Mary: Learning To Trust God In Times Of Crisis Series

Fifth, realize sometimes God allows us to struggle in the crisis. God can use that experience to shape and mold us for His purposes. In other words, God uses the storms in our life to accomplish His work in us. Cory ten Boom tells the story of Willem who was a Christian in pre-WWII Germany. He had scrimped and saved his money to build a home for elderly Jews who were escaping Nazi Germany, so much so that they had given their bedroom to another family and were sleeping themselves in the hall. Willem walked in one day with a man on his arm. The older men around the table noticed Willem but not the man. The man was in his mid-30’s with the typical broad-brimmed black hat and long black coat. Then they saw his face. His beard was now missing, leaving a gaping wound where youths had set his beard on fire. Corrie’s father had eagerly greeted the man, sat him down and gave him food and water to drink. And then she writes, “And so the shadow fell across us that winter afternoon in 1937. Nobody dreamed that this tiny cloud would grow until it blocked out the sky. And nobody dreamed that in this darkness, each of us would be called to play a role….Today I know such memories are the key not to the past but to the future. I know the experience of our lives, when we let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect preparation for the work He will give us to do.”

When you depend on Christ, when you trust God in the midst of disappointment, when you keep your commitments even when it hurts, when you put God first in your thoughts and in your money and in your time, God will meet your needs and God will be there for you.

In the 19th century, there was a successful attorney in Chicago named Horatio Spafford. He was intelligent, successful and godly. Early on in his success, he came to the realization that he needed to have balance both in his home and in his church. In 1871, his only son died. A few months later, Spafford’s real estate fortune was totally wiped out in the Great Chicago Fire. Wanting to get away, Spafford planned a trip to Europe with his family, which was to coincide with his close friend’s evangelistic crusade, D.L. Moody. At the last minute, a business development delayed him, so he sent his family on as scheduled, promising to catch up with them later. On the journey, the ship his family was on was hit by an English vessel and sank in 20 minutes. All four of his daughters drowned. His wife survived and was taken to Wales. She sent word back to her husband which simply said, “Saved alone.” Horatio Spafford immediately boarded the next departing boat. The captain knew of his sorrow, so as they were traveling, he stopped the boat where the ship had sunk and his daughters had drowned. Horatio Spafford didn’t understand why all of this had to happen but that day he decided to trust God despite his recent tragedies. As the ship stopped, his sorrow released and tears poured forth. Yet it was in that moment he knew that God was there and all he could say was, “it is well with my soul.” That experience led him to write one of the most beloved hymns ever written by the same name. When we place our trust in God, in spite of all that is happening in our life, even in the midst of tragedy, we are reminded that God is always there and will meet us in our time of need.