Proverbs 24:10
If you fall to pieces in a crisis,
there wasn’t much to you in the first place.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
A friend shared a post on Facebook that said, “The best way to honor 9/11 is to be who we were on 9/12.” I have seen other posts in the last couple of days reminding us that the nation – and even the world – pulled together on September 12, 2001. We started doing what we could for each other. I’ve heard more than one person comment that American flags were everywhere, and people joined together in prayer and solidarity for those who had suffered so much. In recent days, if you have listened to accounts and recollections from those with direct involvement in the 9/11 tragedy, you have no doubt heard story after story of courage, resilience, and tremendous faith in God to sustain and heal.
If we think about it, this isn’t anything new. People have been calling on the strength of God for thousands of years. They have trusted that He would sustain them through war, famine, disease, injustice, loneliness, grief, natural disasters and so much more. The Bible is filled with accounts of courage and faithfulness in the face of crisis and adversity. Sometimes we just need to be reminded of this.
The age-old question is why God allows the crisis to begin with…why does He let “bad things happen to good people?” The short answer is to demonstrate His strength and power to help us overcome these difficulties. Solomon is telling us in this proverb that we had two choices…we can demonstrate our complete faith in God with courage and hope – no matter what is happening in our lives. Or, we can fall to pieces – and essentially tell others that our trust in God is lukewarm, at best.
We will all have times of momentary weakness. We will all fall to pieces and succumb to emotion. Jesus demonstrated this when He wept over the death of Lazarus. The true representation of our faith and courage comes in what we do “the day after.” Psalm 30:5 tells us that weeping lasts a night, but joy comes in the morning. How we pick up the pieces and move forward with the strength and power of Jesus Christ tells the real story of our faith and hope as Christian believers.
On this September 12th, let’s show the world who we are. Let’s demonstrate confidence and courage with Jesus and move forward in His strength and promise. Let’s love one another with Christ’s love. Let’s focus on seeking His will, lifting others in His name, and working to build the Kingdom of Heaven. As Christian disciples, there is so much more to us because of Jesus – or there should be! Make this the day you begin to show it!
©2021 Debbie Robus
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