by Greg Robertson
The Beginning and Purpose of Crises in Human Experience
This essay is first and foremost is an attempt at applying the truths of the Bible to the human experience. The occurrence, or at least the principle behind the occurrence of crisis, is the gift of a loving God. This may sound strange at first, but let me explain.
If there were no sin in the world there would be no useful purpose for crises, making them completely unnecessary. After the fall of the human race into sin, it became necessary for a loving God to do something which would force us to realize our fallen spiritual condition and seek a solution. The crises started immediately after the fall of Adam and Eve. Specifically, they became paranoid with feelings that something was so desperately wrong that they attempted to hide from their creator. Subsequently the Lord pointed out to them their sin and placed curses upon the creation. The cursed creation became a mild form of law, which to this day is a reminder to us that this present world is corrupt and is not deserving of our adoration.
God Himself provided a covering for Adam and Eve to relieve their conscience (which was somehow stricken by their nakedness) and to make them aware that He was still their provider. This was the first act of grace recorded in the Bible -- a form and picture of the final atonement which was to be provided by the creator Himself on Calvary's cross.
The point to be made here, however, has to do with the law as God progressively revealed it for the good of the fallen human race over time. First, Adam and Eve became acutely aware of their environment as a threat to their well being, the world's first crisis -- God provided an answer to their dilemma by making a "covering." Second, all of creation was cursed so that there would be a constant reminder that things are not as they are supposed to be and that we need to get our priorities straight. Third, God used a spokesperson, Moses, to solidify and clarify the message He was giving through crises and the cursed creation. The law came through Moses, but Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ.
The first and most primary revelation of human need for God's grace was through crisis. I believe that within this train of thought is part of the answer to the problem of evil as a philosophical or theological question. The complication which I know of no solution for, however, is when evil only produces evil results, or at least there is no recognizable good which comes of it. Sometimes we are left with simply open hands and a question. It may seem like a cop-out, but we can sometimes only prove the goodness of God by pointing to the eternal reconciliation that has been made between man and God through Christ.
The Missing Crisis of Christ
I could not think of one instance where our Lord displayed the symptoms of one who was in crises. He seemed to never get His feathers ruffled, no matter what the circumstances. Even at His horrifying unjust trial he was not confused, full of anxiety, worrying, suicidal, or showing any of the usual symptoms of a person in crisis. Howard Stone points out that, "A lack of valuable interpersonal relationships will almost certainly heighten the suffering of persons in crisis." (Crisis Counseling, p. 32) Yet, even with the fact that all the Lord's friends and even His closest disciples had not only forsaken Him, but even, as in the case of Peter, denied that they knew Him, He still did not show any signs of being overcome and in crisis. This leads me to the conclusion that all crisis is the result of sin. By that I do not mean the sin of Adam, but our own personal sin. If we were to dwell in an absolute dependence and trust of God, we would never experience crisis, no matter how bad outward circumstances became.
The only occasion that Jesus seemed to be close to crisis was in the garden when he was alone praying and experienced such great anxiety that the capillaries in His forehead burst; His sweat became mixed with blood.
If a person has the symptoms of crisis as described by Stone (p. 22), the person is in crisis: tiredness, exhaustion, helplessness, immobilization, confusion, physical symptoms, anxiety, disorganization of family relationships, and disorganization in social activities. In the Garden Jesus displayed only physical symptoms and anxiety and He was over that as soon as He finished praying, so His situation could not accurately be considered a crisis.
When our Lord was on the cross the symptoms he showed were not caused by personal crisis, but by actual events of physical abuse. He was still under complete control of his faculties. He proclaimed that He had multitudes of angels at His command who could come to His rescue if He requested them. He told one of His disciples to take care of His mother from now on. He told the thief next to Him that they would be together in paradise; and although He showed exhaustion and tiredness, it was because His tormentors had been working-Him-over through the night and He was presently hanging on a tree with nails driven through His hands and His feet.
A Case Study in Philippian Crisis
The ABC method for crisis intervention is effective for any case of crisis. One thing which I believe is very important for the person counseling in a crisis situation is neutrality, or non-judgmentalism. In other words, it does not matter whether the person in crisis is a devil worshiper, or the pastor of a church, the counselor must view the individual with the love and compassion of Christ Himself. A good verse for the crisis counselor to keep in mind would be Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Although crises are not in every case a call for evangelism, in some cases evangelism may be completely appropriate. However, we do see in the Gospels that Jesus often solved crises for people without ever saying a word about their spiritual condition.
A crisis situation in the Book of Acts was used by Paul the Apostle as an evangelistic occasion, but it is important to note that the crisis was solved before the evangelism took place. The Philippian jailer was facing a possible death sentence when angels set prisoners free under his watch.
"The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, `Don't harm yourself! We are all here!' The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' They replied, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household.' Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God--he and his whole family. When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: 'Release those men.' The jailer told Paul, 'The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.'" (Acts 16:27-36)
We see in this instance that the jailer was in such crisis, caused by the precipitating event of his prisoners getting away (or so he thought), that he was seconds away from committing suicide, rather than face the consequences of his failure. Because Paul and Silas were there when the precipitating event took place, they immediately knew what the solution to the crisis would be and intervened with self sacrifice -- "We are all here."
It is important to note that the solution to the crisis was not the resultant conversion of the jailer and his household, but the self sacrificing love of the prisoners who, although the doors were open and they could have fled, stayed under the jailers authority, albeit without bars. The crisis was solved and the jailer owed his life to the prisoners; then the prisoners directed him to give his life to Jesus.
We find a few principles in this Acts pericope which also apply to the crises we encounter in the modern world, assuming we are Christians with the secondary goal of evangelism after God has enabled us to help a person out of crisis.
1. Crisis is a normal part of life common to all sinful humanity.
2. In a crisis a person's normal functioning skills do not solve the problem or problems and there could be a feeling of hopelessness and helplessness so severe that it may lead to suicide.
3. A person may have already decided on a wrong solution to the crisis and may need a change of mind with sound counseling as an instrument of change.
4. The solution to the crisis was not evangelism. Although evangelism took place, it was only after the crisis was solved.
5. The solution to a crisis may involve tremendous self sacrifice and genuine Christian love. Paul and Silas were free to go, but chose to remain for the sake of the jailer, not knowing if the "magistrates" would throw them into a worse prison, execute them, or set them free.
6. Through a crisis situation and its successful solution, a person may become aware of and feel a tremendous indebtedness to the counselor. Based on that indebtedness, a God-loving counselor has the opportunity to identify to the counselee the true source of the resolution -- the Love of God in Christ -- and to begin filling the mind of the counselee with the counsel of God, making the conversion sure.
7. Quick action is important when a person is open to the Lord. Paul and Silas did not wait a few weeks to see if the conversion was legitimate. Before the day had passed the jailer and his household had been baptized and were enjoying Christian fellowship. Back to Top
Written for Crisis Intervention CO7730 at Faith Seminary.
