Young Adults' Group

Faith In The Crisis Of Life

by Pastor Mark
December 05, 2020

Facing a great crisis

Last Sunday morning started peacefully…being in church for worship, uplifted by Pastor Charles’ message on being justified by the Lord’s grace and going off to buy lunch after service. But in the afternoon, I was faced with a great crisis. My father suffered a massive stroke. Subsequently, on Monday morning, he passed on. We were facing a family crisis and experiencing much grief and tears. Everything had to be put on hold as we made plans for the funeral wake and services. Our family decided that Pastor Mitch and I should conduct the memorial and funeral services. It was a real privilege and honor to do this last act for my dad. But it was not easy trying to fulfil all the different roles that I was responsible for.

Feelings of being overwhelmed

As my mom was alone, I moved into my parents’ place for the duration of the funeral to be with her…to care for her as she is quite frail. We are grateful for the numerous people who came to visit the family to show their love and support. But that meant long hours at the wake receiving visitors. Time was also needed to prepare for the funerary services. On top of all these things and more, I was also grieving the sudden loss of my dad. There was a moment in this great crisis when feelings of being overwhelmed began to set in. What do we do when our heart has such feelings?

Faith to cry out to God

1. Crying out to God

What was my response? Very quickly, I recalled the words of Ps 61:1,2 that Pastor Charles had written in ICARE, “Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” My response was to apply my faith and to cry out to the Lord. With hope, we can be uplifted from those overwhelming feelings. It is to rise above the quagmire of life. God did not fail in answering my prayer. I was lifted to a higher rock as I drew nearer to God. God was my shelter and strong tower as I went through this great crisis. (Ps 61:3) It was a precious moment with God as I learnt to overcome those feelings of being overwhelmed.

2. Crying out for God’s mercies

Another prayer that I made was to cry out for the Lord’s mercy. “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You;” (Ps 57:1) I have seen the mercy of the Lord shown to my dad in not allowing him to suffer. I learnt to pray in faith for the Lord’s mercy through this crisis. The Lord did indeed send forth His mercy and His truth. (Ps 57:3) My heart is full of praise to the Lord for His mercies which reaches to the heavens. (Ps 57:10)

In times of crisis, let us be challenged to exercise our faith by crying out to God and for His mercies to overcome those feelings of being overwhelmed.

Full of thanksgiving

I give thanks to God for helping me through this crisis. I give thanks to God for all of you for being there for my family and me. My heart truly appreciates the love and support that we have received through your presence and words of condolences. The outpouring of encouragement and comfort have deeply touched me. It is a special moment that I will never forget. The love that Bethany has shown is overwhelming. I count it my joy and privilege to be one of the pastors in Bethany and to serve all of you.

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