Crisis or Disaster
There we are, all is well, just happily trundling down the road of life, an unexpected curve in the road suddenly appears from out of the blue, just turned up suddenly out of nowhere, been through this many times before, you settle back in, and turn into it smoothly, but then it happens, you feel that you are starting to loose control, things are testing your experience and skill, you are desperately trying to get through this one, things are not going too well at the moment, control is slipping from your grasp, this is not looking too good, is this going to turn out to be a bump, a crunch, or a deathly disaster and wreck, is this crisis out of your control?
How often on the ‘Road of Life’ there are these unexpected, unforeseen, things that come up out of the blue, some “Crisis or Disaster,” that thing that you do not want to ever happen to you, and probably not to happen to anybody else, that broken tooth, broken bone, that stabbing pain that does not subside, sleep is stolen, future plans get quickly shelved, that Doctors Prognosis, take a pill and you are cured, or get yourself to the Hospital immediately and book in for they are expecting you, have you now got cancer or worse, all those plan altering, life changing, bump in the roadway of life, interruptions, but how will it end, could we read that last chapter, no let us re-write that last chapter as the ending does not suit me or my future plans.
Luke 9:62 “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 15:31 “I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.” 2 Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought a good fight, I have finished [my] course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” What would it be like to sit in the chair of Damocles, and above your head hangs the ‘Sword of Damocles,’ suspended by a single hair, for when you are in this situation, you have a sword of Damocles hanging over you/your head, something bad seems very likely to happen or most likely to happen to you, a hair breadth away. Paul awaiting his execution, Peter chained between soldiers, for in the morning he is to be Martyred, Jeremiah in the Prison, the invaders beating at the walls, will they kill him or will his own people kill him? For when there is a “Crisis or Disaster,” you often have limited control over things, the outcome is feared and dreaded, and often blown way out of proportion, the reality is often way better than the dread and crippling fear.
As was once said, “You are either in a Crisis, coming out of a Crisis, or you are going back into a Crisis.” Now in ‘Advanced Driver Training,’ they teach you that where you look is where you will go, and Paramedics still wonder why when you come to a Motorcycle accident, just look for a lone power pole or a lone tree, and there is the rider smashed up into it, where you look is where you go. In a “Crisis or Disaster,” what are you looking at, looking unto, or focusing upon, Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
The other thing taught is “Don’t lift off,” if you lift off the throttle, the suspension unloads, the car springs up off the road, suspension angles change dramatically, and the car starts to steer itself, and you are gone, you have no choice anymore, but to hang onto the crazy rollercoaster ride, as the car flips and rolls, smashes and crashes, and when the dust settles, just hope that you are not engulfed in a fiery inferno, did you survive, the car is a crumpled pile of scrap metal now, or did it also survive? In this “Crisis or Disaster,” who are you looking unto?
We have a Heaven to Win; and a Hell to Shun, we need to be focused, come what may, Romans Chapter eight, gives us a list of things that can come suddenly upon us, things that attempt to overflow us, but nothing can overcome us when we are “In Christ,” they may attempt to swerve us, to push us off course, to make us look unto another object, but we have to focus on Jesus, focus on scripture, 1 Thessalonians 5:21 “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” We need to hold steady on the throttle, keep our eyes on the road to Salvation, Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Remember you always steer towards that which you look unto, that which you focus all your attention towards, for by beholding, we become changed, be looking unto Jesus, be watching unto salvation, and no matter what “Crisis or Disaster” may flood over you, your world may crumble and appear to end, hold fast, hold steady, be not swayed or misdirected, and you will survive. Lift off the throttle, be persuaded to follow another path, to abandon the clear path of God, and you will have a major wreck, something that you may not survive from, or to be seriously crippled by, let us stay on track, stay the course, come what may, steady as she goes, Crisis or Disaster will not sway me, the threat of death is not to be feared, the world may end, Philippians 3:14 “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Nothing but nothing, “Crisis or Disaster,” will ever keep me from following God, being true to him, I will keep on keeping on, though the heavens fall. When you are slip sliding away, keep placing your feet on the solid rock, feet clad in the shoes of the Gospel of Peace, be as true to duty as the needle is to the pole, stand firm though the Heavens fall, hold on, and when all is said and done, to Stand, crisis or no crisis, disaster or no disaster, steadfast, sure, committed, focused on Jesus come Hell or High Water.
