When Faith and Crisis Collide

It’s here!

The first real global issue that is striking close to home.

As of Tuesday, March 10th, I wasn’t buying into the fear and panic. But then Wednesday, March 11th, changed everything for me: The NBA postponed their season. I’ve never experienced this kind of “shut down,” so honestly, I started to freak out internally. I thought, “Maybe this is a bigger deal than I've made it seem." As Thursday, March 12th rolled around, every major sports season was either postponed or cancelled. The billions of dollars lost from these actions means caution is necessary.

Then I read it. A reminder of the power that lives in me. A simple Facebook post from Pastor Josh Hart. In his post he said, “If your faith is no good in crisis, you don’t have enough.”

As a pastor myself, I want to be able to say I wasn’t initially worried but sometimes we all need a quick reminder of who we are and Who we possess. Faith is not about everything turning out okay. Faith is about being okay no matter how things turn out. If the church crumbles in the midst of bad news, then faith isn’t what we’ve got. Our circumstances cannot dictate what we believe. What we believe must dictate our circumstances.

The Chinese word for crisis is wéijī. It’s a word that is composed of two characters. One represents danger. The other represents opportunity. We may be in the middle of a global crisis but as people who follow Jesus, may we rise to the opportunity to have faith. May we intercede on behalf of our world. May we be the hands and feet of Jesus to our community. If there ever was a time to inspire people with hope, love, and peace, now is it!