Hope in the Crisis

It was an unprecedented time in the life of our country. The decade brought huge developments in technology. Communication devices and entertainment forums brought big changes into many homes. The nation saw rapid economic growth. Consumerism flourished. Many changes in lifestyle and culture swept across society. Everything suddenly seemed possible in light of the prolific development that seemed to know no bounds.

Nope, I’m not talking about the 21^st century. I’m talking about the “Roaring Twenties,” the exciting, crazy decade that took place one hundred years ago.

But the decade-long euphoria didn’t last. It all came to a roaring halt on October 29, 1929 (Black Tuesday). Prices in the stock market dropped suddenly and dramatically threw America into a tailspin. The prosperous, exhilarating world became a dark and hopeless place.

What inspired me to read about the 1920’s this week?

In a recent conversation, I was reminded that there are lessons we can from our past.

Just like the 1920’s was a rebound from WW1 and its demands, our recent economy has experienced a rebound after the recession of 2008. Technology has moved almost frighteningly fast, repeatedly making any of our devices obsolete within a couple of years of purchase. Our quality of life has grown exponentially. Apps have given us unlimited options and we carry the internet world in our back pockets. Social media has blown up and connected us all in ways we couldn’t have dreamed.

But now in recent days, again like in the late 1920’s, disaster has struck. The dreaded Covid-19 has invaded our land. Quite suddenly, the world has turned into a scary place, and leaving our homes has become a life-threatening enterprise.

I am wondering how God plans to use this crisis in the lives of His people.

In the time period following the Great Depression, Americans were asked to join together in support of the second World War. Supplies like meat, dairy products, shoes, meat, coffee, and sugar (as well as rubber and automobiles) were rationed. People went to work in factories to produce needed weapons and equipment for the troops. Men and women enlisted into service, leaving their jobs and families to protect the well-being of our nation. Every American household adjusted their lifestyles to do without: all for the common good. Through their sacrifices, the great war machine was supplied and enabled to win the fight against evil.

But I do wonder: what if there had been no Great Depression? What if Americans were asked to limit their lifestyle at a time when prosperity and consumerism flourished? Would they have been so willing to live for the common good? Would they even now be known as the “Greatest Generation”?

During the Depression, Americans had learned to do without. Any sense of entitlement vanished as people scrambled to make ends meet. Stripping away prosperity had changed their priorities. So when the demands of another great war emerged, they were ready to be a part of the solution.

What I am trying to say is that times like these can have the profound effect of resetting our priorities.

We begin to look past ourselves to the needs of our fellow countrymen. The patriotism that is currently springing up across our land is reminiscent of the days following 9-11, when we started thinking like a nation and not as individuals. Again, a change in attitude after a terrible crisis.

God uses “the wilderness,” times of living in a harsh, desolate places many times in the Bible to do a work in those whom He has called. The wilderness is not a punishment. It is an opportunity. He is calling us into a deeper relationship with Him. He uses the hard to accomplish the good in us.

Continual living in a land of plenty can have a deadening effect on anyone. We become blind to the needs of those around us. We feel the best is what we are entitled to always enjoy.

Jesus told His disciples: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24). He was talking about His death and resurrection, of course. But the principle can be applied to our current situation. Loss can be a good thing for the comfortable: it helps us remember where our priorities ought to lie. It pushes us to look outside ourselves and focus on what is really essential.

Self-importance and entitlement have to die before we can truly embrace the heart of Jesus.

We all hate the change. We all hate having to do without—and in these early days of Coid-19, we have barely scratched the surface of self-sacrifice. Quite possibly, the worst is still ahead. But through it all, I’m going to be looking for what God is doing in the hearts of His people. He doesn’t waste a minute of our pain. He loves us too much to allow us to stay the same. He is constantly transforming us into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

“Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Philippians 4:11-13 NASB