PANIC TURNED TO TRUST

Today’s Bible readings are Ecclesiastes 1:1-3:22, 2 Corinthians 6:1-13, Psalm 46:1-11, & Proverbs 46:1-11

Psalm 46:1-3

¹ God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. ² So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. ³ Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!

Have you ever had a situation come up that made you panic? Has there ever been a time when you were told something that immediately sent you into a frenzy? I can remember one evening my wife called me & the call was a call of panic. The kids her were on their way home from the lake & our daughter started to act very strange. Within minutes, she was totally unresponsive. She lay lifeless in the back seat.

My wife pulled over to the side of the road & called an ambulance. I jumped in my truck & sped off to get to them. On the way to them, my truck started to run real funny. It never had problems before but this night it didn’t want to go anywhere. I immediately knew this was an attack from satan.

There was a word that came up on the inside of me—authority. That is when the panic mode shifted to faith mode. I spoke out loud & took authority of the situation at hand. I also knew that if I could get to my daughter & lay hands on her that everything was going to be fine.

When I pulled up on the scene there was an ambulance already there. That sight is enough to put a person in panic. They had the road closed & my daughter was in the ambulance being worked on by the medics. I walked into that ambulance & laid my hands right on her chest & said, “This is my daughter. She is mine & satan has no right touching her. She is off limits. I declare in the name of Jesus that she is recovered. Within minutes she was responding. They went ahead & took her to hospital for precautionary measures but they released her in just a few short hours.

This experience taught me that when panic is present to call on Jesus. We have nothing to fear when we are in His will. No matter how crazy things can get; If God be for us who can be against us! We can stand back in the midst of the roaring oceans & surging waters & have peace, while we watch the awesome power of our God protect & deliver us.

Here are a few things that will help you when panic is trying to take ahold of your heart.

1.     Stop thinking & start praying.

 

Our mind can be our biggest hurdle in moments like this. All the thoughts that can race though it, are often catalysts to the panic. Our minds usually start to gravitate to the worst case scenario. So we need to get out of our head & into faith. This usually happens for me as I start to pray.

Our strength & our refuge is God. It is important that we hear the encouragement that He gives in those moments instead of the fear that the enemy tries to sow.

            2. Remind yourself who God is & His love for you.

God CANNOT fail. It is His end of the covenant to protect, provide, & keep His children. He will never fall short of His end of the covenant. We can rest in that.

Next, we must remember His great love for us. He WANTS to help us. Our text reminds us that He is always ready & willing to rescue us in a time of trouble. This is a promise to each of His children.

            3. Get your eyes off of the raging seas & onto the promise God has given.

What you magnify will become larger in your own mind. If you magnify the problem the problem gets bigger in our mind. If we magnify the promise of God it starts to grow in us too. It is not long before we are overtaken by the promise & all panic leaves & we are left with perfect peace!

We know that there are going to be times when the will be opportunity to panic. When those times come we must remember that there is a better option for us. It is trusting in God.

 

Pastor Richard Schlotter