3 Action Steps When Facing a Crisis

A devotional to help Christians handle the stress of life's emergencies from a Biblical perspective.

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Everyone will face some crisis in their lifetime, and often, we are blindsided by them.

The unexpected can come in many forms such as a death, car accident, tornado, or a cancer diagnosis.

It’s important to assess your situation by looking at facts and not letting fear rule over good judgment.

Here are three action steps to get your bearings and be in the right mindset:

Focus on today

Matthew 6:34 (NKJV)
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

It’s important to be in the moment. Focusing on the past, what you could or should have done, is pointless.

Focusing only on the future is not helpful either as no one can know exactly how your situation will unfold.

Pray

James 5:16b
“…fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

God hears our prayers (1 John 5:14-15). God is the only one who can make a difference in our circumstances.

It can be difficult to pray in times of panic or distress. God knows our hearts, even if “Help!” is all we can say.

Ask others to pray.

Each day, He will sustain us. He will provide the physical and emotional strength we need to get through moment by moment.

Believe in God’s Sovereignty

Colossians 1:17
“And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”

God is in control. Sometimes, we feel a high level of anxiety because we assume everything depends on us.

We think if we make one wrong decision, we will ruin everything.

The truth is, even if we do everything right, the outcome could end badly.

Even if we do everything wrong, the outcome could turn out just fine.

We must ask God for wisdom and be obedient to Him. The results rest in His divine sovereignty.

Conclusion

We may feel God has left us alone in our greatest time of need, but it is not true. Our feelings can be deceitful; we must hold to Biblical truth.

We are precious to Him, and He will never abandon us. (Psalm 94:18-19, Hebrews 13:5b-6a, James 4:7-8)

Faith in God will see us through any crisis we face.