God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, even though the earth be removed … the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled [and] the mountains shake with its swelling – Psalm 46:1-11

For Meditation

That life is full of crises is one of the fundamental certainties of life. We don’t often plan for them because we do not know in advance how, where, and when they occur. However, unexpected situations challenge us to the core of our being. 

We can consider crisis as a mountain that jumps at us to interrupt our smooth ride on life’s highway. The unexpected challenge now becomes how to surmount it with minimal or no damage. It could be a sharp drop in our way that plunges us into a valley too deep to climb out of. 

Nobody can see them coming, though we can expect some and factor them into our plans. However, there are way too many of them that blindside us. Who saw COVID-19 coming and the extent of its disruption of the world? 

To lose hope in crisis times is the worst that could happen to us. We do not throw in the towel in the middle of a fight. If we struggle to make sense of everything happening around us during our worst days, it could sink us (Matthew 14:30). So, we look to Jesus and stand to fight in His strength.

Our goal in this series is to find meaning to life in a broken world that will not get better until Christ comes to establish His righteous rule and how to navigate it in our suffering. How do we find hope in our crisis amidst the mess and confusion of this broken world? 

The real issue in any crisis is not the turbulence it plunges us into but how we face it, or our reaction to it. That is why we must walk in step with hope as a strategic partner in our crisis.

How do we find hope when our marriage is falling apart, when our children fall into drugs or some other deviant life? How do we cope when sickness interrupts our lives, when we lose one job after another, when our business fails, when bankruptcy confronts us, when we fall into a financial crisis, and when our world falls apart? Can we see life beyond the devastation death has caused in our loving home?

One thing to remember is the role of the cosmic upheaval that rages in the heavenly realms against everything godly in this world. My aim is not to encourage you to blame Satan for your crisis. It is to alert you to remember this spiritual dimension in your life and allow it to drive you to God in your times of need. Jesus should be our focus through such struggles in life. He has triumphed through the worst of sufferings (Hebrews 4:14-15) and has the best solutions for us (12:2-3). If only the Patriarch Job had known this truth, how different things could have gone for him. 

So, take Paul’s counsel in Ephesians 6:10-18 and use its wisdom to prepare yourself for our ride through Psalm 46:1-12 this week.

Shalom.