He has torn us, and He will heal us; He has wounded us, and He will bind up our wounds. Hosea 6:1

In all their suffering, He suffered, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. Isaiah 63:9

See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and by it, defiling many. Hebrews 12:15

The thing about life is that, for most folks, it hurts from the start.

Have you ever wondered why God goes to the trouble of sanctifying us? He could instantly zap us into His image the moment we decide to follow Jesus, or He could transport us into heaven the moment of our conversion. Why would He opt for taking us through the long, drawn-out process of planting, watering, pruning, and harvesting? But sure enough, He rolls up His sleeves, puts palms to the dirt, and begins putting the pieces of our lives together in a way that matters.

Opposition is anything that opposes (1) us, (2) the work God desires to do in us, and (3) the work God desires to do through us.

Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of His glory … Jude 24

What you must trust in these moments is that anything God breaks down is intended to build you up.

The absence of regret makes no guarantee of the absence of pain.

God chose to teach me with the very things Satan had used to defeat me.

I think we build resilience to prepare for whatever adversity we'll face. And we all face some adversity - we're all living some form of Option B.

Playing in non-League gave me the resilience. I learned everything there. You needed to fight off hard tackles and I was playing against big men. You learn how to be strong and take them on and learn resilience.