Christ in the Crisis
What is a crisis? Where do they come from? Why me? Crises come in all shapes and sizes, from a broken nail to the sudden death of a loved one. From the inane to heart-attack serious. Each person has their own definition of what constitutes a crisis for them. And we can’t judge their rationale, their emotional maturity, stage in life, or anything that belies our attitude of superiority. We have no idea of circumstances leading up to someone else’s crisis. We are not the measuring stick by which the legitimacy of their crisis is measured.
For those of us who live in America, many of the things we label “crisis” don’t compare to most of the world whose crises regularly consist of lack of food, clothing, and shelter. Consider the people of Ukraine. I’m not saying their conditions prior to Russia’s attack were ideal. No country, run by a dictator can offer its citizens ideal anything. But nobody deserves unprovoked bombings and killings like Putin has foisted on Ukraine.
“An emotionally significant event
or radical change of status in a person’s life” is how Webster’s defines a crisis. Ukraine is a current example of a societal crisis. But there are also emotional crises, like fear, insecurity, loneliness, and more. What can often be the result of letting these personal emotional crises go untreated? Is there a common denominator, a root cause manifesting itself in various symptoms?
I’m not a trained psychologist, psychiatrist, or counselor. But I am one who knows, loves, and trusts the word of God. In my experience, I’ve never found anything in God’s word to be untrue. Permit just one example of “worldly” wisdom vs. God’s word. The “professionals” tell us, “Don’t spank.” How’s that working out? The Bible counsels, “He who withholds his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently (Prov. 13:24).” In one to two generations (mine and my kids’) we have gone from discipline practices of parenting that were common to those that are nearly non-existent.
As a firm believer in God’s word,
I have lived a life of faith which has given me a “peace of God which surpasses all comprehension (Phil. 4:7)” and that has the ability to eliminate all fear. My wife of over 51 years and I have been through the fire a number of times. We have buried two children, been out of work almost three years from a motorcycle accident which wasn’t my fault, been cheated out of a very large sum of money, and watched our beloved country continue sliding down the slippery slope of moral degradation. In spite of it all, we have not lost our faith in the God who said, “For the Lord your God is a compassionate God; He will not abandon you nor destroy you, (Deut. 4:31). Did we like the trials? No. Did it shake our trust in God? No. God always has purpose in everything He allows.
I believe that until the most important question in life is dealt with and answered, mankind will be bound by fear. The question? Where will you spend eternity? I’ve heard all the denials and excuses you can imagine. “There is nothing after you die.” “I’ve led a good, moral life. I’m just going to take my chances.” “I don’t believe all the Bible stuff.” “I’m not ready, I’ll look into it sometime. Right now I’ve got things I want to accomplish.”
The Bible has a word for people
who have this type of response: “fool.” Jesus told a parable about a rich man who had the attitude that he and his riches would go on for a long time, “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared’? (Luke 12:20). I have experienced this truth twice and believe me, it wakes you up to the brevity of life.
Above, I asked the question, “Is there a common denominator?” The answer is absolutely, yes. How can I say that? Aside from personal experience—which can be counterfeited by the enemy of our souls—the Bible has many examples of this truth. Consider Daniel protected from hungry lions (Dan. 6:7-24). Consider Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego protected in a fiery furnace (Dan. 3). And there are many more. Some will say that these are fanciful tales, children’s bedtime stories. That’s sad. The first bridge you must cross to gain understanding is to accept that the Bible is true cover to cover. If you can’t do that, there’s no need to read any of it. How would you know what’s true and what isn’t?
Assuming you’re still with me,
the title of this is “Christ in the Crisis.” He is with you in your crisis, but it’s not automatic. You have to qualify as one of his family. This doesn’t happen through church attendance, donating to worthy causes, or doing anything. It happens because you put your trust in what Jesus did for you 2,000 years ago. This confidence which erases fears is available to anybody. Most don’t accept it because it requires humility. Our pride is firmly entrenched to the point we don’t even recognize most of our thinking and actions are directed by it.
How do we defeat it? The Bible says, “All have sinned…sin’s penalty is death…Jesus offers a gift of eternal life through His death, burial, and resurrection…it’s ours by faith when we repent (confess and turn from our self-directed ways)…pray. Tell God you’re sorry and want His truth to run your life. Check our “Steps To Salvation” for a more detailed explanation.
Your crises may or may not diminish. But if you’ve just trusted Christ, you can count on Him being with you in your personal lions den and fiery furnace.