Crisis Overload

 

I don’t know about you, but I am in crisis overload. The TV news hits us with news of the mishandling of the Afganistan,situation,  hurricane Ida’s destructive march through Louisiana, Mississippi, and parts north and east, and the latest COVID-19 statistics.

Then last evening we heard our grandson has tested positive to the disease and his father is awaiting the results of his test, and my wife, Rita, woke up last night with severe pains that she had never experienced before.

Is it enough to cause one to wonder, “Where is God?” 

But, having reached this ripe old age, I have not only God’s word to fall back on, but also life experiences that convince me of God’s love and give me peace in these desperate times. 

The Lord has pulled, pushed, and carried me through storms that resulted from my stupid blunders, those of others, and the fallen nature.  I know 

He is in still in charge.

The first time I ever heard God’s voice was many years ago, when I was at the lowest point in my life, and wanted out. My life was in turmoil. I was sliding deeper into a pit of destruction and didn’t know what to do. Laying in bed that night,  I cried out to God for help and to tell me what I should do to break free. He immediately answered my prayer with three words.

“Your big toenail!”

The Lord doesn’t always speak clearly or in an easily understood way, but there was no doubt what He wanted me to do - Nothing,just trust Him o work things out.

Several years earlier, in the midst of a late Friday night bowling match, my sixteen pound bowling ball fell off the rack landing on my big toe. On Saturday, I played a round of golf standing on one leg. By Monday the toe had swollen so much I cut the front out of an old shoe so I could go to work. Seeing the condition of my foot, both my boss and my secretary insisted I go to the hospital immediately.

At the ER, they took X-rays of the damaged digit and set me in a large, darkened exam room. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I noted a series of light boxes along the left wall. Soon the technician came in with my x-ray pictures and stuck them on the light boxes, so they were clearly visible. 

Important questions came to mind. What would be the treatment for a broken big toe? How big a cast would be required? Could I still work? Could I even walk? My thoughts were interrupted as three interns came in, examined the X-ray pictures,  snickered among themselves, marveled at the dangers of bowling, and walked out unsuccessfully trying to hold back laughter. Later, a few more came with the same reaction - serious examination, giggling, and departing without a word to me. Twelve different interns and three nurses examined my X-rays without even acknowledging my presence.

After what seemed like hours of impatient waiting, the doctor came in, checked the X-rays and sat down across from me. Without saying a word, he grabbed my foot in his two hands, put both thumbs on my big toe and squeezed. That pain was several orders of magnitude worse than that of the bowling ball’s impact, which had been somewhat anesthetized by consumption of adult beverages. He put a Bandaid on the toe, gave me his business card, and told me to come see him in three weeks.

Stunned by the total lack of medical care, I asked, “but, what about the toenail?”

“Don’t worry. It will fall off by itself in a short time.”

In God’s three word response to my prayers, The Lord was telling me, “Don’t worry, your problems will fall,off by themselves in a short time.”

Within two months, I accepted a new position, moved half way across the country, left my problems behind, and started a new life.

God acted on my behalf and told me not to worry.

Today, while the world is spinning out of control, I am confident that God is still on His throne and He will lead each of us through whatever crisis we face.

I realize that each one that is reading this message is facing things they never expected, the loss of a loved one, major surgery, test results which might change your world, a deadly disease, or some other obstacle to your peace. All I can say is God will bring you through this time and He is saying to you,

“Do not worry, I will see you through this and it will be only for a season.”

Bill Johnson

When Storm Clouds Gather

It was a great day for sailing. A steady six knot offshore breeze was just enough to keep us comfortable as we anchored a thousand yards out in the Mississippi Sound observing the sailboat races sponsored by the Pascagoula Yacht Club. 

Our boat was a twenty-three foot John Allmand, Ticonderoga we named “Myrioko,” meaning “attraction” or “fascination.” It had been my dream to own a boat, and then living on the Gulf Coast, my dream had become a reality. 

My crew that day consisted of a couple of friends and a Seaman 1st class from Coast Guard Station, Pascagoula. As an active member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, we were on the rotation for patrol one weekend each month. This was our weekend and our assignment was to monitor the sailboat races. At about four PM, most of the larger sailboats had finished and their crews were back at the club eating and having some adult beverages as the children and youth continued tracing in their Sunfish and other smaller sailing craft. 

On such a beautiful calm day, what could go wrong?

The time it took from my spotting the wall cloud until it hit the race course was less than three minutes. We raised the anchor, pointed the bow into the wind and prepared to ride out the storm. The wind, rain, and hail rammed us like we had run into a wall and the temperature dropped twenty degrees. I climbed down from the flying bridge and took control in the cabin. 

The radio blasted a frantic message from shore, “Boats over - kids in the water!” The “Myrioku” held steady as the Chrysler 350 I/O  kicked in and held us straight on course to the first capsized Sunfish. As we pulled alongside and pulled the young sailor from the water, he appeared to be in shock as they wrapped him in blankets and lay him on bed. Then we received directions to the next boat. By this time the rain was so intense the wipers could not keep up, I was flying blind. We had to steer by compass and get directions from the crew on deck. I had never been aboard a small boat like this in such a storm. In fact, I am not sure I have ever been outside in that kind of storm. It was sheer terror all the while the storm lasted. The adrenalin was pumping, and we had a job to do. But I did not feel capable in handling it, nor was I sure my boat could perform. All I could do was pray, ask the Lord to guide me. and trust those around me.

When the storm had passed, I was proud of the “Myrioko” and how she had  stood up to the storm. On the other hand, I was a mess physically and emotionally. But we had done all we were asked to do with six scared young sailors on board, wrapped in blankets, and still shaking from the now chilly air or their extreme ordeal. We were headed back to the Yacht club, to reunite the kids with their parents, when we received a radio call to go help an eighteen foot catamaran that had been turned upside down close to shore, about a quarter mile away.

It was an interesting sight, this catamaran with its mast stuck in the sand and two would be sailors wading in the waist deep water. We got as close as we felt was safe and threw them a line. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts, we were able to right their ship and offer them a tow back to the club house as the winds had quit entirely. As true sailors, they refused a tow from a "stinkpot" and thanked us for our help. We returned to the Yacht Club with our precious cargo.

That was a day, I will never forget, and it taught me several life lessons:

1.  There will always be intense storms in your life.

2.  They will not last forever, they will pass almost as quick as they arrive.

3.  You do not know how strong you are until you are tested by the storm.

4.  You are much stronger than you believe you are.

5. When in the midst of a storm, keep moving into the storm. Meet it head on. If you try to run from it, or hide from it, it will hurt you.

6. Always, always have positive people around you that you trust to help, encourage, and support you.

I invite your comments.

Bill Johnson

What is really Going On

It just seems to me that the world is going crazy.There is a geometric growth in anxiety, anger, and frustration. 

Theologians blame it on the approaching "End Times." 

Scientists blame it on entropy; (Newton's second law of thermodynamics) left to itself things are going to get worse.

The level of anxiety is higher now than at any time in my lifetime. There is a frustration in government, ethnic groups, political parties, and religious bodies. As this frustration rises, anger increases. As anger increases, actions become stronger and emotions explode. We see this happening almost everywhere - in our cities and towns and around the world. Frustration is rising in minority communities, in the younger generation, and in middle-class families.

Frustration is at the base of the explosion of violence throughout the world. It is the result of a reality that does not live up to expectations. The level of anger increases as our expectation keep falling short of reality. The level of frustration is the ratio of expectation divided by reality. When our circumstances fall short of our expectatins, frustration increases.

We sell our youth on the idea that if they graduate from college, they will get good paying jobs. They go to school and come back to live in their parents' basement playing video games. We tell interest groups that if they elect this leader, their life will improve. When it doesn't, frustration sets in.

We can solve the problem in two possible ways: lower expectation or improve reality. Lowering expectations has been attempted in several countries with socialism and communism. The state controls everything and owns everything. That evens the playing field for everybody except the ruling class. There is little incentive for workers to excel and the populace lives in mediocrity while the power of the state increases and often leads to tyranny. In all nations where this has been established, it did not lower expectations. We have witnessed lowering of expectations: in the education system as grades were eliminated; in our children’s sports activities where winning was de-valued. 

Lowering expectations will always lead to more frustration

Lowering expectations will always lead to more frustration because the human spirit seeks the frontiers of creativity -the highest reaches of consciousness and wisdom. Plato termed this “A fully functioning person", others have used the term, "healthy personality." Abraham Maslow, in his hierarchy of needs, calls this "a self-actualizing person."

The only viable solution is to change reality, but how?

Twentieth-century missiologist,  Donald MacGavren, created a term "Redemptive lift." He noted that missionaries in third-world nations noticed an increased standard of living where ever the Christian Gospel took root. 

On my first visit to India, I noticed an extreme contrast between prosperity and poverty. India is the worlds largest democracy with social programs galore, but many people are still locked into an illegal caste system with little hope no hope. There is no expectation of improving the reality of the lower classes. India is making strides to change by outlawing the caste system, but it still exists within certain religious sects.

We can change our reality, but it requires a change in our expectations. We must all expect to grow, increase and improve our lot in life, but this requires hope. The lower classes in India have lost hope.

Any traveler to Israel can witness the contrast between the Israeli controlled areas and the Palestinian controlled areas. Many of the Palestinian controlled are poverty stricken while the majority of the Jewish controlled areas are dynamic and financially stable. 

This is not a result of Israeli persecution of the Arabs. It is more a result of the God they worship. 

We often become like the God we worship. Have you noticed how married couples who deeply love each other become alike? If the god we worship is kind and loving, we tend to be kind and loving. If the god we worship is angry and vengeful, we will become angry and vengeful. If we worship a dung beetle (a scarab) we will become like the dung beetle.

We can change our reality and the reality of those around us. 

Find the right God to worship and allow Him to guide our lives, as a nation, as a tribe, people group, or as an individual human being. Social programs will continue to fail but "Redemptive Lift" is available for those who follow Jesus. 

The Christian Gospel continues to transform individuals and nations.

Feel free to make comments