Welcome to Crisis & Certainty

Who am I?

Why am I here?

See, it’s those two questions that led me to create this blog. Well, mostly. I don’t want to give away too much. After all, I want you to keep reading, right? But those two questions… I mean, I struggled for years because I didn’t have the answer to the first question, much less the second – and they have to go in that order. You can’t try and figure out why you’re here before you figure out who you are in the first place. So what’s the point in this blog? The subject matters will likely be all over the place as that’s how my brain tends to work. Don’t expect, “Grade A,” spelling and grammar either. (Probably should’ve done a vlog.) But I pray this blog helps others with their identity (who am I?) and their purpose (why am I here?).

For years I built who I was on things like my occupation or my last name or who I was dating or who I was friends with. You see, knowing who you are is your identity. It’s the thing the police want when you get pulled over. Identification is extremely important, but the kind of identity we’re talking about here is deeper than what’s found on that card in your wallet. I had a close friend tell me one time in a moment of crisis, that if you stripped everything away, your name, your occupation, your friends, family, God would still see insignificant me as enough. Because my identity isn’t found in any of those things because all of those things are temporary. My identity is in Christ. He is the purpose of my success and the reason I make it through my failures. I hope this Blog will encourage you, challenge you, that if you’re still discovering who you are that perhaps some of my experiences and studies will help you along your way. If you do have a relationship with Christ, I pray this blog will serve as a reminder of who you are.

But why am I here? You know, that’s a tougher one to answer. That’s where this really long Facebook post turned into a blog. I realized in talking about purpose, it was impossible to confidently put it in one posting and wipe my hands of it as if I had covered the topic perfectly. Then, the more I thought about identity, the more I realized how easy it is to forget who you are sometimes. I’m hoping each post points to one or both of these questions each time. Some of it may be teachy, but some posts I’m sure will be me just blogging my experience or conviction about a particular study in scripture. I’m still learning this stuff. This isn’t a blog written by an expert on identity and purpose. I’m just a beggar trying to show another beggar where the food is.

Crisis & Certainty. Yup… That’s where you’ll find me. Somewhere in the middle of those two areas. Somewhere between, “God, I’m freaking out here because I feel like you aren’t listening to me,” and, “I know you are God and I know you are in control.” Some of you maybe sitting and reading these posts scoffing at the fact that someone would admit that they doubt – like, a lot. I’m not here to impress or become a pillar of truth. I’m here, somewhere between crisis and certainty, to encourage someone who maybe in the same location, that they aren’t alone.  I pray this is a place I can be vulnerable and admit when I’m more on the crisis side, and rejoice when I discover certainty.

My name is Zak Crouch. Who I am and what I’m put on this earth to do is something I look forward to sharing with you. More than anything, I hope you give me a chance to show you what God has shown me time and time again. I pray you enjoy my thoughts somewhere between crisis and certainty.