It happens. Moments where we feel panic rising up within our soul. How are we going to deal with this? Whatever our “this” maybe. Loss of a job, loss of a relationship, a difficult diagnosis–life happens. When sudden bad news hits us–there is a feeling of panic or “hysteria”. It is normal, it is expected.
Hysteria may be our starting point, but as we take a deep breath and look up to our Heavenly Father we begin to move toward the story becoming part of our history. Even when we are in the middle, when we don’t have the conclusion written yet peace can reign and rule in our hearts. It is the time when we must truly walk in faith, by faith toward faith. It is a time when we want to give in to hysteria and maybe we do! But eventually we must capture those overwhelming imaginations and turn our thoughts to the One who Holds our Future. There are hard things that happen in this life. Difficult horrible sin related not nice stuff that impacts our world. I am so grateful that our God knows about it–and even when it does affect us, He is there to help us walk through it.
We just passed a difficult anniversary in our family–the ninth anniversary of my husbands heart attack and massive stroke. Since it has been nine years I was not really prepared for the emotions that showed up about three in the morning. I found myself re-living that day in vivid reality. The difference was I have moved from the initial event and it is now my history. When my feelings brought it up again, I found myself asking the Lord to bring me another level of His Comfort and to show me how He comforts us. Even though the “hysteria” showed up, I could choose not to live there–because I know the ending and all the good things and answered prayers along the way I was able to turn to the Lord for help. He did not condemn me for my intense memories, but He helped me put them into perspective.
I remember thinking during the initial Hysteria event about how this would turn into my history one day. It got me through those initial days with hope. What holds us steady as we move from hysteria to historical? Our faith–based in the foundation of God’s Word. It is my relationship based on the truth I trusted in God’s Word and my history of His faithfulness that stabilizes me during my emotional “hysteria” situations. Maybe you are experiencing some hysterical moments right now. I want to encourage you are not alone. Our God is with you. Begin to look for His handiwork in the situation–no matter how small. Begin to trust His outcome–even it is not your expected outcome. He truly does work all things out for our good as we walk with Him. Some things we won’t understand till we reach heaven. I am learning to be OK with that. It is a process.
Sometimes our emotions (like on the anniversary) can take us back to our “hysteria” moment, but as we let the Holy Spirit comfort, guide and reveal His truth we move back toward resolution and history. If you have friends or family that are experiencing some “hysteria” circumstances currently please pray for them. Encourage them as you can to trust all their unknowns to the known God. Release your faith with them when they are struggling to believe. Continue to pray for them to help them move from the hysteria side to the history, It is a definite gift of love.
Faith Encounters 