The Opportunity in Crisis
by Corey Nieman / Ministry Assistant Spiritual Formation and College & Young Adults
Crisis and change are the two best opportunities we have to grow in the Lord. But we must first surrender our circumstances, thoughts, feelings, and expectations to the Father to make it so. Otherwise we risk wasting this opportunity by running from it, self-medicating it, or being in constant denial. Arrested development can come in many forms: physical, mental, spiritual. Which basically means we stop growing in a particular area. Have you ever noticed how some people have grown exponentially in the fame and fortune department, but their character is so under-developed? This is not uncommon as the world tends to reward the worldly. This is the enemy’s greatest trick: to create a scenario by which you do not need God because you have creature comforts and material treasures on hand and at the ready.
What I never fully realized is that upon becoming a Christian and being baptized, I effectively told the world I was no longer going to play by its rules … and so the world turned its back on me in the process. No wonder being a Christian makes us unpopular, a freak even, some oddity that will always be picked last to play in worldly games. John 15:18-19 says, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as it loves its own. But I have chosen you out of the world, so you don’t belong to it. That is why the world hates you.”
This was never more evident to me when I graduated from U.B. and was sitting in an auditorium filled with non-believers. One of the speakers got on stage to pray over the graduating class and as I bowed my head to pray along, I heard several people mocking the prayer and the speaker. Never did I feel so alone, yet I knew this is exactly where God wanted me. The Bible has this to say, “Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.” (2 Peter 3:3) Another scripture comes from Proverbs 14:6-9, “The scorner seeks wisdom but finds none, but understanding is easy for a discerning person. Leave the presence of a foolish person, or you will not understand wise counsel. The wisdom of the shrewd person is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deception. Fools mock at reparation, but among the upright there is favor.”
This was a sobering moment for me, when I realized that virtually all my classmates had a lot of head knowledge, but no “knowing” of God’s love. I think in the pursuit of intellectualism we can actually stunt our spiritual growth. The more we put God in a box through discovery, the more we can potentially lose that child-like faith. Faith is belief in the unknown, trusting that God is who He says He is, and taking His hand wherever He may lead. And when the trials and tribulations come we know better than to try to solve it with our own resources and skills, but rather we run to the strong tower that is our Lord. We wait to follow His lead and then act in obedience when the timing is right. Just like a tea bag placed in hot water, our true colors come out in crisis. How we handle these struggles is the mark of a spiritually mature Christian.
Crisis and change are the two best opportunities we have to grow in the Lord. But we must first surrender our circumstances, thoughts, feelings, and expectations to the Father to make it so. Otherwise we risk wasting this opportunity by running from it, self-medicating it, or being in constant denial. Arrested development can come in many forms: physical, mental, spiritual. Which basically means we stop growing in a particular area. Have you ever noticed how some people have grown exponentially in the fame and fortune department, but their character is so under-developed? This is not uncommon as the world tends to reward the worldly. This is the enemy’s greatest trick: to create a scenario by which you do not need God because you have creature comforts and material treasures on hand and at the ready.
What I never fully realized is that upon becoming a Christian and being baptized, I effectively told the world I was no longer going to play by its rules … and so the world turned its back on me in the process. No wonder being a Christian makes us unpopular, a freak even, some oddity that will always be picked last to play in worldly games. John 15:18-19 says, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as it loves its own. But I have chosen you out of the world, so you don’t belong to it. That is why the world hates you.”
This was never more evident to me when I graduated from U.B. and was sitting in an auditorium filled with non-believers. One of the speakers got on stage to pray over the graduating class and as I bowed my head to pray along, I heard several people mocking the prayer and the speaker. Never did I feel so alone, yet I knew this is exactly where God wanted me. The Bible has this to say, “Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.” (2 Peter 3:3) Another scripture comes from Proverbs 14:6-9, “The scorner seeks wisdom but finds none, but understanding is easy for a discerning person. Leave the presence of a foolish person, or you will not understand wise counsel. The wisdom of the shrewd person is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deception. Fools mock at reparation, but among the upright there is favor.”
This was a sobering moment for me, when I realized that virtually all my classmates had a lot of head knowledge, but no “knowing” of God’s love. I think in the pursuit of intellectualism we can actually stunt our spiritual growth. The more we put God in a box through discovery, the more we can potentially lose that child-like faith. Faith is belief in the unknown, trusting that God is who He says He is, and taking His hand wherever He may lead. And when the trials and tribulations come we know better than to try to solve it with our own resources and skills, but rather we run to the strong tower that is our Lord. We wait to follow His lead and then act in obedience when the timing is right. Just like a tea bag placed in hot water, our true colors come out in crisis. How we handle these struggles is the mark of a spiritually mature Christian.