CRISIS OPPORTUNITY

The Opportunity in a Crisis

I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, —Philippians 3:8

Like Job, Charles Colson, the former aide to President Nixon, during the watergate hearings testifies, “Sure, Watergate caused my world to crash around me and set me to prison. I lost many of the mainstays of my existence—the awards, the six-figure income and lifestyle to match, arguing cases in the highest courts, a position of power at the right hand of the President of the United States. But only when I lost them did I find a far greater gain—Knowing Christ… I wouldn’t trade the toughest day of the last few years—which includes those in prison—for the best day of the forty years before… What I couldn’t find in my quest for power and success—that is, true security and meaning—I discovered in prison where all worldly props had been stripped away.” (Who Speaks for God? Crossway Books, 1985, pp. 47, 181)

The Chinese combine two characters for the word crisis. One character means “danger” and the other “opportunity.” These two possibilities are inherent in every crisis. A crisis is a crossroads and the outcome is usually determined by which path is taken.

When a medical patient is described as critical it means they can move either toward life or death at any moment.  Just so, the crises of life present not only danger but also opportunities. Let your extremity open new doors for God’s opportunities. “He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).