It’s always good to be prepared in a crisis. Make sure you have extra water when you plan a long hike, extra petrol when you’re driving cross country, extra food when you’re going on a trip somewhere. But can you really prepare for every crisis?
Six months ago, none of us could have predicted that we would be in the situation we’re in today. And because none of us could have predicted it, none of us are prepared for it.
The truth is no matter how well prepared we are for some crises, we can’t prepare for every conceivable one, because we simply don’t have the ability to look into the future.
So that brings us to the obvious question; is it possible to, at least, prepare ourselves emotionally and spiritually to meet any and every crisis we might face in the future? Is there a road map?
Is there a simple guide that can keep our minds and our hearts sane during a time of intense, unprecedented and unforeseen chaos? The answer is yes. The Bible is a comprehensive guide to crisis management.
In 2 Chronicles 20 the Bible records the story of Jehoshaphat, the fourth king of the southern Kingdom of Judah, who ruled from about 872-848 BC. When he found himself at the pinnacle of his strength, he was faced with perhaps the worst crisis of his entire reign.
Three neighbouring nations forged an alliance against him and deployed their combined armies to attack Jerusalem. It was a shocking surprise. When Jehoshaphat received the news his first instinct was to go down on his knees and pray to God.
He knew he couldn’t face the crisis in his own strength because it simply wasn’t enough to meet what was coming. So, he chose to plug into an infinite and unfailing source of strength to help him through the dark and difficult days ahead.
Lesson number one in Biblical crisis management? Pray. Prayer is a life skill. It can strengthen us, calm us, and connect us to a source of power and wisdom far superior to anything human ingenuity can ever come up with.
Once Jehoshaphat had finished praying, God spoke to him and gave him detailed instructions about what he should do next. In other words, once he had prayed, Jehoshaphat received instruction from God.
Lesson number two in Biblical crisis management is, Think. In Isaiah 1:18 (NKJV) God says, “Come now, and let us reason together”. In times of crisis it is always easy to make a knee jerk response, but the Bible invites us to think.
And the best way to think is to open the Bible and read the word of God. The word of God can give you the instructions you need to figure out what to do next in any kind of crisis. Through words of comfort, hope, assurance and guidance, God can lead you through any storm you face.
After receiving instruction from God Jehoshaphat acted on what God had said. It was a crazy plan, one that didn’t really make sense, but instead of limiting God by his unbelief, Jehoshaphat chose to take God at His word and step out in faith.
Lesson number three in Biblical crisis management is, Act. When you have prayed and studied God’s word act on the guidance you have received. God’s promises and His instructions are for you.
So, the three lessons of Biblical crisis management are: Pray, Think on the Word of God and Act. If you want to know more about Jehoshaphat and his amazing story look for our full-length episode, Jehoshaphet the King who found Hope in a Crisis.
