The uneasy reality we’re reluctant to acknowledge

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic there are a multitude of questions running through our minds. “How long will this last? How can I and my family stay safe? Will things ever return to normal? How will we make it financially?

We have serious questions and we would like to have reliable answers.

Yet there’s one question that most of us are prone to avoid asking, because we’re not sure we want to face the answer. The question: “What is this crisis revealing about me?”

As much as we don’t like to admit it, a crisis is a revealer.

A Crisis Reveals

Think this through with me. First, a crisis or disaster of almost any type has two painful prongs.

On the one hand, a crisis brings into our lives that which we didn’t want to have. Suddenly we have the unwanted guests of pain, inconvenience, trouble, suffering and anguish. Every morning they greet us when we wake up, and walk beside us as constant companions throughout the day.

On the other hand, a crisis also takes from our lives that which we didn’t want to lose. Something or someone precious and treasured is gone…vanished. It could be the loss of a relationship, our comfortable routines, distractions (i.e. sports, entertainment, eating out), conveniences we enjoy, or the control we think we have.

Second, this dual action of unwanted inserting and stripping radically changes our world. As these prongs pierce our lives, they reveal our heart. Consider the observation of Moses in Deuteronomy 8:2,

“….remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart….”

Most of us, at this moment, are living a quarantined lifestyle that feels like a wilderness. It’s both disruptive and disturbing. Are you facing the elephant? What is this crisis revealing about you?

What is Being Revealed

What’s being revealed at the heart-level because you’ve been furloughed, fired, or restricted to working from home? What is being revealed because you can’t self-medicate via sports on TV, your entertainment options are limited, and you can’t eat out or get out?

The Lord wants us to honestly face what the two-prongs of our crisis is revealing in our hearts about:

• Our values.
• Our agendas.
• Our quality of relationships with spouse, family, and our church.
• The level of intimacy we have in our relationship with the Lord.
• Our habits.
• Where our hope and trust actually resides.

Might I suggest that the very place where your emotions are most raw or explosive is right where you will find the elephant.

A bit further in Deuteronomy 8 Moses adds an additional comment in v.16 about Israel’s time in the wilderness,

“…that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end.”

Whether the crisis is COVID-19, the abrupt departure of the lead pastor from a church, or a personal tragedy, much is revealed during these seasons we experience. Yet the inserting and stripping prongs of a crisis are being used by our loving heavenly Father for our good.

Invite him in to speak to the heart issues that are being revealed.

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If your church is facing the crisis of an abrupt departure by your senior pastor, what your leadership does in the first 90-days after his exit determines how well you will recover.

Click here to go to the TRM Store to purchase the workbook “Aftermath: Leading the Church After Abrupt Pastoral Transition”. It will lead your team through the practical aspects of shepherding your Body during this unique season.

In the TRM Store there are also options for consulting with your leadership team for those who desire or need a more personal touch.