Have you ever been in a situation that suddenly imploded on itself and fell apart without warning? Life is unpredictable sometimes, and things can be great one minute and scary the next. If we relied solely on ourselves to accomplish our goals without any guidance from a Higher Power, we wouldn’t get very far without running into real trouble. Fortunately for us, this “Higher Power” isn’t just some fuzzy concept, but a God Who knows exactly what we go through every day of our lives.

When everything goes terribly wrong with no advance warning, we don’t have to struggle with it on our own. We have Someone in our corner Who is God in human form, and is always interceding on our behalf. “Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help” (Hebrews 4:14-16, MSG). Jesus promises to help us and deliver us from trouble, and this is a promise we can fully believe. Trusting Him when our back is against the wall turns failure into success.

No matter how scary the situation looks, remember that looks can be deceiving. When Peter saw Jesus walking on water and trusted Him enough to get out of the boat and do the same, Peter gained the ability to overcome what looked impossible. That ability came from God, but when Peter became afraid and stopped trusting Jesus, look what happened. “And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Matthew 14:26-31).

When the storms of life threaten to drown us—and they will threaten—it takes courage to seek out God’s direction on what to do.  Having faith means trusting, even if what we hear from Him doesn’t make sense at first. When God tested Abraham’s faith by telling Abraham to sacrifice his son, Abraham trusted God (Genesis 22:1-13). God took Abraham out of a nightmarish situation and turned the bad into good, and He continues to do this even now.

Disaster can show up unannounced in our lives at any time and in any form, but there’s no reason to walk in fear. The Bible commands that we overcome fear and other destructive emotions, and accepting by faith what God says to us empowers us to do that. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5, 6). Ask Him for help, and watch what He can do!