Man In CrisisSample

Don't Panic - Pray

 

This invitation is from your heavenly Father. It’s not a criticism or an iron command. It’s your Creator reaching out to the man He knows you to be and making a promise. If you trust Him with this, He will give you peace. 

Peace is the opposite of panic, and you need it right now. The only sure way to get it is to pray and keep praying. Dump everything at the throne of God. Anger, sadness, confusion, tears, clenched fists, knotted stomach, numbness, pain - dump it. He will hold it, diffuse it, comfort you. Give you peace. 

You are probably in shock if you are reading this and not thinking, so at the end of each ‘don’t and do’ section, I’ll give you some practical suggestions. Things I did, and you can do to get through each step. For this one I found the following to help:

Find a place. With four kids, I had to find my space. My bedroom was my prayer room. It was the spot I could fall apart, night after night for weeks. Sleepless and hurting, I prayed and hoped my children couldn’t hear my agony. Find a place you can express everything that is pouring out of your heart without interruption. 

Let it happen. Don’t hold back. Trying to maintain composure is just pride. Let it go. Draw near to God - He can hear anything you’ve got to say. He can absorb any feeling you are feeling. 

Get back to work. You will need to go to your place and let everything gush out, but you cannot stay there. You have responsibilities. Be a good man by keeping your promises and providing for your family even though you are falling apart inside. The Lord will strengthen you for this. 

Challenge: Read and Meditate on Hebrews 12:1-15 to get an idea of how Jesus handled people who should have loved Him but didn’t. Write out what He felt and how He acted. Ask God to show you how, in your situation, you can imitate Him. Write those things down and start acting them out.