Hopefully if you are in crisis-mode right now you are beginning to see the end of the tunnel.  I pray God brings you through this time quickly.  It’s important to know what to do AFTER the time of crisis has passed.  Here are 5 things to do AFTER a time of crisis:

1. Rejoice – Be thankful the crisis is over and a time of peace has come.  I have many times prayed fervently during the hard times, but forsaken my “God-time” when everything is going well. Don’t follow my example in this. 
2. Share – The Bible is clear that we are to use our struggles to help others in theirs.  Often because of fear or embarrassment we don’t allow people to see our past hurts.  This denies God the opportunity to use the experiences He has given us for His glory.  (Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-7)
3. Prepare – If you have lived long enough you know that seasons of crisis come many times in life.  During the quiet times when all is going well is when we should be preparing for harder times.
4. Rest – To borrow from the Cheers theme song, “Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot.”   Many people never enjoy the peaceful times because they are too paranoid about the next crisis that may or may not even occur.  We should prepare for times of trouble, but we should never live in a state of worry. 
5. Grow -   I have grown spiritually more during the hard times than in the easy times of life.  Crisis-mode teaches us valuable insight into the character and heart of God.  Use the down times to evaluate God, your life, and see how the two connect.  Work on the places you are out of sync with God’s will for your life.

 It would be nice if you never needed these blogs.  My sense is, if your life is anything like mine, that some of you will. 

In my profession I end up encountering a lot of people in crisis mode.  It seems to be more often than not lately. For the next few blogs I want to address this issue with some thoughts on how to respond during these times of life.  If you don’t need them now, store them away for future reference. In the world in which we live those times are sure to come. 

So, to begin the dialogue, here are 5 things NOT to do in times of crisis:

DO NOT:

1.       Panic – Panic is “a sudden overwhelming fear, with or without cause, that produces hysterical or irrational behavior” (Dictionary.com) If you panic when crisis occurs you’ll most always make the wrong decision and cause yourself more pain. Calm down; come to your senses; and think and pray through a wise decision. 

2.       Give Up – When I was in a business that was struggling the worst reaction to my situation, which was the one I chose most often, is to run from the problem.  That never solves anything. Looking back I wish I had stayed the course, because when I gave up, so did those I was supposed to be leading. 

3.       Blame Others (This includes kicking yourself.)  Figuring out who is at fault when you are in crisis- mode is probably not as important as figuring out what to do next. 

4.       Refuse Help – I have learned by experience that the same time God is allowing a crisis to occur He is rising up people to intercede on behalf of the suffering.  Don’t deny someone their opportunity to be obedient to what God calls them to do, even if that means swallowing your pride and letting them help. 

5.        Deny God – People either run towards God or away from God in times of crisis.  You can probably figure out which option works best. 

Before I teach another message this week, I thought I’d share the recap from last week since we blogged on it all week at the Grace website. You can check out the podcast also at http://gcc.libsyn.com 

Here are the four principles we learned from the story of Esther. 

God has a special plan for our life.

Proverbs 16:9, “In his heart a man plan’s his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”

God hasn’t made a mistake where He has us today.  I think we spend too long in our life trying to figure out where God wants us to be or wishing we were somewhere else, instead of just allowing God to do something with our life where we are and waiting for more to come.

Sometimes you will have to go against common sense, against what others advise, even against what you want to do in order to follow God’s plan.

Esther would have to approach the king, though she didn’t have permission…

This could have meant certain and sudden death for her since it was even against the law to approach the king.   Esther’s response: “If I perish, I perish!”

It’s ok to take risks for God.  The best things in life often come with the greatest risks. The degree of difficulty is not an indication that God is not in it. In fact, the opposite would be closer to truth. 

If it’s true God has something planned for your life, the time to get involved is now.

When was the last time you asked, God what do You want to do through my life?

Many times we are either afraid to ask, or even if the answer is clear we want some kind of proof that this is God’s plan for us.  We are afraid to simply walk by faith.

Here’s something I found interesting:  Esther 4:14  “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” NIV

We mostly consider that last part of the verse, but notice the “Who knows?”  It’s a question. They weren’t sure.  They knew she was in the position as queen. She had opportunity to see the King. They knew God wanted to save the people. They knew for whatever reason Esther had been made aware of the plan.  But did they know for sure that’s what Esther was supposed to do? 

Apparently not!  They went without being 100% certain.  Who knows? 

There will be times in your life when you’ve gathered all the information you can, you’ve prayed as well as you know how, you’ve sought Godly counsel; whatever you are doing is not sinful…but there is something inside of you that’s still not sure.

You can sleep on it.  That’s something I always do. Esther waited 3 days, but at some point you just have to muster the courage to move forward. Without all the answers, are you ready to step out and walk by faith?  Don’t be afraid to act by faith and allow God to determine the outcome.   

Trusting in God completely brings great rewards.

Esther saved a nation.  Her obedience saved God’s people from destruction! The reward for obedience is always better than expected. Esther went before the king prepared for the worst case scenario…she got the very best! It will always prove profitable in the long run to obey God.

Esther 8:17 In every province and in every city, wherever the edict of the king went, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them. NIV

Many people became followers of God!   The people were inspired by the faith of one woman and one man that everything changed in that nation.

When others see us living in radical obedience; obedience that makes no sense, they’ll want some of what we have. The world around you is looking for answers; trying to figure out how to make life work. We may not have all the answers, but we know about a God who does. 

My prayer for our church after studying this story is that we would make our own stories of courage; that we would, by faith, be willing to follow God wherever He leads us; as a church and as individuals. If God prompts us to move in a certain direction or He encourages us to do something, I pray that we would just do it!

http://www.christweb.com/MustardseedThoughts/FacingFear5.html

http://www.christweb.com/MustardseedThoughts/FacingFear4.html

Lots of fears out there from the emails yesterday. Here’s the second devotional in this series:

http://www.christweb.com/MustardseedThoughts/FacingFear1.html

Yesterday I Twittered this question: Could your greatest fear be God’s greatest opportunity to express His glory through you?

I’ve often found in my life that the things I know God wants me to do are also the things I fear doing the most. Many times God has allowed me to get into situations where I’m “over my head” or “out of my league”, which scares me to death, but it’s also at those times that He seems to be doing or wants to do His best work through me. The challenge is to be walking close enough to God that I can sense His desire and direction for my life and then to obediently follow the path He lays out for me.

Lately I’ve been sensing some scary challenges God is laying before me. What will I allow to determine my next steps…my fear….or my faith in God’s ability to display His glory through my obedience?

Stay tuned.