Catalyst Track: Turning Crisis Into Victory // Day One

The note in my journal for August 15, 2014, reads:

I found out today I have cancer. 

That was the entire entry. It summed things up pretty well. I didn’t know what else to write.

Fear punched me in the gut. My thoughts weren’t clear and I felt a series of diverse emotions and thoughts rush through me.

           What does this mean?

           What am I supposed to do next?

           Am I going to be okay?

           Can we beat this?

           I don’t think I can do this. I think…I think…I don’t know what to think.

           …I believe Jesus is my Healer.

This 3-day Catalyst App track comes from a blog post by Philip Wager, pastor and author of Unlock Your Dream. 

Whether it’s cancer, job loss, a big move, or something else, we all have experienced an event that changes everything. And one of the big questions we wrestle with is how the circumstances impact our dreams. Over the next couple of days, we will uncover the hidden and wrong beliefs we have about ourselves and our dreams when crisis hits as well as be encouraged to continue believing in those dreams.

Whether you personal are going through a crisis, or a friend, family member or someone you lead is, take these next couple of days to pause and reflect.

 

 

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DAY 1: When Crisis Comes

 

When you hear the word cancer spoken about you, it brings with it a thousand wearisome thoughts. The doctor said it wasn’t the most aggressive type and was only in that one location on my scalp, but it was a type of cancer in the blood, so it could exist in other places in my body, though undetectable at that point.

Crisis comes to visit all of us. Maybe a bad habit or a bad decision finds us at the bottom of a pit. Or maybe a cloud of crisis has cast a dark shadow on our future. It is the unwelcome visitor. It usually brings an entourage with it. They are not our friends, but we recognize them: fear, discouragement, anger, and so many others. All of these “guests” come home with us, uninvited, and sit at the table for dinner.

Then they stay. They sit by us while we watch TV or whisper to us when we take a shower. #Relentless.

REFLECT

Are you somewhere in the midst of a crisis? Take a moment to think about the “unwelcome visitors” that accompany crisis that you are currently feeling. Write those feelings/thoughts down.

Do you know someone in the midst of a crisis? Take a moment to write down those feelings/thoughts you’ve either witnessed them experiencing or you imagine they are feeling right now.