Who Will You Be When This Crisis is Over?

(Note: This article was written May 4, 2020. The question is as relevant today as it was then, if not more so.)

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of this new normal. The old normal (a.k.a. the real normal), was really working well for me. I liked my typical, usual, expected routines. Then came COVID-19 and all that changed.

I was doing some research for work this week on the subject of “leading through a crisis” and ran across the work of General Stanley McChrystal. McChrystal led counter terrorism operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for 7 years in the early to mid 2000s as Head of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). I was listening to a recent podcast with the General and began to notice how many times the word “crisis” came up. It caused me to pause and ask myself how many crises had I experienced in my life? I stopped the interview, and for the next 45 minutes I counted 24. Yikes! That’s approximately one crisis every 1.56 years.

My discovery? Crises are normal. These unwelcome change of events become turning points, for better or worse, in our life’s story that usher in a new normal, which soon becomes our old normal when the cycle repeats.

Some crises, like the coronavirus, are ones you and I share along with 7 billion others on planet earth. Whether a collective crisis or an individual crisis, each brings a condition of instability, and often danger, that leads to a decisive change in our lives. Steve Cloud, a mentor of mine, likes to say, “There are only two things that cause people to change; either desperation or revelation.” He’s right. Reflecting on my life, I’ve observed that often my desperation leads to a revelation that in turn produces transformation. Change is not something we welcome. In fact, we tend to run from it. As a friend reminded me this week, “Only a baby with a dirty diaper welcomes a change.”

Will you conform or be transformed by the COVID-19 crisis? Transformation is a dramatic change in form or appearance, which is most often associated with positive change. Two weeks ago, I mentioned in this blog that online gambling, marijuana and alcohol sales, and internet porn viewing had spiked up dramatically in the first few weeks following President Trump’s national state of emergency declaration. Individuals that make up these statistics are those who are leveraging bad times into worse times. They are conforming, not being transformed.

The Apostle Paul gives us wise counsel on this subject in Romans 12:2; “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” Will you emerge from this crisis transformed into a new, improved person, or will you wake up from your slumber adrift on a sea of backslidden conformity?

We not only need to fight the unseen enemy known as COVID-19, we need to fight another unseen enemy called “inertia.” Inertia is the act of having no inherent power of action, motion, or resistance. It’s like a boat drifting down a river with no rudder or power source. It’s about conforming, not transforming. We get lulled into conformity by saying to ourselves, “Why change anything since this is working well?” General McChrystal says you have a great opportunity to overcome inertia in times of crisis “because the argument you can make is that the status quo isn’t working. A crisis can often get things moving.” He goes on to say, “You can’t steer anything that’s not moving.” Now that things are moving, how will you steer your boat?

My 24 crises have produced some pain, but the gains have come from how I responded to these challenges. My immediate responses haven’t always been the right ones, but eventually I wind up in the place that puts me in the position to rise from the ashes of despair; on my knees. My best weapon in these 24 crises (and counting), has been the white flag of surrender. I don’t mean giving in to inertia. I mean giving up everything to Jesus. He said this is the way to peace. It was also the most reiterated command of Jesus’, appearing in all four gospels (twice in Matthew). King David, the mighty warrior of Israel, said, “My eyes are always on the Lord, for He will free my feet from the mesh.” Even with 280,000 soldiers at his beck and call, David knew he was outnumbered by his enemies if he didn’t acknowledge the Most High God as his true source of strength and deliverance.

Crises are normal. The question is not whether we will make it through this. We will. The question is how will we come out on the other side? We will live in the new normal either transformed by the renewing of our minds, or conformed to the inertia of our old selves. There are plenty more crises ahead for you and I. The good news is that we will have an equal number of chances to trust God with each of them. He will be there with us every step of the way. He will free our feet from the mesh and from our mess as well.

Play to win in the game that really counts!