“Routine To Crisis”

Originally Posted July 24, 2020

If you’ve ever tripped and fallen, it’s amazing how quickly it happens…one moment you’re walking along enjoying the view and the next moment you’re on the ground trying to clear your head. Gravity is just a vague concept until it gets applied to you. Acceleration due to gravity is 9.8 meters per second per second. In other words, velocity increases by 9.8 m/s for every second it is falling under gravity. This is all very hypothetical, until you trip and fall…then it’s like boom, I’m on the ground. Gravity is real and in a brief moment can have devastating effects. 

Well, life can be like gravity. One moment I’m living my life, it seems pretty routine, ho-hum, and the next moment I’m knocked on my fanny….wow, what happened.  

“Routine to Crisis” can often take only a brief moment. Sudden sickness can affect us like gravity. For those who went for a routine doctor’s visit and got knocked down by hearing the big “C word”… you have cancer…. a body blow. In today’s environment, the big knockdown diagnosis can be “you have the virus”. You may think…….”Oh, others get the virus, not me. I’m too busy to have the virus. This doesn’t fit into my life right now …”  One moment you’re planning your day and your week and your life, and the next moment everything is “on hold”. 

What do you do when you get one of these surprising blows that takes your breath away… how do you respond ? Often you can’t even think…there can be a tendency to panic. Years ago I remember an elderly nurse commenting that “at the sight of blood the devil shows up…like blood in the water draws the sharks”. I believe that’s true; the devil brings in his typical “repertoire” of fear, anxiety, dread, tension, impotence, hopelessness….there’s no way out of this mess…I’m done. Well, we know that Jesus called Satan the “father of lies”. These are all lies of the devil and we need to reject them in the name and power of Jesus. 

We need to speak the truth to ourselves.  God is with us and he will help us. Recall the passage to the Romans, “ We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) The truth is that God has our back. He will help us. He will send others to help us. All will be well with my soul.

So, when the “gravity of life” knocks us to the ground, let’s take a deep breath and  remember that God has a plan that includes getting us through the current crisis. Let’s allow others to carry us when we’re not able to pray or even think clearly. God loves us and is with us and will help us in our times of trials. Let us trust him to work even this current crisis to the good. And all will be well with my soul.