Crisis Math

Simple math, or at least compared to complex math, is something we take for granted. You add and subtract, grow and something reduces, add to our lives, and then watch something slip away – silently or tragically, all of life faces this daily challenge.

This morning, I’m thinking of how we react when a crisis or struggle arises. All we’ve done to grow, and it seems like we’re losing: Stock market, Business, Family, Personal wealth, etc.

You could name any period and study what leads up to a failure and how the response after either leads back to stability or deepens to a bottomless pit. How do we handle a crisis? What is your math formula?

Let me remind you of something that I’ve learned from the infamous Job of Bible Fame.

First, it was the Lord that allowed the negative to happen. This is not always true. Sometimes, we are our own worst enemies, and we’ve dug our traps and fallen into them. But when a test comes from the Lord, then there’s a particular point to be made.

Then the LORD said to Satan,
“Have you considered My servant Job,
that there is none like him on the earth,
a blameless and upright man,
one who fears God and shuns evil?”
(Job 1:8 NKJV)

God asks a question and names a situation that is not even named to this point.

Ponder This: When you face your next hurdle, is it a test from God to prove to the enemy that you are up to the task? Or did you get yourself into this mess?

Second, God allows disasters to happen to Job but limits the enemy. Don’t Touch His Body.

At the end of bad news that strikes as quickly as a snake, runners keep bringing one report of disaster after another. Is there another shoe to drop? No. Job has received each report with a sinking heart.

What would you do when all you’ve added in life suddenly crashes down around your ears, and you are left with nothing – and even soon, your health will be questioned?

Job shows us the proper steps.

Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head;
and he fell to the ground and worshiped.
And he said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.
(Job 1:20-22 NKJV)

He arose, tore his robe to symbolize his grief and anguish, shaved his head to show mourning, and then fell to the ground and worshiped. Later, when his health is taken from him, he adds sackcloth and ashes.

His grief and worship must have been a public thing.

Let your outward expression show what you feel in the moment, but do not forget to worship God. Nor do you blame God, even though the story tells us that God allowed the enemy to send the storm. If you are going to grieve in public, then worship in public.

Crisis Math

An old problem from my school days. It’s designed to think about cutting your losses and surviving but often fails to help you handle the mental and emotional toll that zaps your strength.

• A ship has sunk, and there are more survivors than the life raft will hold. Decide about who gets in and who has to fight the sharks. But note there are children, women, men, professionals, and soldiers; some are young, others are old, some are strong, others have weaknesses, some give back more than they take, and some take more than they ever gave. Some are wealthy, and some, of course, are mediocre or poor. Some are closer to natural death than others.
• Now, choose who lives and who dies.

I never applied myself to the complex math that engineers and scientists use all day long, but I am logical. With enough early interest and training, I’m sure I would have lived life differently. One of the things I have learned is how to take blows and losses and keep on moving forward.

When Cadet Don sang, “There’s a hole in my bucket, dear Seymour, a hole…” (You had to grow up in Houston when I did!) We find he keeps trying to fill in the hole but needs things he doesn’t have. Maybe we need to be better prepared, to which we all say, Amen!

But you may not be ready to prepare in advance and can only handle the crisis with tools you already have in hand. That’s Crisis Math hard at work!

Maybe this is all the math I need.
Don’t be satisfied with any loss;
strive to add more to my life than letting things go,
and make sure I’m always growing and improving.

No matter what I face in life when the burdens and struggles take away from my base, I’ll keep adding to my stature with Worship and Not Blaming God.

There’s an old song that comes to mind: He’s all I need, He’s all I need, Jesus is all I need. He satisfies, My Needs Supply, Jesus is all I need!”