For decades, i, like many of you, have been mining a “daily nugget” from the collection of writings by Oswald Chambers entitled, My Utmost for His Highest. And no matter how many times i read it, the Lord never fails to draw my eyes to a truth of which i need to be reminded.

Such was the case on September 10th. Oswald writes, “It is not the crisis that builds something within us — it simply reveals what we are made of already.” 

There were three reasons that truth stood out to me. First, that particular day happens to be my birthday. Perhaps like many of you, i find myself, on the occasion of my birthday, reflecting back over events from the previous twelve months – and – thinking through my hopes and dreams for the year ahead. 

There is no question that the past year has brought more than its share of crises into all of our lives. None of us could have anticipated the events that have unfolded over the past year – particularly those over the past six-plus months. But Oswald’s statement must cause us to ask ourselves the question – what did those events reveal about what i was made of already?

How did i respond or react to the crisis? Christian psychologist Dr. Henry Brandt was noted for putting it another way (my paraphrase): what spills out when your cup is jostled? Whatever spills out was there long before the event that jostled it!

Second, that truth stood out to me because it appears on the day before September 11th. Any of us who were reading that statement on September 10, 2001 had no idea about the crisis we, as a nation, would be facing the next morning. i particularly think of those who were first responders – including those who spontaneously boatlifted 500,000 people off the island of Manhattan. The bravery and selflessness that was demonstrated by so many – in NYC, in Washington, DC, and on a plane that crashed in Pennsylvania –  was already deeply-rooted in each of those responders’ lives long before that day.

Third, that truth stood out to me because it caused me to recall a very special memory. i was with a group of friends in Cairo, Egypt a number of years ago. We were visiting the gravesite where Oswald Chambers’ body is buried. It seemed to be a fitting setting for a special presentation to be made. It was the presentation of a cross that had been carved by a man by the name of Bill Koehn. Bill was one of three missionaries who were martyred for their witness in a hospital in Yemen. He and his co-laborers had surrendered to God’s call on their lives so that others could hear the Gospel. They had freely given their lives, not knowing they would be tragically cut short. But the reality was that their lives had been freely given for the sake of the Gospel … not taken.

The message of the presentation that day in front of Oswald’s gravestone in Cairo was that these three people had faithfully carried the cross that God had put before them. It was now our turn – each one of us who are followers of Jesus – to pick up that cross and continue the journey. I never knew Bill personally, but one who did described him in this way: “I’ve heard meekness defined as ‘strength under control.’ If that is true, the most accurate picture I can think of would be Mr. Bill.”(1) The crisis – and in this case, the tragedy – didn’t create something within Bill, it revealed what was already there.

We don’t get to live our lives crisis-free. Crises are a part of life. For the great majority of us, life will continue after COVID-19. It will even continue after the November elections! And it will continue after the crisis through which you are right now personally walking. The question is not so much what will the crisis do to us, the question is what will the crisis reveal about us?

I think the apostle Paul said it best:

Since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.(2)

In this day of social distancing, uneasiness, upheaval, uncertainty and unrest, may our crises reveal peace, confidence, joy, strength to endure … and ultimately God’s love and His glory.

* * * * * 

(1)  Taken from Lives Given, Not Taken by Erich Bridges and Jerry Rankin

(2)  Roman 5:1-5 (NLT)

Photo by AmericanMaritimePartnership.com