HELPING SOMEONE IN CRISIS

1 Kings 17:8 (ESV)

8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”

12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”

13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son.

14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’ ” 15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days.

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I. Introduction‌

How do you help someone in a crisis, What is a crisis: an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs; a turning point for better or worse especially when the outcome may be highly undesirable.

How do you help someone, is moving toward despair, because of their crisis? What is despair- The utter loss of hope.

Why do people fall into despair? external circumstances, illness, fear of others, fear of failure, sense of the futility of life, loss of sense of God. One of the first symptoms of a person moving into despair is depression.

‌ How is depression manifested? Anger, deep sorrow, loneliness, a loathing (hateful,disgusted) of life, perplexed (uncertain), feeling that God has forsaken them.

‌ There are many principles and methods that are used to help someone in despair.

The text highlights three principles that you can use if you are faced with a situation where you are called upon to help someone.

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II. Be an empathetic listener (v 12.)

‌ be empathetic to ascertain (to find out, learn with certainty) the problem.

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empathy - the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another...

‌ascertain their faith

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Blue Mountain experience

‌Proverbs 18:13 (NLT) Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish.

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III. Change Perspective/Attitude (v.13)

‌ offer a renewed vision of God by remembering what God has done in their life;

‌ focus on the solution and not the problem;

‌ offer comfort and assurance

‌ Dwayne’s experience

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Philippians 4:8 (NLT)... Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

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IV. Offer Encouragement; Instill Hope (v.14)

‌ God loves them;

‌ share your testimony or a true story of someone you know who overcame their crisis.

‌ out of great pain comes great blessings

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Psalm 9:9 (NLT) The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.

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