I once heard about a man who had a heart attack. His life flashed before his eyes which scared him. As a result, he started to take better care of himself, pay more attention to the people he cared about, and live by better priorities.

A friend noticed the change and came to visit. “How’d you like your heart attack?” he asked.

“Not very much,” the man replied.

“Really? Since it happened, you’ve started to take better care of yourself, pay more attention to the people you care about, and are living by better priorities! So let me ask you again: How’d you like your heart attack?”

“Well, when you put it like that, I guess it liked it pretty good!”

It’s a story about perspective. The heart attack wasn’t good. But when the man looked at the positive change it brought into his life, he saw it in a new light.

In James 1:2-3, Jesus’ half-brother offers this challenging but perspective-shifting advice: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

If we’re open to seeing things in a new way—the trials we face, and the tests to our faith—we start to perceive how God forties us for the rigors of life with greater perseverance and steadfastness.

Resilient people adopt the right attitude. As a result, they also adopt the right altitude for navigating the problems they face.

We may not be able to change the things that have happened to us. But we can change how we look at them.

By Matthew Ruttan

–Today’s devotional is connected to my most recent sermon: “How trials can make you more resilient.” Click here to watch on YouTube. Enjoy!

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.