Protecting Yourself from a Life Crisis
Published: July 23, 2009
When a crisis strikes, we can be like two boys running along near the safety of home and finding themselves in the middle of a field of deadly snakes.
As you can imagine, these boys would normally not be prepared to deal with rattlesnakes. But, suppose instead of wearing low-cut sneakers, they had been prepared for the reality they faced; suppose they had been wearing hip-high boots made of multiple layers of strong, thick leather-so strong that a snake's fangs would break off before they could penetrate to the skin underneath.
If they had been wearing such a pair of boots and knew they would protect them, the boys' whole attitudes would be different. Instead of being terrified, thinking they would die at any moment, they would have simply kicked the snakes out of their path as they made their way to the other side of the field. "Go ahead, take your best bite, make my day!" They would have challenged them boldy. And the preventive boots would have kept them safe.
What kind of "hip boots" can we wear to protect us in all of life's crises? What can shield us from the harmful effects of such situations?
Our disaster protection begins with our relationship with God. We can spiritually arm ourselves to face any upcoming crisis in life. Paul describes our spiritual armor in Ephesians 6: 13-17:
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
Once we are armed spiritually, we must maintain our spiritual walk with a thick pair of hip boots. What do I mean?
We "put on a thick pair of hip boots" by maintaining balance in our life. To switch metaphors and use a common sense cliché: If we've put all our eggs in one basket and that basket falls to the ground, our life expectations are dashed. But if we carry several baskets, each holding a different life interest, and then drop one causing disappointment in one area of life, we are able to maintain strength, hope, and joy because we're still holding several baskets.
Here's an illustration of what happens when the "hip boots of balance" are in place. As each of our children formed a career path, we began to share a dream that someday we could all work together, maybe speaking on the same platform.
The day came when my son Greg felt he was finally ready to make part of our dream come true. He was prepared to stand in front of a large audience and teach some of the principles I regularly presented in seminars. As you can imagine, I was thrilled.
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Protecting Yourself from a Life Crisis
Published: July 23, 2009
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