What Should We Know When Crisis Hits? By Lisa Burkhardt Worley

Like many of us in Texas, I was worn out from the repercussions of the frigid temperatures and snow that slammed into our state.

The rolling blackouts that lasted several days were enough, but then water began gushing into our garage because of a busted water pipe. Until we could get a plumber to the house, we were forced to turn the water off (Digging through the snow to find the turn off valve was an adventure) or our home would suffer a lot of damage.

We were without running water for several days but there was hope!  A plumber was scheduled to come out on Saturday morning, but when he didn’t show up, I was beside myself.

While we were able to get someone else out to fix the pipe later that day, by the time I made the drive to church, I felt like I needed a nap. It had been a rough week and I wanted to make a u-turn and return home, but it was my bad attitude that made the turnaround. When all of us church volunteers were gathered in the pre-service meeting, one of the pastors said, “This might feel awkward, but I want us all to pray silently and ask God to show us what we were supposed to learn from everything that happened this week.”

I learned that I don’t like being cold and not being able to take a shower. No, that was my thought but not what God wanted to say to me. When I bowed my head, I heard a different message: There is no other. Skeptical me wanted to make sure I heard right and asked, If this is you LORD, will you say it again? Then I heard it again, There is no other.

So I pondered this word from God and I did a search of There is no other in the Bible and this is what I found:

“I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things” (Isaiah 45:5–7).

I believe God was reminding me He allowed this storm—for some it was a disaster— and instead of thanking Him for the bad and relying on Him to guide me through it, I was saturated with worry and putting all my faith into my husband, plumbers, the electricity and the water supply. If all that is stripped away, what’s left?

God.

There is no other.

He is the one who creates the storm but strengthens us in the midst of it.

He allows the lights to go out to see if we’ll gaze into His light.

When the flow of water stops, will we drink His living water?

Sometimes He takes things away to get our attention.

By the time I walked into the church service, I was a different woman and when I praised God through the worship song Raise a Hallelujah, I meant it.

I’m gonna sing, in the middle of the storm
Louder and louder, you’re gonna hear my praises roar.

When crisis hits, we need to remember There is no other. There is no one who loves us more, who cares more about our well-being and who can provide strength when our soul is weary.

I pray I remember this when the next storm blows in.