Finding Faith to Carry You Through Disaster

The Survivors Club: Finding Faith to Carry You Through Disaster
by: Sarah Jennings, Crosswalk.com Family Editor


Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4


In the past month, we've watched the international community endure one calamity after another. First, a devastating earthquake in Haiti. Now earthquakes in Japan and Chile. We've seen images of great suffering and heard stories of great faith and triumph. With each heart wrenching update, we wonder how we would cope if the places were switched. Could we endure the shock of having everything - and everyone - we loved gone in a matter of moments? Would we maintain hope and faith? Would we be generous to others?

Award-winning journalist Ben Sherwood, author of The Survivors Club, began asking these questions long before recent quakes crumbled the infrastructure of countries across the globe. After years of interviewing people who survived incredible catastrophes for human interest stories, he began to wonder: What enables these ordinary people to endure what most could not? Are there certain characteristics that set survivors apart from victims? And if so, can we learn how to become survivors?

Sherwood set out on a quest to find answers. He interviewed countless members of "the survivors club." He met with Brian Udell, the only pilot to live through an emergency ejection from a jet going faster than the speed of sound (Mach 1) at sea level. He interviewed Stan Praimnath, the only survivor from the 81st floor of the World Trade Center's South Tower. He spoke with petite Anne Hjelle, a mountain biker who survived a vicious mountain lion attack on the trail. He interviewed survivors of shipwrecks, plane crashes, the Holocaust, and those who beat difficult medical diagnoses.

Sherwood didn't just interview these remarkable men and women. He put himself through the wringer. He visited the Aviation Survival Training Center at the U.S. Marine Corp air station where he allowed trainers to subject him to military survival tests, including a frightening simulation of a helicopter crashing underwater (to his teachers' surprise, he passed all the tests). He also underwent emergency FAA training with airline professionals. Along the way, he spoke with the experts. Experts in medicine, military training, aviation, and psychology.

His findings? There's actually quite a bit you and I can do to join the survivors club when life gets rough.

So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled (1 Thess 5: 6). The first factor in becoming a survivor is acknowledging a very biblical truth: At some point life's going to go wrong. As much as we don't want to admit it, the brokenness of this world will seep into our tranquil lives. In his introduction, Sherwood writes, "Almost everyone I know has faced - or is coping with - some kind of serious challenge or adversity." Part of what differentiates the victims from the survivors is a person's willingness to accept adversity and prepare before it ever becomes a reality.

Did you know that 96% of passengers in airplane accidents survive? Sherwood shares that the survivors who might otherwise have perished in plane crashes were passengers who kept their shoes on during flight, made note of the exits before take-off, and abstained from the alcoholic beverages on the food cart. In other words - these passengers were prepared.

Other survival factors read like a litany of statistics (including the reality that young, thin, strong men tend to have the best survival rates). But amid all the scientific insights and eye-opening stats, Sherwood identifies one profound characteristic of those who belong to "the survivors club." When he asked survival guru Ray Smith at the Naval Survival Training Institute for the secret of survival, Smith gave a startlingly simple answer: "Faith in God… it's a major factor in all survival scenarios."

Brian Udell couldn't agree more. He believes it was divine intervention that pushed him up onto the life-saving raft after he miraculously survived his high-speed ejection. Stan Praimnath never misses his morning prayers after September 11, 2001. And Anne Hjelle feels like a walking example of 2 Tim 4: 17 ("I was delivered from the lion's mouth").

Sherwood was skeptical of the "divine factor" at first, but expert after expert confirmed the powerful role faith plays in those who beat all odds. In fact, not only does faith carry survivors through extraordinary crises but studies reveal it helps with ordinary crises too. Those who attend church at least once a week live an average of 7 years longer than those who don't.

But what kind of faith is this? Is this a naive, blind optimism that carries survivors through unbelievable circumstances?

No, quite the opposite. Famously dubbed "The Stockdale Paradox," Sherwood explains that Admiral James Stockdale, the highest ranking POW in Vietnam, responded to the question, "Which American prisoners perished?" with this surprising declaration: "Oh that's easy. The optimists."

Why? Hope is vital, but optimism often drains emotional resources by fueling unrealistic expectations. "We'll be out by Christmas!" a cheery POW might exclaim. When Christmas comes and goes, depression ensues. In fact, naïve believers who erroneously think God will shield them from all adversity tend to lose their vital faith when crisis hits. It's the mature, hopeful realist who believes God uses his adversity for a greater good that comes out the other side of a crisis thriving. Furthermore, studies show the more integrated a person's faith is in his day-to-day life, the more likely he is to weather life's most violent storms.

Where does this leave us? I definitely recommend The Survivors Club. You'll learn some potentially life-saving information and read some fascinating stories. But for me, this information does more than impress the importance of hitting the gym and booking airplane seats within five rows of an exit. It leaves me in awe.

Awe that a journalist's quest for scientific answers to survival led him and his readers straight to God and the power of prayer. Awe that even in the worst of catastrophes, faith is sustained. Awe that God not only answers prayers (how many times have I questioned his silence?) -- but we depend on it.

It also leaves me with a dose of reality: earth isn't heaven. While we can't expect to dodge the bad stuff in life, we can have faith that God never leaves us. He walks with us through the valleys, using every experience for the good of those who love him. Just ask Brian Udell, Stan Praimnath, and Anne Hjelle.

How would you describe your faith? Is it more immature or mature? Do you pray daily and lean into God's grace or rely on your own strengths? Do you think God will shield you from adversity or guide you through it? Take inventory and make the necessary changes.

Original Crosswalk publication date: March 1, 2010

The Spiritual Discipline of Perservance - Oswald Chambers

Be still, and know that I am God . . . — Psalm 46:10

Perseverance is more than endurance. It is endurance combined with absolute assurance and certainty that what we are looking for is going to happen. Perseverance means more than just hanging on, which may be only exposing our fear of letting go and falling. Perseverance is our supreme effort of refusing to believe that our hero is going to be conquered. Our greatest fear is not that we will be damned, but that somehow Jesus Christ will be defeated. Also, our fear is that the very things our Lord stood for— love, justice, forgiveness, and kindness among men— will not win out in the end and will represent an unattainable goal for us. Then there is the call to spiritual perseverance. A call not to hang on and do nothing, but to work deliberately, knowing with certainty that God will never be defeated.

If our hopes seem to be experiencing disappointment right now, it simply means that they are being purified. Every hope or dream of the human mind will be fulfilled if it is noble and of God. But one of the greatest stresses in life is the stress of waiting for God. He brings fulfillment, "because you have kept My command to persevere . . ." ( Revelation 3:10 ).

Continue to persevere spiritually.

Get Back Up

I love the lyric in this song where it says, "May be knocked down, but not out forever!" It encourages me to persevere in Christ because of His love calling out to me to "get back up again."

The Hand of God by Randy Alcorn

When we lock our eyes on our cancer, arthritis, fibromyalgia, diabetes, or disability, self-pity and bitterness can creep in. When we spend our days rehearsing the tragic death of a loved one, we will interpret all life through the darkness of our suffering. How much better when we focus upon Jesus!

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus... who for the joy set before him endured the cross.” The following verse commands us, “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:2–3).

However great our suffering, his was far greater. If you feel angry at God, what price would you have him pay for his failure to do more for people facing suffering and evil? Would you inflict capital punishment on him? You’re too late. No matter how bitter we feel toward God, could any of us come up with a punishment worse than what God chose to inflict upon himself?

Tim Keller writes,

If we again ask the question: “Why does God allow evil and suffering to continue?” and we look at the cross of Jesus, we still do not know what the answer is. However, we know what the answer isn’t. It can’t be that he doesn’t love us. It can’t be that he is indifferent or detached from our condition. God takes our misery and suffering so seriously that he was willing to take it on himself.... So, if we embrace the Christian teaching that Jesus is God and that he went to the Cross, then we have deep consolation and strength to face the brutal realities of life on earth.

If you know Jesus, then the hand holding yours bears the calluses of a carpenter who worked with wood and carried a cross for you. When he opens his hand, you see the gnarled flesh of the nail scars on his wrists. And when you think he doesn’t understand your pain, realize that you don’t understand the extent of his pain. Love him or not, he has proven he loves you.

If you hate suffering, does it make sense to choose eternal suffering when God has already suffered so much to deliver you from it?

In your most troubled moments, when you cry out to God, “Why have you let this happen?” picture the outstretched hands of Christ, forever scarred... for you.

Do those look like the hands of a God who does not care?


(Excerpted from Randy Alcorn's book, 'If God Is Good.')

Less Like Scars

It's been a hard year
But I'm climbing out of the rubble
These lessons are hard
Healing changes are subtle
But every day it's

Less like tearing, more like building
Less like captive, more like willing
Less like breakdown, more like surrender
Less like haunting, more like remember

And I feel You here
And You're picking up the pieces
Forever faithful
It seemed out of my hands, a bad situation
But You are able
And in Your hands the pain and hurt
Look less like scars and more like
Character

Less like a prison, more like my room
It's less like a casket, more like a womb
Less like dying, more like transcending
Less like fear, less like an ending

And I feel you here
And you're picking up the pieces
Forever faithful
It seemed out of my hands, a bad situation
But you are able
And in your hands the pain and hurt
Look less like scars

Just a little while ago
I couldn't feel the power or the hope
I couldn't cope, I couldn't feel a thing
Just a little while back
I was desperate, broken, laid out, hoping
You would come

And I need You
And I want You here
And I feel You

And I know You're here
And you're picking up the pieces
Forever faithful
It seemed out of my hands, a bad, bad situation
But You are able

And in Your hands the pain and hurt
Look less like scars (x3)

And more like
Character

Song by Sara Groves

To Know Him More

As a member of Trinity Bible Church in Cedar Falls, Iowa, I've had the privilege of learning from Pastor, John Miller for several weeks as he's preached a sermon series titled 'Finding Joy in the Journey,' using the Book of Philippians as his text.

This Sunday, he focused on Chapter 3 of Philippians, verses 1-11. The subtitle of his sermon was 'Pattern Your Life after People Who Set Their Sights on Knowing Christ.'

He said, "Gospel living is not just what we "do," but what we "prize" or value."

Pastor John, challenged the congregation with these introductory questions:

What is it you think you must have for satisfaction?

What do you cherish the most? Is it pride, family, health, a secure retirement, respect, friendship...?

What is it you're clinging to that may be hindering you from advancing the Gospel or knowing Christ more deeply?

Is that one thing really necessary for the task of knowing Christ or advancing the Gospel?

In the context of Philippians 3:8 - where Paul talks about knowing Christ, it means a vibrant, personal, passionate relationship. It's not knowing about Him (head knowledge/factual information) - it's knowing Him intimately as you would your closest friend. A person you can bear all things without fear of rejection.

Paul gave up everything - family, friendship, comfort and freedom in order to know Christ and his resurrection power. We, too have access to this power, but we may have to make sacrifices to enjoy it fully.

As I sat there listening to this message, emotions were welling up in me and I was about to "break" - weep uncontrollably. I nudged my husband and said, "I need to leave soon because I'm going to "crack." In other words, I was going to start crying, not the quiet, silent type - but the wailing type.

I began to bawl the minute I stepped out of the church, with sounds of agony. I wailed the entire drive home, and continued to as I walked into our home. My husband asked me if I could verbalize what I was feeling. I flopped myself down on the couch and said, "I'm not sure I can yet."

Then slowly, through the sobbing, I was able to gain enough composure to put some thoughts together. I replied, "It was as though the Lord was saying to me - "Terri, I needed you to surrender your work, your health, your financial security and even a loved one - all in one year SO THAT you'd KNOW ME more intimately. Terri, you don't need to "do" anything special to serve me, I want you to KNOW me." It's enough. I just want you to know Me."

A year ago, just days before the first surgery related to my cancer diagnosis, I prayed with two women. I remember praying, "Lord, You've drawn me closer to Yourself in the past through some very deep valleys. I pray with expectation that You will draw me closer to Yourself through this trial as well." I can answer that with a resounding, "Yes!" I do know Him much more intimately from these compounded trials in 2009, but it's been painful. It still is painful. There is much grieving that goes along with each of these losses.

What are you willing to give up in order to know Christ? A crowded schedule in order to set aside a few minutes each day to read the Bible and pray - to know Him? Your friend's approval - to know Him? Some of your plans or pleasures - to know Him? Whatever it is, knowing Christ, is more than worth the sacrifice. Seek no greater honor than just to know Him more.

Philippians 3:8 - What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I might gain Christ.

If you're interested in listening to Pastor John Miller's sermon it can be found at http://www.cedarfallstrinity.org/ Click on sermons - select the one given on Sunday, January 31st.

I've also attached one of my favorite songs titled, 'In Christ Alone,' by Brian Littrell that relates to this subject.

Holding On To What's Being Held Out

I heard this song, 'Healing Hand of God,' by Jeremy Camp today for the first time. It's just what I needed to hear. I have experienced the healing hand of God this past year at multiple levels. Walking forward, I must choose to continue to hold onto His healing hand, that's always held out.

I've attached Jeremy Camp's story behind this song, for those who don't know it. In 2004, just two months after he was married, his wife died of cancer. That tragedy pierced his life and heart, yet he cried out for God's grace to bear the pain of that soul-wrenching loss. God has faithfully turned his pain into spiritual might that he shares with others through his music.

Aftershock

Recently we have been inundated with news about the earthquake in Haiti. The devastation to this land and the people who live there is heart wrenching. Having lived in Iowa all my life I have never experienced an earthquake, however I have experienced aftershock.

Webster's dictionary defines aftershock as an aftereffect of a distressing or traumatic event(s).

A year ago (this week), after my annual physical, I was asked to return for an ultra sound due to an abnormal mammogram. I knew in my gut after the ultra sound that I had breast cancer. Within hours after the visit, I received a call from my OB/GYN who referred me to a surgeon. A week later, I had a biopsy and the results were positive.

2009 began with numerous medical procedures that led to several surgeries and months of chemotherapy related to my cancer diagnosis. In May, came the loss of employment, followed by financial stress due to loss of my income, then in August, my father-in-law passed away suddenly. (His 77th birthday would have been this week.) Multiple unexpected, traumatic "events" compounded one after the other.

I thought after one year, I'd feel differently than I do. The worst is behind us. I didn't expect to feel angry, irritable, fatigued, lacking energy. I thought I'd feel more "normal," by now, as some would say. Instead, today, I wept uncontrollably, unexpectedly. A surprising response? No, an aftershock, an aftereffect from the distressing year of 2009.

So why am I sharing this? It's not for pity. I know many others who have suffered in much greater ways than I have. I share this as a reminder to those of you who are enduring a difficult time - whether that be health issues, loss of employment, financial hardship or grieving the loss of a loved one. Give yourself time to heal and to mourn the loss. Don't try to force the healing process. Be patient with the pace of your recovery. It's your own personal journey - it'll be different for everyone. Give yourself permission to feel without judgment or guilt. Speaking from a "queen of suppression," that's a hard one for me.

I'm certain there will be more unexpected aftershocks down the road, similar to what I experienced today. In preparation, I turn to the restoration promise from Jeremiah 30:17 that I wrote on an index card a year ago. It's posted near my kitchen window, as a physical reminder of His promise to restore and heal me - even the wounds the surgeons didn't make, hidden deep inside of me.

Jeremiah 30:17 - "I WILL restore you to health and heal your wounds."

Although the earth quakes, God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. (Psalm 46:1-2) God is our refuge in the face of total destruction like we've seen in Haiti and during personal aftershocks like I experienced first hand today. Cry out to Him. He is the ever-present help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:16 - Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

A Resolution Worth Keeping

Paraphrased from 'Pearls of Great Price,' by Joni Eareckson Tada

The first week of the New Year is nearly behind us. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of New Year's resolutions, probably because in my experience they are short lived. I blow it before I know it. However, there is one resolution worth considering for Twenty-Ten.

II Corinthians 4:16 says, Therefore, do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

Our inner man/inner being/new creation in Christ, must be renewed daily. It must be nourished daily - every day, month & season of the year. Our fellowship with God must be renewed day to day, not just on Sunday mornings when we listen to a good sermon. Our fellowship with Jesus must be renewed on a daily basis, nourishing our souls through the Word of God. It's necessary. Quickly, we can become spiritually malnourished. It's one resolution we can't afford not to keep.

I pray "that He would grant you & I, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man." (Ephesians 3:16) May we invite His Spirit to replenish us as we spend time in His Word and in prayer. Lord Jesus, show us fresh insights every day in Your Word. Reveal Your heart to us in prayer and in so doing, renew our inner being day by day. In Jesus Name I pray. AMEN.


A quote on this theme by Elyse Fitzpatrick, author of 'Idols of the Heart' - "Pursue the happiness of knowing and loving Christ, and you will find your holiness and worship will grow."

Closing Prayer for 2009

During the church service we attended this morning at Trinity Bible in Cedar Falls, Iowa, our Pastor, John Miller prayed this prayer from 'The Book of Uncommon Prayer' by Joseph Parker. As my husband & I held hands with heads bowed listening to the words in reverence, we cried together. After the service, Rob approached Pastor John for a copy of the prayer because it summed up so perfectly how the Lord has led us through this difficult year by His infinite grace and mercy.

Almighty God, just as we began the year in your name and in your strength, so we close it to your praise. You’ve done great things for us, and because of that, we’re glad. You’ve led us by a way that we knew not and by paths we had not known.

You’ve been eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame. You’ve cared for us with all the tender care of love. You have not forsaken us even for a moment. With everlasting mercies you’ve surrounded us and made us strong. When we feared, we heard the voice of Christ. When we wondered what would happen, you sent strength and peace.

Because of You, we can trust the Lord with our whole heart, and we need take no more care of our own life that we may save it. He that saves his life shall lose it, and he that loses his life in the love of Christ shall find it.

God, give us the gift of faith, so that we may believe all of this holy testimony, and so that we might conduct our life along these sacred lines.

We want to be quiet, resigned, perfectly tranquil. We want to rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him, and as for our heart’s desire we know that You will grant it to us.

You’ve led us by ways that startled us, and you’ve brought us right up to cliffs that have terrified us, yet by your good hand you’ve set us in Your house, given us a new song, and caused our face to be turned towards heaven.

In our houses we’ve seen You. You’ve laid bread on our table, common when we touch it, but sacramental when you break it and give it to us. By Your grace, we have not eaten it carelessly, neither for physical sustenance nor for spiritual.

God, this year is nearly over and it will soon vanish. God be merciful to us sinners. Where we’ve done wrong, let the time past be enough to bring it to an end.

Give us consciousness of your love—not so much to throw us into despair, but enough to lead to the cross where all sin may be forgiven. If we’ve done anything in your strength and in the interest of your kingdom, may You be praised for the opportunity and for the power.

If we’ve been unkind to one another let all bitterness and wrath, and anger and clamor cease now. Help us to love our enemies that we may forgive them. Give us confidence in You, increase our love toward the cross, and rule us more completely by the ministry of your Holy Spirit.

Grant all men wisdom, direction, comfort in sorrow; and show them where the fountain of life is. Help your followers to withdraw often to be refreshed by the rest and the communion that are found in Christ. Be in our lives—each one of us.

Our time on earth is a dwindling quantity, and yet our eternity in heaven is still endless because of Christ. Help us to live the rest of our time here in pureness and gentleness and usefulness, and may men take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus and learned of Him.

Be in our homes and make them habitations of the just; go with us into our workplaces and into our cities and into our culture that we may keep a wise and understanding heart amid all the temptation and distraction of this world.

In the time of sorrow may we show Christian confidence, and in the hour of loss may we be enabled to fall back upon the riches that we treasure in Christ Jesus.

Hear your servants in these things. These supplications and praises are poured out at the foot the cross. Send us answers of peace. In Christ’s name I pray.

Adapted from: 'The Book of Uncommon Prayer: Joseph Parker’s Pulpit Pleadings.'