Life

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?

In late July 2002, nine Pennsylvania miners were trapped in the Quecreek mine. They had not been heard from in two days after 50 million gallons of water flooded the mine shaft. However, when a 6-inch air pipe was lowered into the chamber, the miners tapped on the pipe, but now the tapping had stopped. Those 9 miners had a problem of huge proportions, there was no way they could solve it from within the mine.

Rescuers began drilling down to the trapped miners, 240 feet below ground, but the first diamond tipped bit broke 80 feet down. It took 18 hours before a new bit could be installed and everyone feared the miners had been lost. Yet, when the tip broke through into the underground chamber, there were the miners, all alive. In actuality, the 18 hour delay allowed water to be pumped out of the chamber the miners were ultimately rescued in. Without the delay, the shaft would only have encountered a flooded mine.

Those miners had a problem they couldn’t handle. They had a tough question, “how can I escape from this flooded mine shaft?” An appropriate verse for them to thank the Lord would be NLT Psalm 18:16 He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters. And God can do the same for you in your problems. Each of us has problems in our lives, some not so big, others so big we’re not quite sure what to do. We want to answer the tough question “How Can I Overcome My Problems?” Now, as we’ll see, just like those miners, you’ll need some outside help to escape your problems.

To hear more about this topic, listen to my May 22, 2005 message entitled How Can I Overcome My Problems?

A man stopped to watch a Little League baseball game. He asked one of the youngsters what the score was. The answer was, “We’re losing 18-0.” “Well,” said the man, “You don’t look discouraged.” “Discouraged?” said the boy. “Why should we be discouraged? We haven’t come to bat yet.” Oh, the optimism of youth. Most of us would have packed up and gone home discouraged at a score of 10-0.

It’s not difficult to get discouraged. Someone has called discouragement the world’s deadliest disease. Discouragement is universal, every gets it, you do, I do, we all do. It’s common, you probably meet a discouraged person every day. Finally, discouragement is highly contagious. When you’re discouraged, other people can catch it from you. But the good news is that discouragement is curable. You can go from being discouraged to being encouraged.

To answer our first tough question “How Can I Handle Discouragement?” We’re going to be looking at a story from the life of Nehemiah. Most people read their Bible as simply a collection of stories of what happened thousands of years ago. The Bible is an accurate record of what happened long ago, but it is much more than that. Speaking of the OT, NLT 1 Corinthians 10:11 All these events happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us. So when you read a story from the Old or New Testament, think about what kind of example the people in the story are. They might be a good example or a bad example. In each case, the story will teach us more about God and His plan for our lives.

In our story from Nehemiah, we’re going to discover 4 causes of discouragement and 3 steps in the cure for discouragement. God doesn’t want you discouraged, it’s not His will for your life. NLT Deuteronomy 31:8 Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD is the one who goes before you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor forsake you. God doesn’t want you to be afraid or discouraged. He has promised to go with you in life, to strengthen and encourage you. He wants to teach each of us how to handle discouragement.

To hear more about this topic, listen to my May 15, 2005 message entitled How Can I Handle Discouragment?

Every person faces discouragement in their life from time to come. The dictionary defines discouragement as the condition of being deprived of confidence, hope or spirit. Discouragement raises it’s ugly head when things seem to go wrong in our lives. A plan that we’ve had seems to be going no where. We may have work problems, or relational problems or health problems. The way we think our lives should go does not seem to be happening. So, our confidence, hope and spirits are dampened. If not checked, discouragement can lead to depression. Someone who is discouraged or depressed usually finds it difficult to know how to make the changes in their lives that will lead to increased confidence, hope and spirit. God’s Word gives us the principles, that with God’s help, can guide you to finding courage and hope for your life.

A discouraged person tends to live in the past, either a past of failures or a past of glory days, never to be repeated. God designed us as people to look to the future not the past. Take your eyes off the past, it’s history, and place them on the future. NIV Isaiah 43:18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” God wants to do a new thing in your life. No matter what has gone down in the past, God has a good plan for you, a plan that no one can thwart except you. If your life seems like a desert and wasteland, God wants to show you a roadway through that desert and lead you to streams of living water. Look to the future.

A discouraged person tends to withdraw from other people and hide away from relationships. The way out of discouragement is to draw strength from others. First and most importantly, God is there to give you strength and courage. God spoke to Joshua and He speaks to you: NLT Joshua 1:5 For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. God will not force Himself upon you, but He is there, if you will but reach out to Him. He is always as close as your breath. He is never more than a whisper away. Ask Him for strength, submit your life to Him.

A discouraged person doesn’t want to do anything. Sometimes they don’t even want to get out of bed in the morning. If God has a good plan for your future and He is there to give you strength, then you’ve got to get up and take action to follow that plan. Draw courage and strength from God and God’s family, the church, to take action in your life. If you do nothing, nothing will change in your life. God spoke to Joshua and He speaks to you: NLT Joshua 1:9 I command you– be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” God never commands someone to do something that He does not empower them to do. So when God commands you to be strong and courageous, you can do it! When God commands you to not be afraid or discouraged, you can do it! Why? Because He will be with you wherever you go.

God will show you His plan for your life as you study, meditate on and obey God’s Word written down in the Bible. The only path to success in life is through a relationship with Jesus Christ and obedience to God’s Word. NLT Joshua 1:8 Study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed.

For a more indepth treatment of this topic, listen to my February 6, 2005 message entitled Bringing Out The Best In Others
https://s3.amazonaws.com/lifechurchstlouis/mp3s/2005%20Messages/2005%2002%20Building%20Stronger%20Relationships/020605%20Bringing%20Out%20The%20Best%20In%20Others.mp3 If you don’t yet have a relationship with God, these principles will be impossible to put into practice fully. To find out about starting a relationship with God, read my blog How To Have A Relationship With God.