The Blessings of Life’s Crisis

 

By Arthur Licursi – May 11, 2013

Last evenings trip to the emergency room with my wife makes me think of the frailty of our temporal human life and the crisis that make the limits of life so evident. Linda is doing fine today.

Have you noticed that life oftentimes seems to contain one crisis after another? Are these really accidents of life that have no purpose? Or, are they blessings in disguise?

The Apostle Paul was fully acquainted with crisis, pain and suffering, and with the nearness of the possible loss of his life. Paul had been through one desperate crisis after another. Here he recounts their seriousness.

“For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that WE DESPAIRED EVEN OF LIFE: ⁹ But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, (so) that WE SHOULD NOT TRUST in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead (is able to raise and will raise us from the dead in the Rapture)” (2 Cor 1:8-9)

Yet, Paul wrote here of something that we should “know” as Christians.

“And we know that ALL things WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28).

Many people have found life going along smoothly for years when, all of a sudden, they have found themselves in the middle of some serious crisis! Perhaps, severe illness, or the sudden death of a loved one have changed life completely and presented serious problems wholly unanticipated. Perhaps it was the sudden loss of wealth, so that life had to be completely readjusted. There are countless numbers of unexpected incidents, circumstances and situations that can suddenly bring one face to face with stark and stern realities that were completely unforeseen.

More than enduring a mere disappointment, I call real crisis “hitting the wall,” that is when we encounter insurmountable circumstances that we cannot control. Crisis is encountering a situation that is beyond our ability to fix.

For believers in the Lord Jesus Christ such crises can prove great spiritual blessings. I know in my life these tend to draw me closer to our heavenly Father, to cause me to talk to Him more; learning to lean harder upon Him.

Crisis shows us the insecurity of all that is of this temporal decaying realm that we live in, giving us a greater appreciation of our eternal security in Christ. Crisis gives a deeper meaning to the Scriptures we study and even to the words of the great hymns we sing. They should sanctify and enrich our fellowship with Him.

To those, and only those, who truly “love the Lord” and are “the called according to His purpose,” “ALL things” do indeed “work together for good” — caused by God, of course, to “work together for the (eternal) good.” @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“which cause we faint not; but though our outward (the body) man perish, yet the inward (the soul) man is renewed day by day.

¹⁷ For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, WORKETH FOR US a far more exceeding and ETERNAL WEIGHT OF GLORY; ¹⁸ While we look NOT at the things which are seen, BUT at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

It seems that the negative is necessary to propel the positive. Just as the automobile’s battery is of no help unless the two battery cables are firmly attached to the negative pole as well as the positive pole – nothing moves – only then does the power flow.

This is why Paul offers these words to the Christian.

“Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through (trusting) Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

Some think when we pray or petition the Lord, asking Him for remedies to our crisis, that He should give us what we want when we want it, and take away our problem. But if you read Philippians 4:6-7 (above) carefully you see that the promised result of our sincere and trusting prayer is “the peace that is of God, which passeth all understanding” (v7).

This “peace of God” in turn will “keep (or secure) your hearts and minds” through having arrived a trusting union with Christ in your prayer. So we could say, when you are anxious for whatever reason, pray to the Lord to unburden yourself until you come to the place of having letting go of your anxiousness by trusting the sovereign Lord who loves you with an everlasting love, this will secure your heart and mind.

The Lord His self endured the equal of every situation we will ever encounter. He was rejected by his people, Israel . His own family said He was “beside himself (crazy).” He endure the physical agony and pain of the cross where he was paralyzed being nailed helplessly to the cross. He hung absolutely naked (without cloths) on that cross, fully exposed as He bore our sins.

Thus the writer of Hebrews was able to write this.

“For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable TO UNDERSTAND AND SYMPATHIZE AND HAVE A SHARED FEELING WITH OUR WEAKNESSES AND INFIRMITIES and liability to the assaults of temptation, but ONE WHO HAS BEEN TEMPTED IN EVERY RESPECT AS WE ARE, yet without sinning.” (Hebrews 4:15 AMP)

I’ve found that the Lord’s great heart’s desire is for us is to come to Him continually, trusting Him in the midst all “ALL things” - then our hearts and His heart are knit as one. We can be confident that He is working ALL things for our immediate and eternal good.