How to Be Confident in a Crisis
by Rick Warren
The Bible teaches us that there are three kinds of storms in life: storms that we bring on ourselves (like Samson and his self-induced troubles), storms that God causes (like the one that Jesus stilled on Lake Galilee), and storms that other people cause (as when Paul and Silas were thrown into prison).

When you are the innocent party in a crisis, that last kind of storm is especially hard to take. So how do we deal with these crises? How do we stay calm and maintain our confidence and courage, regardless of what happens?

God put the apostle Paul, as a prisoner, on board a ship headed from Palestine to Rome. (Actually, Paul had a great desire to go to Rome and preach, but he hadn’t planned on this being the means of getting there.) After the ship ventured through the Mediterranean Sea and docked at the island of Crete, God told Paul to advise the crew not to leave the harbor because there was going to be a great storm. But the sailors were impatient to get to a better harbor, so they ignored what God had told them through Paul (Acts 27:9–12).

When we are caught in a crisis, we typically react in three ways—the same three ways the sailors did. Their reactions were typical of people under pressure. Because the sailors couldn’t head into the wind, “we gave way to it and were driven along” (v. 15). Later, “they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along” (v. 17). The first thing that storms tend to do is to cause us to drift. We let go of our goals. We forget where we are headed. We forget our values and start drifting.

Because they were not equipped with compasses and the stars were completely obscured by the storm, the sailors were in total darkness. When you are in a dark situation in which you can’t see the stars and don’t have a compass, what do you do? You drift. The waves beat you back and forth, and you are led wherever they take you. Your problems batter you back and forth. These strong currents in your life can make you feel like asking, “What’s the use? Why fight it?” And we just go with the flow.

Things didn’t get any better on the apostle Paul’s voyage to Rome. “We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. On the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands” (vv. 18–19). When a crisis emerges for us, first we start drifting, and then we start discarding things from our lives. With the sailors it was first the cargo, then the ship’s tackle, eventually their food (v. 38), and finally themselves (vv. 43–44)! They all jumped overboard and started swimming to shore.

Often, when we find ourselves in a crisis of life, we are tempted to throw out the very things that are important to us, the values that we have hung onto in better times. We have a tendency to throw things out, because we are under pressure and want to get rid of it all. We become impulsive. We give up on our dreams. We run out on relationships. We throw away values that we learned as children.

The third thing that the sailors did was to give up hope. “When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved” (v. 20). In an extreme crisis we eventually get to the point of despair and give up all hope. The last thing we throw out when we have a problem is hope, and when we have thrown that away, we have “had it.”

The sailors spent fourteen days in total darkness in a little ship in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. They were bashed back and forth by the storm until they threw out everything and gave up all hope. Perhaps you feel like that right now. Have you been going through a problem the past week or past month or past year that has been batting you back and forth? Have you come to the point where you have thrown things out, and now you have come to the point of despair? Remember the sailors: they gave up hope because they had forgotten that God is in control. They forgot that God had a plan. They forgot that God can inject hope into an absolutely hopeless situation.

But Paul provides a different model for us. He was calm and confident. He had courage in the crisis. Absolutely nothing fazed him. The sailors’ reactions were the natural responses that we tend to have in a crisis, but they do not have to be our reactions. One test of our Christianity is how we handle a crisis. It is easier to live like a Christian when things are going great, when all our prayers are being answered, when we are in good health, when our income is rising. It is easy to be a Christian at times like that.

The test of our faith is when the problems come and we are tempted to despair, to drift, and to throw out the things that are really important in life. Character is revealed in a crisis, not made in a crisis. Character is made in the day-by-day, mundane, trivial things of life—the routine. Character is developed there, but it is revealed when we get into a shipwreck, into a situation that threatens to swallow us up.

What should we do when things look as if they are falling apart and the ship is going to crash and disintegrate? What should we do when we are battered by big problems? Look what the sailors did: “Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight” (v. 29). The safest thing to do when we get in a storm is to drop our anchors. Just stand still. Situations change, and the sands of time shift. But the Bible says that those who put their trust in God are immovable like Mount Zion (Psalm 125:1).

Often when people encounter a major problem, they want to change everything else in their lives at the same time, because the situation feels overwhelming and they can’t stand still. A person will lose his or her spouse by death or divorce, and the typical reaction is, “I’m going to quit my job. I’m going to sell everything and move to a whole new location and start over.” But that is exactly what they do not need—more change. What they need to do is put down some anchors and get some stability.

Why was Paul so confident? Because he was encouraged by three tremendous truths, three foundational beliefs of the Christian life, that serve as anchors of the soul. These three truths can anchor you on the rock of stability, so that when the winds of crisis blow you back and forth, you will have confidence. These are truths that you can build your life on, that will stabilize you in the storm.

The first anchor in a crisis is the presence of God. In the midst of the storm Paul said, “Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul’” (Acts 27:23–24). From this we learn that storms can never hide us from God. We may not see him, but he sees us. We may think God is a million miles away, but he is with us and is watching us. God sent a personal representative, an angel, to tell Paul, “I am with you. I see you in the stormy Mediterranean Sea in that little ship.”

God promises in the Bible, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). “Surely I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever” (John 14:16).

Over and over the Bible says that wherever we are, God is right there with us. We never go through anything by ourselves, because God is always with us. No matter what situation you are going through right now, God is with you. He is the anchor that you can fully trust.

The second anchor in a crisis is found in Acts 27:24, where Paul quotes God’s angel: “Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.” God told Paul, “I have a plan for your life. You are on board this ship because I have a purpose for your being on this ship. I have a purpose for your life that is greater than the temporary storm you are in.” The second anchor in a crisis is God’s purpose.

Every Christian ought to have a sense of destiny. No person is born by accident, regardless of the circumstances of one’s birth. You are not here on earth just to take up space; God has a specific purpose and plan for your life. Storms are simply temporary setbacks toward fulfilling that purpose. Absolutely nothing can change God’s ultimate purpose for your life unless you choose to disobey him. If you choose to reject his plan, he will allow you to do that, but the Scriptures teach that no outside person can change God’s plan for your life. God leaves that up to you. You can either accept it or you can reject it. No matter what happens on the outside, however, external forces cannot alter God’s purpose for your life as long as you say, “God, I want to do your will.”

The third anchor that gives us confidence in a crisis is found in verse 25, where Paul says, “Keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.” The third anchor is God’s promise. God keeps his promises without fail. Storms cannot hide our faces from God, because God is always with us. Storms cannot change the purpose of God, because it is ultimate. Storms cannot destroy the child of God, because God’s promise is sure.

Some of us are going through devastating crises right now. Our problems are overwhelming, and we think we are going under for the last time. God says this to you: You may lose the cargo; you may lose the tackle of the ship; you may lose the ship; you may even get wet—but you are going to make it because of the promise of God. As the old saying goes, “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.” So what do you do? Relax. Be confident in your crisis.

What should we do while we are waiting for the crisis to end? The same thing the sailors did: “Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight” (Acts 27:29). Anchor yourself on the truths of God and pray for daylight.

What was the result aboard the ship? Morning came! When daylight came, the sailors didn’t recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach where they decided to run the ship aground. All 276 people jumped overboard and got safely to land (vv. 39–44).

In the storms of your life God says, “I am with you.” Let his truth stabilize your life and give you the confidence you need in every crisis you face. Storms cannot hide God from you or you from God. You may be going through some difficult times right now, but God has a purpose for your life. There is a reason for it all, and you are going to make it safely to land!

From God’s Answers to Life’s Difficult Questions by Rick Warren