Currently, we’re in a message series entitled “Answers To Tough Questions.” We began the series with a message on how to handle discouragement in our lives. Last week our question got tougher as we discussed how to overcome major problems in our lives. And this week our topic is “How Can I Be Confident In A Crisis?” We’ve moved from discouragement, to problems, to a crisis.
A crisis is a type of life storm that threatens to do great damage to you. Life storms or crisises have a number of origins. You can bring a storm on yourself by doing wrong things or not doing the right things. Other people can bring storms into your life. Or your life storm may have a supernatural origin, from the evil one. Life storms hit Christians just as well as unbelievers. However, the good news is that as a Christian, God is in control of the weather. He controls the storms and crisises in our lives and He has a purpose in them for us.
A man and his four year old daughter were flying over Texas in an airplane when they encountered a severe thunderstorm. The pilot announced that he was taking the plane to a higher altitude so they could fly above the storm. The plane flew up through dark clouds and lightning until it broke through the clouds to see the sun shining in all its glory above the storm. Looking down, they saw a beautiful sight, a rainbow stretching from horizon to horizon. The four year old girl exclaimed, “Daddy, daddy, look it’s a rainbow and we’re seeing it from the same side that God sees it from.” From below, in the midst of storm, all was darkness and danger, but from above, from God’s perspective, there was a beautiful rainbow. Meteorologists tell us that there is a rainbow in every rain cloud, but you have to be properly positioned to see it. As we get closer to God, He will help us see the rainbow in every storm that He allows into our life.
God gives us strength to pass the test that storms bring in to our lives. NIV James 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. To persevere under trial is to keep on trusting God, to keep on believing, to not give up your faith in God or His purpose for your life. And the final result will be a crown of life, a reward laid up for us in heaven. To persevere under trial is to be confident in the crisis, to stay calm, to maintain courage and hope no matter what is happening around us.
Today, we’re going to look at a story from the New Testament, from Acts 27. Paul is a prisoner on board a ship headed for Rome, where God’s purpose is for Paul to preach the Gospel to the Emperor. On board the ship, God told Paul to tell the crew not to leave the harbor because there was going to be a great storm that would result in the loss of the ship, cargo and even their lives. But the sailors were impatient, they didn’t want to winter the ship in the harbor. So they ignored Paul’s advice and set sail, getting themselves smack dab in the middle of a crisis. We can learn some lessons from the sailors about what not do in a crisis and we can learn from Paul how to be confident in a crisis.
To hear more about this topic, listen to my May 29, 2005 message entitled How Can I Be Confident In A Crisis?