Meltdown (MHS Softball 9-24-2025)

Intro

What are some things that stress you out?

What is your first reaction when you are stressed out or overwhelmed?

Today, we are going to talk about how to handle negative situations before they turn into a meltdown.

Pray

Biblical Background

Everything was going well for the disciples in the last few days of Jesus’ life but, as we know, that didn’t last long.

One of the disciples, Judas, turned Jesus in to the authorities who tortured Him, and publicly executed Him on the cross.

Peter denied Jesus three times.

The other disciples abandoned ship when things started to get how around Jesus.

They were living their worst-case scenario.

How did they react?

They just froze.

The went into hiding.

They avoided the situation at all costs.

But Jesus still had big plans for them.

Read John 21:15-17

John 21:15–17 ESV

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

Jesus was calling Peter to go carry on the work that Jesus had started.

He was telling Peter, just disappearing and acting like your ministry with Jesus isn’t acceptable, there is still work to do.

But Jesus didn’t just present Himself to Peter, He presented himself to all of the remaining 11 disciples.

Read Acts 1:3-5

Acts 1:3–5 ESV

He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

He was calling them to remain faithful to the work and to remain obedience to the calling.

He was challenging them to remain faithful in the face of their meltdowns.

Second Look

At times in our lives, our situation may look very similar to that of the disciples.

Everything may look or feel like it’s coming crashing in on us.

And usually we respond in one of two ways:

We might shut down and try to avoid everything all together.

Or we might decide to push through, full-speed ahead which will almost always cause thing to get worse.

So how do we handle when things are getting hard? Let me give you some helpful steps to walk through:

Pause - This isn’t freezing, it’s taking a step back, defining the problem, and starting to work on solutions.

Pray - One you understand the problem, start to pray for God to reveal a solution to you.

Ask - Can anyone provide you with any suggestions, wisdom, or even help you navigate your situation?

Step - Take the first step, it’ll be the biggest one. But the first step means progress and working towards the solution or resolution.

Persevere - Take one step at a time. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Don’t try to fix the problem all at once or else you will just spiral more. Choose to do the next right thing, then the next right thing, until the problem is resolved.

Now you have a plan, now what?

Live It Out

The question isn’t if you will need to use this plan; it’s when.

Is there an area in your life that you feel like is just absolutely crazy and everything is going wrong?

Let’s work on a solution for that situation:

Did the problem start with something you did?

Dive deep into the answer to this question. Sometimes the answer is obvious and sometimes the root of the problem is something else.

Trace the issues back to where they all started and consider what caused them to begin?

Last week, I taught about the Cycle of Sin which is Doubt, Deception, Disobedience, Doubt, Destruction.

Oftentimes, we don’t realize we are in the Cycle of Sin until we are at the point of disobedience.

At that point, Satan has already caused you to doubt God and His plan for you and deceived you into thinking your way is better or your needs are greater.

But did you realize he was even doing that? When and where did it start? What caused it to happen?

When you are gardening, you don’t just pull the green part of the weeds that you can see off, you pull the roots out too.

If you don’t chase down the root of the problems you are facing, then the weeds of disobedience will continue to sprout and the situation will continue to get worse.

But maybe your situation didn’t start because of something directly tied to you. Then what?

Well take the time to trace it back to where it started still.

Then start to pray through that situation and pray for the people involved.

Pray that God would show you had you need to proceed through the situation you are in.

For example: Maybe everything is going the way that it is because your parent got or are getting a divorce. Choosing to pray for your parents and asking God to reveal why you are struggling with is will allow Him to show you where you need to heal, ask for, and/or extend forgiveness.

Ultimately, this process is for you and to help you walk well with the Lord.

But this can also apply in the heat of the moment too.

Let’s say for example, the ball is hit in the air and you call everyone off to catch it. But someone doesn’t hear you or isn’t paying attention to you and runs into you trying to also catch the ball and no one ends up catching the ball.

Working through this process in real time looks like this:

Before you respond, consider what they saw.

Maybe you were an infielder drifting backwards and they were an outfielder coming in on the ball and they felt like the play was easier for them. Maybe they had a better angle at it. Maybe they just didn’t hear you call the ball. Maybe they are new to the game and are still figuring that stuff out or playing for the first time and they are nervous.

Even if you can’t come up with a good reason for them to run in to you, does it benefit the team and the person for you to get angry with them and yell at them?

By taking a second to respond and consider their point of view, you have stopped yourself for reacting out of emotion which is always the better option.

If you choose to pause and take that step back, it will provide the space to communicate better with them.

“Hey, what did you see there?” “Did you hear me calling for the ball?” etc.

Then you can help them understand why you called for the ball.

“Hey I called for the ball because I play Center Field and usually I have the best view of the ball of the bat. I knew I could get their easily and it was going to be harder for you. Let’s work on communicating better next time”

Now of course that’s a scripted answer or scenario but the things to remember:

Take a step back and consider their view point.

Check your tone

Communicate about the problem

Develop and communicate a quick solution.

Apply It

Now I asked you to consider where in your life there was an area where you might be close to melting down.

What is an action step that you can commit to right now to help you resolve that situation?

What is the next right step to take?

How can God be a part of that process?

How can you get 1% better today?

Pray out