The Unexpected

The Unexpected

Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

   Last weekend, the residents of Toledo, Oh and surrounding areas, about 400,000 people, woke up to find their water contained a neural toxin and they could not drink it, wash in it, or even touch it.   The water from their faucets was unsafe and unusable.  Earlier this year, a chemical spill in West Virginia tainted the water to 300,000 residents of Charleston and surrounding areas.  This was a crisis that hit unexpectedly and what was reliable and became dangerous.

   When emergencies happen, our lives can become disrupted in unexpected ways.  My diagnosis of cancer in May disrupted my life and my wife’s life in unexpected ways.  We had plans for this summer, a vacation and a few day trips.  I planned to redo my backyard garden.  All our plans fell by the wayside and this summer became a blur of pain, treatments, doctor appointments and weariness. 

   Over the years I have talked to many people who have been hit with unexpected circumstances and had lives disrupted.  Loss of jobs, sickness, divorce, and many other things can sink your plans and leave you dazed and hurting and frustrated.  We can’t really protect ourselves from the unexpected, but once it happens, our response becomes very important and is a measure of who we are. 

   John F. Kennedy said, “The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger - but recognize the opportunity.” And this is the secret to coming through a personal crisis.  You face the danger, you face the change, and you face the confusion with courage.  JFK also wrote a book, and it was named, “Profiles in Courage.”  He was familiar with crises in his life and never gave in to fear or panic.  Also, as he worked through these crises he used them as opportunities to grow stronger and smarter.

   When the unexpected hits you, DO NOT give in to fear and panic.  The enemy wants you to fail and he knows if you succumb to fear and panic you will be worse off than you already are. You may find yourself helpless in the face of the crisis, but you do not need to give in to fear.  When I lay on a gurney in the ER and the doctor gave me the “long face” and said the word “cancer,” I could feel the tendrils of fear wrapping around my heart.  But I immediately began to pray in the spirit.  I would rather have God’s “peace which passes all understanding” in my heart than fear and panic.  It took me more than a week of intense praying to free myself from the enemy’s fear attack.  And make no mistake, the enemy uses fear as a weapon on you in your most vulnerable moments.  I testify to that.  But when he attacks, you can give yourself to fear or give yourself to prayer and let God’s love wash away the fear.  1 John 4:18 tells us that perfect love, (and perfect love comes only from God,) casts out fear.  One translation says it expels fear.  I like the sound of that – EXPELS fear.  Begone fear!  You have no place in my life!

   It will be hard to remember to pray before anything else when an unexpected crisis hits you, but if you do you will ahead of the enemy’s attack.  As someone said to me during my crisis, and I pass on to you:  “When you hit rock bottom, you find that Jesus is the rock at the bottom.”

Stephen Cram                                      August 10, 2014                             

Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ. 

Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is from the New King James Version of the Bible.