How to deal with calamity efficaciously and emerge unscathed

Calamity

We describe a calamity as an event causing great and often sudden damage and distress. A calamity may be in the form of a wildfire, an earthquake, a flood or a hurricane. It could also be an unexpected debilitating illness or a failed business venture which wipes out all your savings. It may also be in the form of a messy unexpected divorce which turns your world upside down and causes you great mental distress. Worst of all, it may involve an accident, such as a plane crash, resulting in the death of loved ones. When calamity strikes, what do you do?

Four ways to deal with calamity

1. Turn to God and pray

The first way of efficaciously dealing with calamity and coming out unscathed is to turn to God and pray. When calamity strikes, it is easy to get carried away by our emotions and if we are not careful, our negative reaction to the event may result in a greater damage than the event itself. For example, assuming you are hypertensive, being overly anxious and distressed upon hearing bad news can result in a spike in your blood pressure. Subsequently, if you do not manage this properly, this could result in the need to hospitalise you. Medical experts consider uncontrolled high blood pressure a major risk factor for heart attacks.

Rather than worrying unduly, we should turn to God and pray. The Bible in Psalm 50 verse 15 notes God as saying: “Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver you and you shall glorfy me.” Also, Psalm 9 verse 9, in describing the protection offered by God, states that “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a place of safety in times of trouble.”

When we turn to God and pray, committing the calamity and our pain into His hands, peace fills us. The Bible encourages us in Phillipians 4 verse 7 to commit our requests to God in prayer. It states: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all human understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

2. Count your blessings

A second way to efficaciously deal with calamity and to come out unscathed is to count your blessings. No matter the calamity that befalls us, we should bear in mind that it could have been much worse. Rather than focusing on our losses, we should focus on our blessings . This fosters gratitude in us and frees us from any negativity that may arise. The English novelist and playwright, J. B. Priestley, states: “To multiply your joy, count your blessings.”

3. Don’t play the blame game

Another way to handle a calamity is to avoid playing the blame game. Similarly, we should not engage in “what ifs” and agonise over what could have been had things turned out differently. As they say, you cannot change the past and there is no use crying over spilt milk. Playing the blame game only results in anger and pessimism.

In a similar vein, focusing on the past and replaying the incident in our minds over and over again results in frustration and regret. If not properly managed, this may lead to a mental breakdown. Robin Sharma, the Canadian writer, has this to say: “Every second you dwell on the past you steal from your future. Every minute you spend focusing on your problems you take away from finding your solutions.”

4. Find a solution

Finding a solution is also another way to deal with a calamity. When we focus on finding a solution to the problem at hand, we feel more in charge of the situation. This prevents us from being overwhelmed and wallowing in sadness. Moreover, since every cloud has a silver lining, we should strive to discover the hidden benefit of whatever calamity that befalls us.

Conclusion

Life is full of ups and downs. As such, nobody knows what the future holds. Indeed, even tomorrow is not certain. All that we have laboured for can be gone in the twinkling of an eye. So, what is the solution? Should we throw our hands up in despair? Not at all! We should rather trust in God who holds our future in His hands. We should shun unbelief and believe that everything that happens to us will work out for our good. This is beautifully expressed in the first and last stanzas of the Methodist hymn number 511 by John Newton as follows:

“1. Begone, unbelief; my Saviour is near,

And for my relief will surely appear:

By prayer let me wrestle , and He will perform;

With Christ in the vessel, I smile at the storm.

5. Since all that I meet shall work for my good,

The bitter is sweet, the medicine food;

Though painful at present, ’twill cease before long;

And then, Oh how pleasant, the conqueror’s song.”

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