayers at the end of each chapter. The prayers were everything – well-written, beautifully expressed, and true to the skills Eldredge taught in each chapter. All of the prayers were at the very end as well as the footnotes. Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for the draft e-copy of this timely read.

Resilient is the latest Christian discipleship book by John Eldredge. He has a long history of writing engaging and entertaining books that challenge you to grow in your walk with God and your life as a follower of Jesus. This book is specifically about the timeframe post-pandemic and how Jesus charged his disciples to grow in resilience, especially in the last days before his return.

This book is definitely for Christians. I believe that it is best for a committed Christian who will look up the scriptures that Eldredge references and critically think about what he is recommending and asking of you, the reader. But even new or younger Christians will gain deeper knowledge from this.

It is a very practical book. While it was easy and enjoyable to read, it challenges you from the very beginning the engage with God's Word and use the chapters as a springboard for more prayer in your life. I ended up copying several of the prayers into my personal journal because they were so rich.

I see myself recommending this to my friends (in fact, I already have!). One unique feature of this is that there is a companion devotional app called the Pause App that is free to download. After reading the book, you can continue to grow by utilizing the app to draw you deeper in communion with the Lord.

I put the the practical applications for prayer into my life right now and it has been amazing. The first day I tried what he suggested, I brought as issue to the Lord and was given an amazing vision that has bolstered and encouraged me. I really encourage the Christian to read this with an open but discerning mind and don't be afraid to try the prayer exercises.

I highly recommend this book. I'm not certain that I will re-read this book, but I will definitely be using the beautiful written prayers.