I’ve been thinking about the discussion from the recent FCGS lunch meeting. And decided I ought to write about it. Our guest speaker was in from the College of Technology, speaking on “How to Have a Healthy Crisis” (used 1 Samuel 30 as reference story). A topic such as this, given as part of a discussion to graduate students, could have gone several ways, including horribly (memories of GRADstep are resurfacing…), but it was a very touching discussion with Good advice. The main focus being that there are different ways to deal with crises when they occur in your life, in dangerous ways or in ways which will help you grow.
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Basically, his discussion:
Introduction/Point 1 - A crisis is the point where everything will be changed, nothing is the same after a crisis. While we cannot control what happens to us, we can control our response. Will our response help us be more like Jesus? or less? Seems simple enough, obviously until the crisis hits. Here are some dangerous ways to deal with a crisis: continued denial, avoidance, blaming others, and escape. (I know I can think of several specific instances where I have used these dangerous tactics of dealing with a crisis.) However, it’s that shift to methods which will help you grow that are important and life-saving, for example: facing the crisis, confronting it, exploring ways to change what can be changed and live with what cannot, and getting Godly advice from Godly people.
Point 2 - In 1 Corinthians 10:13 we read about temptation, and that God is faithful and we will not be tempted with anything we cannot handle. Concerning the translation, the word translated to ‘temptation’ could also mean ‘test’. God will not test us with anything we cannot handle. In 1 Samuel 30, David does not let his crisis defeat him, he was able to defeat the test.
Conclusion - Crisis comes to everyone, it is how we deal with it that matters. Not to be overly dramatic but to get the point across, Christians get cancer same as non-Christians. Christians feel the loss of family members just as non-Christians. Christians can lose their jobs and their marriages can fall apart, just as that might happen to a non-Christian. We all have crises. We trust in God that we can defeat the test, and know that His goodness is not dependent upon our situation. We will praise Him, and we will be grateful for He is Good.
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That is the gist of the discussion. A few paraphrases, hopefully I didn’t ruin any of the major points. It really was a good thing to hear. With no particular crisis at hand, it may be easier to view the different response methods. Our guest shared some very personal crises his family has dealt with over the years from near loss of a child, to cancer, to premature loss of a grandchild….I was tearing up right there in the meeting. And yet, here he was…coming to campus on his day off to praise God and talk to graduate students about the goodness of the Lord.
In reference to Point 2 above, I was reminded of Denison Witmer lyrics from one of my favorite songs of his, Finding Your Feet Again.
this is what it’s like,
finding your feet again,
the part of you that couldn’t,
finally thinks you can
In our weakest moments, during crisis and tests, we allow the Strongest to show His strength. And we are reminded of what we can do through faith in Him, and what He does through us. Some of you may never lose sight of that, but some of us do or can. And then, when you need it, you are reminded. Awesome how that works out sometimes.
