Let God help you in your crisis
Life is full of transitions - moving, starting a new school year, getting married, becoming a parent, losing a loved one, starting a new job, being laid off. The changes you experience can be either positive or negative, but even if they're positive, they can be difficult to make. Each transition in your life has the potential to become a stressful crisis for you.That's why it's important to let God help you in the midst of your transitions. Here are some ways you can unleash God's power into a crisis in your life:
- Don't worry that it's wrong to be going through a crisis. In fact, it's normal to undergo many different crisis situations in life. Each crisis can help you grow. Remind yourself that God sees your destination, but you can only see each step in the process as you take it. Understand that God has a purpose for allowing you to go through each crisis, and that He will be with you as you do.
- Ask God to reveal His timing for when you should leave a situation and begin a new one. Have courage to act according to what's best, rather than according to sentiment or pressure from others.
- As you leave your old set of circumstances, ask God to heal your spirit so you don't enter new circumstances carrying old wounds. Confess past sins and embrace God's forgiveness and peace. If others have hurt you, forgive them, and move forward with a positive attitude.
- Acknowledge God as the ultimate source of everything you have, and trust Him to provide everything you need for making a transition.
- Resist the urge to panic. Realize that panic is counterproductive, because it hinders your ability to think and act with the wisdom God wants you to have. Pour the energy you would have used for worrying into productive activities instead, such as looking for a new job if you have been laid off or taking a parenting class if you are expecting a baby.
- While making your transition, try to keep your everyday living schedule as normal as possible, such as by going to bed at the same time each night and getting up at the same time each morning.
- Don't limit the ways in which you invite God to work in your life. Be open to accepting His creativity. Remember that anything is possible with God.
- Humble yourself in the midst of your crisis, and trust God with your circumstances. If you do, He will bless you.
- Don't isolate yourself. Be sure you maintain frequent communication with God and other people who can support and encourage you.
- Pray and read your Bible often to seek God's inspiration. Act proactively according to how God inspires you rather than simply reacting to your emotions.
Adapted from Entering and Leaving Crisis, copyright 1995 by Edwin Louis Cole. Published by Albury Publishing, Tulsa, Okla., www.alburypublishing.com, 1-800-811-3921.
Edwin Louis Cole is a speaker, television personality, author and motivational lecturer. He often works through the Christian Men's Network in Grapevine, Texas.