A mantra or word to frame the next season or year (WOTY) is sometimes chosen haphazardly and other times with great intention.

After significant stress from a season of two parents battling cancer and one dying in 2022, I thoughtfully chose resilient to depict my posture in 2023.

Christ cultivates this essential character trait in his followers through life's inevitable struggles.

One of my favourite books of the Bible says:

These verses from James 1: 2-4 reflect resilience in character.

In Building a Resilient Life, Rebekah Lyons (2023) defines resilience as “faithful perseverance” (25), saying:

Reflecting on spiritual formation—or deformation—in others provides direction and inspiration.

Among many faithful men and women, Ruth from biblical times and Corrie Ten Boom from recent history are known for being resilient women who left indelible marks of loyalty, sacrifice, and hope, characteristics I will highlight in these women and long to embody.

A biblical narrative depicting extraordinary devotion is between Ruth and Naomi.

After Ruth’s husband dies, she makes a bold commitment to her mother-in-law, Naomi:

“Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16).

Ruth, originally a Moabite, is inspired by Naomi’s loyalty to the God of Israel and follows her in faith as well.

Their relative Boaz is impressed, saying,

“May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge” (Ruth 2:12).

In Crafting a Rule of Life, Stephen A. Macchia also gives a high compliment, noting, “Ruth trusted in God and developed trust and trustworthiness in all of her primary relationships” (94).

In God Walk, Mark Buchanan (2020) reflects on the iconic relationship between David and Jonathan, noting, “For friendship [Jonathan] relinquished a kingdom” (91).

Likewise, Ruth left behind any sense of security to accompany her mother-in-law to a new land and worship a new God.

Loyalty is also prominent in the life of Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch Christian in the 1900s.

Her respected position as a watchmaker’s assistant in the Netherlands covered up her strategic role in the underground movement, hiding Jews in World War II.

These noble acts were eventually discovered, leading to her arrest and an intense ten months as a prisoner of war, first in solitary confinement and then reunited with her dear sister Betsie, where she laboured all day long and, whenever possible, preached from the tiny Bible she miraculously smuggled into the concentration camp!

Corrie Ten Boom was loyal to her Father’s wishes to protect God’s beloved people, advocated for her sister while in a prison camp, and, once freed from prison due to a clerical error, committed to spreading the message of hope her precious sister proclaimed in life and death.

Ruth and Corrie Ten Boom’s life stories not only thrived from loyalty but also from great sacrifice.

Ruth risks everything, leaving the familiarity of home and carrying a broken heart down an unknown path.

In God Walk, Mark Buchanan writes a chapter on “Walking as Suffering” (Buchanan 2023, 145) in which he looks at the story of Naomi and Ruth, noting how appealing it was for Ruth to see Naomi pour out her soul to God. He reflects on this glorious truth:

“No other God, ever, anywhere, welcomes us to lay the yoke of our sorrow and bitterness on his shoulders and drive the nails of our grievances through his flesh” (153).

In her pain, Naomi turned to God and invited Ruth to leave behind the Moabite gods for a God of compassion, a Savior who enters into suffering.

As her story goes on, Ruth continues to follow Naomi’s direction, sacrificing her pride and security to pursue Boaz, a close relative, as the redeemer of their family line.

From moving to a foreign land and working long days gleaning in the field to another bold move, Ruth is a brave woman, willing to face humiliation or punishment to save her family line with her advancements (Ruth 3:1-5).

All the sacrifice was worth it as Boaz redeemed the family land and carried on the family line with Ruth by his side.

Sacrifice is heightened in Corrie Ten Boom’s story as it unfolds.

Led by her loving father, Corrie Ten Boom and her sister welcomed, fed and hid Jews, giving up safety, security and comforts for drills, codes and a secret room.

Mark 12:33 encourages this heart formation:

"To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

The Boom family applied Scripture practically, caring for others as they would want to be cared for.

Romans 12:1 also encourages this posture,

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship."

The sacrifice Corrie Ten Boom made went through degrees of discomfort like solitary confinement to physical humiliation, being stripped naked multiple times and being made to labour all day long in the concentration camps.

But even within significant distress, struggle or trauma is an opportunity for one of the most powerful traits of resilience—hope.

Hope lights the soul's darkest night, releasing the broken and burdened from deforming and debilitating sorrow or revenge.

Hope helped Ruth trust that God would work through a painful story to bring goodness.

Michelle Dwyer (2020) comes with this posture in her book Fierce Hope: Hope for the Weary, Disappointed, Devastated, and Indifferent.

No life is too far gone with intentional steps toward healing.

Dwyer says:

Ruth walked into healing and honour by embracing life from a hopeful view.

Ruth 4:14 says,

“The women said to Naomi: ‘Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel!’"

Macchia notes, “The entire book is filled with examples of how God blesses and multiplies the faithfulness of those who live in his grace-filled way” (97).

Little did Ruth know the magnitude of Kingdom royalty coming through her family line!

Macchia says, “His provision of Boaz is the apex of this love story and is symbolic of the essence of our joy in the Lord” (96). Ruth’s story points to Jesus.

Likewise, Corrie Ten Boom’s hope began and ended with her Saviour.

Knowing what Christ had given her propelled each sacrifice—even when her flesh screamed against injustice.

The Hiding Place books and movie share her story through these intense years, with an account of her angrily reacting to the abuse Betsie was receiving while too weak to execute the work required; by God’s mercy, this anger was recoiled by friends around her. While longing for revenge, she surrenders to the hope of justice and walks in forgiveness.

Another powerful antidote in the horrific prison camp setting is when her sister Betsie encourages her to give thanks for the fleas. Later, they discover fleas and lice kept the guards out of their sleeping quarters, allowing more space for sharing and reading the Bible in the barracks!

The sisters’ journey to give thanks, even under terrible circumstances, connected them to the essence of hope.

After the tragic loss of her sister, Corrie Ten Boom spent years travelling and fulfilling her sister's vision of sharing hope with speaking engagements in over sixty countries.

Macchia says, “Even in times of crisis and deepest despair, there are those who follow God and through whom God works” (95).

Corrie Ten Boom’s resilience in and after the brutality of the Holocaust inspires those in challenging situations that this is not the end.

Ruth and Corrie Ten Boom’s stories invite personal reflection.

Heroes and ordinary people like myself struggle under the hardships of life.

Deformation is likely if the heart is not guided by the Holy Spirit and guarded in Christian community.

Because of these good things, my faith is strengthening, and my broken heart is healing since my dad’s death. This self-examination is an ongoing part of growing resilience.

In Sacred Rhythms, Ruth Haley Barton (2006) says:

My loyalty and growth in God came through spiritual formation practices (like Sabbath, silence and solitude, prayer and fasting, and Scripture reading) and gathering in community (with my family, good friends, church body, and neighbourhood small group) to continue deep work in the hard and honest spaces many biblical characters reveal.

Biblical examples like Jacob’s wrestle, Job’s encounters, Ecclesiastes' futility, David’s laments, and Paul's fleshly war remind us of human struggle.

Ruth and Corrie Ten Boom experienced the death of someone close but allowed the pain to propel them to be part of earthly redemption while knowing it could only go so far on this side of heaven.

When struggles, questions, and failures draw people to do the healing work required to grow in tenacity and fulfil God's purpose, they become heroes of the faith.

Gerald Sittser tragically lost his mother, wife and one of his four children in a car accident and insightfully shares in A Grace Disguised his personal experience of surviving and transforming through loss and grief to find an enduring, thriving faith. He says:

Like Sittser, “I see now that my faith was becoming an ally rather than an enemy because I could vent anger freely, even toward God, without fearing retribution” (59).

And like Job, in the epic biblical account that depicts perseverance through devastation, I have found deeper intimacy with God since my dad’s passing (Job 42:5).

I pray I will be counted in the long lineage of resilient Christ-followers, men, and women of faith, committed at all costs and empowered by a joy that wells up within resilient hearts, knowing, like Ruth and Corrie ten Boom’s, this earthly end is not the end!