Many years ago I was within two weeks of proposing to a girl. Long story short the relationship went bust. She left me for another dude. Yes, therapy was needed. Seriously, I was devastated. And I needed closure. So I did the manly thing and threw everything she’d given me into the trash. Notes, cards, stuffed animals…. Ladies, I never understood why you give stuffed animals to us. It’s not like we’re hanging with our boys and say, “hey man, check out my Rifle… and my Tickle-Me-Elmo.” I digress…. (No offense girls, I like Tickle-Me-Elmo).
As my self-pity was unfolding before my dad he came to me and said, “Son, let me tell you something. You got burned.” To which I wanted to say, “I love you too, dad.” He continued, “Take this on the chin like a man and move on with your life.”
I carry those words with me to this day. I don’t know if you’ve noticed lately but life is hard. Adversity pounds us. Relationships bust, sickness lurks, opportunities vanish, transmissions fail, friends betray, and moms and dads divorce.
I ran across this verse yesterday that got me thinking about this: “If you faint in the day of adversity your strength is small” (Proverbs 24:10). So how do we find the strength to take life and adversity on the chin?
There’s one greater who took it on the chin for us. Jesus. Actually, he took on infinitely more. He took it in his hands and feet with nails that pinned Him to the Cross. He took on the wrath of God and died for our sin. But He conquered death and sin by rising on the third day. And we have His Spirit within us to “take it on the chin” because we are “more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37).
What are you dealing with right now? Take it on the chin and move on in the strength of the one who took it on the chin for you.