Disaster can become an intimidation of exaggerated proportions. It is only the first step in a devastating process of life injury. Good things can be disasters in disguise, like winning the lottery. Check out some of those stories if you are into the horror genre.

Withdrawal and hesitation can follow the disaster as the second stage of intimidation. Conditioning to expect pain, like from a disaster, can cause all the survival strategies learned to surface and go into full operation. For many, these strategies are types of withdrawal and avoidance. For others, hyper-aggressiveness which intensifies the disaster. For others – who knows, except if it doesn’t include getting close with the Lord, you can guarantee it is contributing to the problems of the disaster.

Humiliation, the shame, degradation, and dread following withdrawal and/or experienced during the disaster can be the scarring which creates a lifetime of negative behavior begun with the disaster. Healing is required to overcome and get out of the recurring negative consequences.

The outcomes of these three can damage the way we view ourselves and self relationship, damage the way we relate to others and damage the way we interact with the world around us. All layers of this connect with, and can shape (for good or bad) our connection or relationship with God. I’ve seen many in this process turn to God and receive healing, and I’ve seen others use this as a reason to run from God and continue their suffering.

The three layers of intimidation (for the purpose of this blog, not as a way of defining all intimidation or its impacts) can become self-fulfilling prophecy as the damaging effects can be caused by anticipation, which no longer has to be real. It can be imagined or felt to be real enough to create the patterned negative behavior.

So – what? The two most common mistakes of humanity (in my opinion – and I’m not an authority) is the tendency to trust in self/other humans and/or to trust in things. This is the road to failure if those trusts are not Jesus centered. The only true road out is with Christ. 

Solomon was the wealthiest, most famous, and most powerful of his day. He tried everything. He validated that wealth, fame, and power don’t satisfy or bring life and healing, like many of the rich and famous have proved today. Read Ecclesiasties so you don’t have to try it all yourself.  Life, hope, health, and healing come through the hands of God in Christ and may include, completely according to God’s preferences in each situation, people and things. He and His values must come first for people and things to work. Stay in touch with the Bible, the guideline for finding and realizing Christ.

The entire point of the gospel is not that we won’t have suffering/disaster, but that God cares and heals. He is present and available. The greatest stories in our world are stories of devastation that God redeemed. God’s ability to transform the worst into something of value continues to verify the gospel’s life giving power on planet today. Jesus is alive.