(1 Pet 1:13) Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Why are some people drama kings or queens? I mean every time something goes wrong they freak out. And not only that, they ACT out. They go into crisis-mode and get all exaggerated and theatrical. Everything is as if the world is going to end today. It’s as if they enjoy crisis. They seem to thrive on it. It’s like a drug. Life was boring until something went wrong. Then they came alive. They went into high alert and it’s as if they now had something to live for. And for some it might be a form of getting attention. But for whatever the reason I think we all fall prey to the occasional crisis mentality.
Jesus said this: "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) The Lord was telling us that hard times would hit not only the world but also believer’s lives. Things will happen that will be difficult for us to face. Sometimes it will come in a way that is sudden and alarming. We should expect this as being residents of a fallen world. But when crisis hits, does that mean we have to have a crisis mentality? Do we have to get all worked up and issue the perennial response: “Oh no! Not again!! What am I going to do?”
There’s a better way. It’s called a Christ mentality. Just as we developed a crisis mentality somewhere down the line, we can develop a state of mind that is like the Lord’s. Chew on this verse: (Phil 2:5) Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.
How was Jesus when crisis hit His life? (Mark 4:37-40) And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?"
Notice how the Lord was resigned to the will and protection of His Father. And notice how the disciples exhibited crisis mentality. What a contrast! But are we any different in the storms of life? But Jesus brings peace to our troubled seas and then corrects us for our lack of faith.
The Lord has called us to be sober-minded. That word means to be of sound mind (sane), to exercise self-control, and to curb one’s passions. A good verse for that is: For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Tim 1:7)
No, we don’t need to be drama kings or queens when Jesus is our King of kings. It’s so much better to have a Christ mentality, to be sober-minded, and exercise faith in the storms of life!
Louie