First on the Scene

When faith arrives first, chaos gives way to God’s peace.

Sometimes life collides with me. Circumstances—whether of my own making or completely outside of my control—suddenly stop me in my tracks. Like an accident on the side of the road, everything feels like one big, tangled mess.

And just like in a real accident, what I need most is a first responder. When trouble comes, when the crash happens, when everything is upside down, faith must be the first to arrive. If faith doesn’t arrive first, then my fears, my feelings, and my frantic thoughts will show up instead, and when they do, they don’t help. They only add to the chaos.

The psalmist reminds me of where my help truly comes from: “I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1–2). Faith always looks up before it looks around.

But if fear gets there first, it does what fear always does. It panics. It becomes alarmed, paralyzed, and blind. With fear, everything looks like wreckage and loss. Fear convinces me that nothing can be salvaged. It imagines worse outcomes, magnifies disaster, and leaves me frozen in shame and guilt. Fear whispers that the damage is permanent and that all hope is gone. Yet Psalm 121 answers back: “The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand” (v.5). Fear cannot protect me, but God can.

What if ...?

Sometimes, instead of fear, my mind rushes in first. My mind is quick to take charge, quick to analyze, quick to problem-solve. It assesses the situation from afar, makes plans, and moves toward the wreckage with confidence. But often it overreaches. My mind becomes like an over-eager journalist, speculating, dramatizing, and spinning endless “what if” scenarios. It takes a few facts and builds a whole story out of them—sometimes adding in fiction of its own. Instead of bringing clarity, it brings confusion. Instead of bringing peace, it stirs up anxiety. Yet Psalm 121 reminds me: “The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life” (v.7). I don’t need to know every possible outcome when I know the One who holds every outcome in His hands.

And then, there are my feelings. They tend to arrive all at once, like a family rushing into a theme park—loud, overwhelming, everyone talking at the same time. Anger storms in, looking for someone to blame, shouting, demanding control. Empathy and sympathy arrive more gently, trying to help, tending to wounds, binding up hearts, but sometimes even they become overwhelming, smothering, or impractical. Each feeling has its place, but left unchecked, they become more of a hindrance than a help.

For your own safety, stay behind the line.

It’s here that the psalmist speaks again: “The LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore”(Psalm 121:8). My feelings, as strong as they are, do not hold me steady. Only the Lord does.

This is why faith must be my first responder. Faith doesn’t deny the reality of the situation—it simply sees God first. Faith looks up and locks eyes with the Keeper of Israel, the One who “neither slumbers nor sleeps” (Psalm 121:4). Only then does faith look at the wreckage in front of it. Faith sees the situation for what it is, but it also sees God for who He is. With God, faith discerns what is broken and what can be restored. With God, faith does not see only victims—it sees survivors. With God, faith does not see only defeat—it sees victory.

Faith speaks calmly and confidently because it knows that this moment is real, but it is not forever. Faith says: this happened here and now, but it will not always be this way.

Faith grieves what has been lost, but it rejoices in what still remains.

Faith brings order to the chaos because it takes its lead from God, not from fear, not from frantic thoughts, not from uncontrolled feelings.

Faith says: I will bless, not blame. I will be patient, not frantic. I will bind up, not break down. I will hope, not despair. I will stand firm, not flee.

Faith does not spin wild tales, it weaves a testimony of God’s faithfulness.

And when faith takes its rightful place as the first responder, the others—my fears, my feelings, my racing thoughts—fall back. They quiet down. They move aside. They wait until faith calls on them, one by one, in their right measure and their right time. Because faith in God is the only true help in times of trouble.

Psalm 121 is my anthem. It begins with the cry, “Where does my help come from?” and it ends with the promise, “The LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” This is why I lift my eyes. This is how I can stand firm. This is why, in every collision of life, faith must be the first on the scene.

So when the crash comes—and it will—it has ; I will lift my eyes to the hills.

My help is already on the way.

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Blessings

~Sylvia