I will survive

Do you remember the song "I will survive?"

As soon as you hear pianist cascading their fingers across the keyboard, followed by the driving bass line and the drums, you cannot help but move to the sound. (I'm a Baptist, we don't dance. We move. It's different). Then the lyrics "As long as I know how to love I know I'll stay alive"; certainly more in-depth significant than I am aware of. the timeless tune sung by Gloria Gainer is one of the many songs that uplift you in times of hardships.

Unfortunately, the current dilemma likely will not be your last. How then can we not just endure but survive in times of crisis? The Bible offers us words of encouragement and examples of men and women who survived in their own times of crisis. 1 Peter 1:13 offers us four ways to thrive in crisis.

First, remember who you are. Peter called the church to remember that they were not victims of their conditions. They were victors because of what Christ had done for them. He had given them a living and enduring hope.

In your time of crisis, remember who you are. Not what you do or what others expect of you. Your identity is not in a title but in what God is doing in and through your life.

Second, think actively. To thrive in a crisis, try not to think about everything that needs to happen. To think actively is to determine what needs to happen now and then what needs to happen next. Defining now and determining next are the two focus of thinking actively.

Third, think soberly. The illustration of thinking with sobriety is held against intoxicated behavior. Intoxication dulls your senses and gives credibility to what is false. Sober-mindedness then enables you to not only identify what is happening but interpret what is real and what should be discarded.

Lastly, set your sights on something bigger. Peter commands his readers to focus on the return of Jesus. That type of focus on the greater and enduring kingdom of God causes the problems of this world to seem small. Small issues are manageable ones. C.S. Lewis once said, "Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth thrown in: aim at Earth and you will get neither." (C.S. Lewis, quoted from "The Joyful Christian," goodreads.com/quotes/82131-aim-at-heaven-and-you-will-get-earth-thrown-in.)

Your crisis is not the end of you. Your crisis may be the event that launches the life you have always dreamed of.