When Angela and I stepped into the elevator with about twenty other people and began our descent underground, I looked through the screened elevator door, watching the earth and rock as we journeyed into the depths of the cave.

Although I had never before had a problem with enclosed spaces, my breathing became shallow, and my palms began to sweat. I had difficulty focusing my eyes or my mind. I just wanted to escape. As soon as the elevator stopped, I tried to focus my eyes in the darkness. Angela asked what was wrong, and I assured her I’d be fine. But I wasn’t.

When I could no longer control my feelings of panic, I broke away from the rest of the group and literally ran back to where I thought the elevator was located. To my horror I couldn’t find it. I panicked. Finally a tour guide came to my rescue and escorted me back to the surface, where I ran outside to catch a breath of fresh air.

If you find yourself in a situation where you feel you have no control, keep the words of Psalm 46:1–3 memorized and close at hand: “God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with its turmoil.” Choose to believe those words of truth.