At various points in your life, you will find yourself facing circumstances that have the potential to harm you or your loved ones in some way. This could involve the loss of work, deteriorating economic situations, health concerns and even the threat of war. However, as Christians, we do not face these things alone, and as a result, we do not need to let anxiety overwhelm us or prevent us from living godly lives. Below are four appropriate responses that can help you navigate your way through a crisis.
Pause
During a crisis, it’s easy to become panicked and reactive. However, such a state can cause you to make mistakes. It’s far better to slow down as much as you can and take a few deep breaths so that you can ensure your next steps are good ones. (Proverbs 19:2, Proverbs 21:5)
Orientate yourself towards God
Along with being panicked, it’s easy to become disorientated while facing a crisis. Since this is the case, be sure to get your bearings by orientating yourself towards God. Some helpful ways to do this is to meditate on His character and deeds (Psalm 77), spend time praising Him and thanking Him (Job 1:20-21, Ephesians 5:20), confess any sins to Him (Nehemiah 1:5-11) and lay any concerns before Him (Isaiah 37:14-20).
Speak to yourself with kindness and faith
Whenever we face difficult situations, it’s easy to become overwhelmed with negativity. However, this does little to help you or your situation. Rather than letting negative thoughts ravage your mind, speak to yourself in a way that is kind and directs your thoughts towards hope and faith. (Psalm 43:5, Proverbs 12:25, Philippians 4:8-9).
Focus on what you can do
Rather than getting overwhelmed by situations and focused on limitations, it’s important to consider your options and to focus on what you can do. Sometimes all you can do is take a few tiny steps in the right direction. Even though these steps might seem insignificant, it’s amazing how these tiny steps calm the mind and often lead to breakthroughs.
Dealing with the loss of her husband, being in a foreign land, caring for her widowed mother-in-law and being impoverished should have been enough to send Ruth spiralling into a state of helplessness. However, rather than descend into the abyss, Ruth focused on what she could do. That is she got up and went and worked all day in a field, gleaning the leftover crop from harvesters, something that poor people had a right to do according to Jewish Law (Ruth 2:1-23).
By Ruth focusing on what she could and choosing to work in a field gleaning all day, she started a sequence of events that proved beneficial for her, her mother-in-law and enabled her to play a significant part in God’s plan to save mankind.
