I've really been appreciating John Eldredge lately. Years and years ago I got a bad taste of him because I read his Wild At Heart book and at the time felt like it was a macho "men need to barbeque and wrestle bears" type of book. But recently I stumbled back on his stuff and he has really resonated with me.
In general I've been enjoying him because he is someone who emphasizes the important role our hearts play in faith in a smart and wise way. He values our desires and emotions without descending into rainbows-and-butterflies unbiblical mush.
Specifically, his book Resilient resonated with me. Before I continue I want to be clear that if you are the type of person that approaches your faith from an exclusively logic and thinking angle, this is not the book for you. This is a book for those who want to engage their hearts in their faith, or at least people who are open to doing so.
For me, a large factor in what makes or breaks a book is whether or not it asks the right questions. Does it put words to the actual struggles and doubts that people face? In the case of Resilient, the answer is yes. His very first chapter captured my attention: it's titled "I Just Want Life to Be Good Again". Written during the tail-end of the pandemic, Eldredge puts his finger on what I and many others experienced during 2022: even though the pandemic was winding down we were still feeling the mental, emotional, and spiritual fatigue of the past few years. Much of the book is focussed on how to face that fatigued feeling and become resilient to any future challenges we face.
Will listening to this book magically make your soul resilient overnight? No. It's actually been a number of months since I finished listening to the book and my mental and emotional resilience is still very much a work in progress. It doesn't necessarily have revolutionary answers that will fix your life. But I felt he did a great job of reminding me that the resilience that I truly need must have its foundation in God Himself. Through the book he provides prayers and other spiritual practices that, if done over time, I believe will lead me closer to the One who has the resources to help me through the ups and downs of life.
A few important sidenotes:
I listened to the audiobook, which is actually quite different from the normal paper book. Eldredge recorded the audiobook in a unique way that makes it something between a normal audiobook and a podcast. The audiobook includes him reading the normal paper book, but he also adds extra thoughts and commentary that are not in the paper book. In those extra sections he speaks more informally, similar to how he would on a podcast. For that reason I encourage you to listen to the audiobook if you can.
If you read or listen to this book you'll notice that he puts this discussion in the context of living in "the last days". In other words, Eldredge believes the end of history is almost here and Jesus will be returning soon. It's unfortunate he makes end-times a theme through the book because that will just be a distraction for those of us more agnostic about the end of time. However, having said that, it isn't necessary to agree with him about end-times to benefit from the other ideas he shares. It's one of those "chew the meat but spit out the bones" situations.
This book does not cover the psychological side to building resilience. If you talk to a therapist they can teach you all sorts of psychological tips to decrease anxiety and help you navigate difficulties. Those are great. But Eldredge would say (and I would agree with him from personal experience) that those psychological techniques are not ultimately enough. In the big picture of your life those psychological techniques must be coupled with the nourishment that God provides for our souls. This book focusses on the soul-level of resilience.