Life Hack #25: Turn Here

Life Hack #25:

According to Webster, a crisis is a "turning point" in a set of circumstances where the future outcome is determined. The point of crisis in any issue we face is pivotal to where we will end up - it is not 'pre-determined' for it to end one way. Understanding how to hold up in the midst of the "point of turning" can be the most important part of actually making it through. Most of us just think of a crisis as something ugly happening to us at the moment and it is a little difficult to endure. If we begin to see it as a "turning point", we might just handle it differently. We might just decide we don't like what is determined and embrace a different path back into the arms of Jesus!

If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn’t much to you in the first place. (Proverbs 24:10)

In times of crises the things we focus on make all the difference. If all we see is the insurmountable odds against us, we will tend to see only the difficulties and ignore the possibilities. Even insurmountable odds have possibilities. We think of crisis as a point of instability in our lives - when things are just about to cave in around us and take us down with them. The upheaval created in the midst of crisis is sometimes what keeps us from being able to focus on anything other than the issues at hand.

For a crisis to be a "turning point" in our lives, we must begin to take a step back from the issue, just breathe a little, and then settle into the peace God. In turn, we begin to focus less on the upheaval and turn our focus toward the point where victory is determined - Jesus holds the future, so he determines the victory. When we are able to step back a little, we get things in perspective. God's perspective is found at the point of stepping back - bringing a little clarity in the midst of a whole lot of muck and mire.

A turning point is a place where we actually slow down, consider the direction we are heading, and then take the necessary steps to reposition ourselves in a totally new direction. Many of life's challenges come complete with some form of "signs" which we must either heed or we will find ourselves going in a totally wrong direction. Learning how to read the signs before we actually need to take the "redirection" needed actually helps us to be ready for the necessary repositioning of our steps. We actually learn to read the signs long before we set out on the journey, don't we? 

We learn about dealing with the uncertainties of these challenges in the quiet times of our lives when we are able to hear and incorporate learning best. Trying to figure out the signs and how to read the road map while barreling ahead at life's fast pace is not the best methodology for getting safely to the destination! Time with Jesus is not done out of obligation, but out of necessity - for it is in this quietness and connection where we learn to read the "turning points" in our lives. Learn to see "crises" as turning points to help steer our lives in a direction which will bring growth and increased wisdom. As long as we are with Jesus in this journey, each turning point can be just that! Just sayin!

I am too busy for a crisis!

Kissinger once quipped, "There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full." Many of us would share his sentiments. Our schedules could not manage a crisis of any nature - much less a little 'hiccup' along the way. The more busy our schedule, the more we can count on something to disturb it, though! The moment we are too busy for any type of 'crisis', that is the moment we are too busy for life! Life isn't going to stand still so we can manage through some crisis - it keeps coming at us at whatever pace we had 'scheduled' and the crisis will loom until we pay it some mind.

12 Dear friends, don’t be bewildered or surprised when you go through the fiery trials ahead, for this is no strange, unusual thing that is going to happen to you. 13 Instead, be really glad—because these trials will make you partners with Christ in his suffering, and afterwards you will have the wonderful joy of sharing his glory in that coming day when it will be displayed. (I Peter 4:12-13 TLB)

The times we manage best in crisis are the times when we realize they are to be 'expected' - they aren't unusual. The other day my daughter wanted to accomplish so much and her morning didn't start out so well. She wanted to wash the car, but the car wash didn't clean it very well. When she wanted a refund or another wash, she was denied. Her car battery died, but was able to be jumped into life again - just long enough for her to make it home and get it changed. She had to wait for the service man to replace it - adding another kink in her plans. Her oil change didn't go as expected, requiring a second trip back to the service place to get them to put the glove box back correctly after changing the cabin filter. Sometimes we might just want to go back to bed instead of dealing with what life sends!

The matters she dealt with seem small to some, for their moments of crisis are much bigger. They expected a routine mammogram, but ended up with a catastrophic diagnosis of breast cancer. They set out to walk home after a night out team-building, only to be left in a life-altering coma and suffering severe brain damage. They went to bed without a worry in the world, but awoke to the screeching of smoke detectors alerting to imminent danger and the loss of all they possessed. Life happens - crisis is NOT diverted - and now we must 'deal'. How is it you 'deal' when crisis comes your way? If you have Christ at the center of your life, you are probably more 'at ease' in the crisis than one who does not, but the crisis still comes.

Our trials may be small compared to those of others, but every trial has a moment of opportunity for us to realize something we might have missed, or been too busy to even consider. If we stop long enough to just 'breathe' in the midst of the crisis, we might just realize how very much we were depending on our own plans to all work out. We didn't imagine other plans may emerge along the way. When our trust is in Christ and our attention is directed toward him first and foremost in each of our daily activities, we may still tend to 'over-extend', but we aren't bound to the frustration of the crisis. We can rise above the crisis, because we live with a confidence that it isn't all about our control, but about his. Just sayin!

Principle 24: Don't Let Crisis Overwhelm

By definition, a crisis is a "turning point" in a set of circumstances where the future outcome is determined.  As such, the point of crisis in any issue we face is pivotal to where we will end up.  So, understanding how to hold up in the midst of the "turning point" can be the most important part of actually making it through.  Most of us just think of a crisis as something ugly happening to us at the moment and it is a little difficult to endure.  If we begin to see it as a "turning point", we might just handle it differently.

If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn’t much to you in the first place. (Proverbs 24:10 MSG)

As we face crises, the things we focus on make all the difference.  For example, if all we see is the insurmountable odds, we will tend to see only the difficulties and not the possibilities.  Even insurmountable odds have possibilities.  We think of crisis as a point of instability in our lives - when things are just about to cave in around us and take us down with them.  In fact, the upheaval created in the midst of crisis is sometimes what keeps us from being able to focus on anything other than the issues at hand.

It takes a lot of practice to see crisis as a "turning point" in our lives.  It begins when we begin to take a step back from the issue, just breathe a little, and then settle into the peace God provides so that we can begin to focus not so much on the upheaval as on the point where victory is determined.  When we are able to step back a little, we get things in perspective.  God's perspective is found at the point of stepping back - there becomes a little clarity in the midst of a whole lot of muck and mire.

A turning point is a place where we actually slow down, consider the direction we are heading, and then take the necessary steps to reposition ourselves in a totally new direction.  As we traverse a highway, we watch the signs which mark our way.  At the right sign, we merge into a totally different flow of traffic, or take an abrupt turn to get us going in a new direction.  Most of life's challenges come complete with "signs" which we must either heed, or find ourselves going in a totally wrong direction.  Learning how to read the signs before we actually need to make the "redirection" actually helps us to be ready for the necessary repositioning of our steps.

We actually learn to read the signs long before we set out on the journey, don't we?  In considering life's challenges, we often learn more about dealing with the uncertainties of these challenges in the quiet times of our lives when we are able to hear and incorporate learning best.  Trying to figure out the signs and how to read the road map while barreling ahead at life's fast pace is not the best methodology for getting to the best destination!  This is probably why I emphasize the importance of time with Jesus everyday.  Not so much out of obligation, but out of necessity - for it is in this quietness and connection where we learn to read the "turning points" in our lives.

Want to face crises like a champ?  Learn to see them not as hurdles to jump over, but as turning points to help steer our lives in a direction which will bring growth and increased wisdom.  As long as we are with Jesus in this journey, each turning point can be just that!  Just sayin!

Crisis averted when Christ makes it his!

Today I find myself writing my blog in the late evening.  This is indeed an oddity for me.  You see, I usually rise early and hammer these out long before the sun rises.  Today, April 3, was different.  A blog posting went out like clockwork at 0500 this morning - simply because God has graced me with eight days of writing in advance of posting.  I have a "reserve" of posts just in case a day like today comes along.  


Last night, I found it necessary to take my 93 years young mom to the hospital.  An intestinal virus had almost done her in!  She was weak, confused, and getting worse by the hour.  Thanks to a great team of physicians, nurses, nursing assistants, healthcare professionals, family, and many friends, the load of the past 40 hours has really been a blessing, not a curse!  I returned home long enough this morning to shower, change my clothes, and make a beeline to work.  As I spent an hour after work with mom, she coaxed me to go home, get some rest and come back refreshed in the morning.


When I contemplated what to do with my evening tonight, I really felt drawn to write.  I guess you might say this is a special form of "release" and "regeneration" for me.  Yes, my body is tired, my muscles a little tight, and I definitely don't have much "zip" in my step!  Yet, I am delighted by the presence of God throughout my day and just could not wait to share what God has done for me!  Our passage today is something which reflects what I think God was showing me in the moment:


¹⁰ If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn't much to you in the first place.  (Proverbs 24:10 The Message)


To be perfectly honest, there were a couple of moments last night when I just wanted to leak a few tears!  Mom was miserable, my emotions were already spent on a busy day at work, and now I was facing a sleepless night in the ER.  Mercy!  That is all I could hold onto - God's Mercy!  Abundant, overwhelming, and consistent through and through.  


In the moment, I thought about "falling to pieces", but in the end, God kept the pieces tightly interwoven and encircled in his love.  Crisis was abounding, but his grace was even more abundant than any crisis Satan could muster.  Look up "crisis" and you will find it is any series of events or stages within a path in which the "trend" of future events appears to be determined.  


At the outset of this sequence of events leading up to mom's hospitalization, I would have "predicted" the outcome much differently.  Yet, in the moment-by-moment deliberate "putting one foot in front of the other" activity of the day, I have renewed hope, determined faith, and the awesome awareness of not having walked these steps alone.


This is what it is like for the one who faces "crisis" with Christ.  The crisis becomes totally different when we can truly say we have walked it through with Christ.  The series of events you face today may be the very thing which bolsters your faith!  In the events of the day, when the rubber meets the road, it becomes apparent if there is substance in your walk.  Christ's love, his peace, and his provision is what gives us substance!  


May today's crisis be your unveiling!  May what is unveiled be more of Christ in you!  March on!  God has great things to teach in the midst of this sequence of events!