My life has been full of unpredictable surprises.

Some have been good, and some have been bad. The most deflating experiences of my life can be described as when life goes south.

Things are going well; you’re blessed and highly favored. Your days are full of joy. And then, without warning, life goes south! Most of us have been there and done that, or we’re there right now.

Crises that come without warning are usually met with shock. This is what happened in the life of the widow of Zarephath. She welcomed the man of God, Elijah, and believed God’s Word through him. God’s miraculous supply of flour and oil fed her family during the famine. But then her son got sick and stopped breathing.

Click this link and read about that in 1 Kings 17 (17-24). Here, the Holy Spirit shows us what trusting God looks like in a crisis.

The widow searched for some logical reason to explain this tragedy. She thought Elijah had brought God’s unjust attention to her unworthy soul. So, in her mind, it’s either my fault or the man of God’s fault, which means it’s God’s fault.

We, too, are subject to analyzing, blaming, and mentally torturing ourselves in a crisis.

The key to conquering the crisis is trusting that God will make a way (see Job 13:15; Proverbs 3:5; John 14:1; 1 John 5:4).

But what does Trusting God in a crisis look like?

Trusting God looks like turning it over to Him.

This is what the widow of Zarephath shows us.

We experience peace when we hand things over to God (Psalm 55:22; 1 Peter 5:7). Elijah said, “Give me your son” (19). She had to cast her burden onto God.

Like she did, we must hand things over to God when they are beyond our ability!

He will let you bear more than you can handle so you will learn what to do with your God-sized problems.

We see His Spirit at work when we cast things over to God. She gave the lifeless body of her son to Elijah, and he gave him to God in intercession. That’s when the boy came back to life.

In our day, we hand our situations over to One greater than Elijah—Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest who lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 4:14-16).

You might think, “Well, things don’t always turn out like I want when I live that way.” That’s true. But you didn’t have the power to fix it anyway. And my faith reality says that if it ain’t good yet, God’s not done yet.

Plus, when death is the biggest threat to the child of God, we can rest assured— to be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord (see 2 Corinthians 5:8). We might die, but we will experience His resurrection to eternal life in Heaven (John 11:25, Romans 6:23).

So trusting God looks like turning it over to Him, and then…

Trusting God looks like God-honoring intercessory prayer.

This is what Elijah demonstrates for us.

His example shows, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly…” (James 5:16-17).

Follow his pattern of effective, fervent prayer that avails much.

He accepted God’s sovereignty. “Have You brought tragedy upon this widow by causing her son to die?” (20, paraphrased). He knows only God can give life! It’s “Not by might nor by…” (Zechariah 4:6).

He prayed intensely. He stretched himself over the boy’s body three times as he prayed. Three represents the number of the Holy Trinity, and it’s God’s number of completion. Elijah cried, “O Lord my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him!” (21). He knew the child’s soul was separated from his body, that he died. But he knew God alone had the power to intervene.

He expected an answer. And guess what? “The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child came back to him” (22).

We know God hears us when we pray! We’re not speaking to thin air (see Psalm 34:4; Jeremiah 33:3; Luke 18:1; 1 John 5:14-15)! The boy’s soul returned because God’s Spirit can give life to hopeless situations that appear dead. He calls “those things which be not as though they were” (Romans 4:17).

There’s no such thing as a hopeless situation with God in the equation!

“Someone let the people know— Anything is possible” (God Problems, Maverick City).

So, what does trusting God look like during your crisis?

The widow of Zarephath showed us that it looks like turning it over to God. The prophet Elijah demonstrated that it looks like God-honoring intercessory prayer. And now the Spirit shows us that…

Trusting God looks like understanding the purpose of God’s miracles.

Yes, God enjoys blessing His people. Yes, He loves to give life to dark and hopeless situations. But we must accept that God’s ultimate goal for every miracle is to demonstrate His glory and for Him to be worshipped by His creation and His children.

The Spirit wants us to know! The overall purpose of every miracle God gives is for His glory!

The purpose of miracles is not for His people to sensationalize the power of God and profit from their story of how it happened. Regardless of other things that happen, every miracle’s overall purpose is for us to glorify God.

Suppose the Apostle John (the beloved) was writing in my place. He’d tell you about 7 signs (or miracles) Jesus did that “manifested His glory.” Because of them, “His disciples believed in Him” (see John 2:11). This is where we are utterly convicted.

If God has ever done a single miracle on your behalf, you owe Him the glory! And not only that, you ought to believe for His intervention in the next crisis. You have no excuse for wearing that pitiful attitude of doubt! “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22)!

The woman told Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth” (24). See the sequence. She turned her crisis over to God. Elijah’s intercession honored God. And God’s life-giving miracle brought glory to Himself.

Miracles aren’t an end in themselves. They’re given by God so all people will know He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him (see Hebrews 11:6).

God wants all people to understand how much He loves and cares for them so they may be drawn to know and receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. And that demonstrates His glory!

God will make a way.

“God will make a way, where there seems to be no way. He works in ways we cannot see, God will make a way for me” (Don Moen, ’92) and you. The key to conquering the crisis is to trust that God will make a way.

So, what crisis are you facing? You already know, but hear me out.

If you’re not a Christian, you’re facing an epic crisis with eternal consequences. You need the miracle-working power of God’s salvation.

If you say your belief is in Christ, but your life’s behavior doesn’t show it, that crisis is called hypocrisy. You need the miracle-working power of God’s salvation! In both cases, you must repent and follow God’s will for your life. Christ alone is the answer to the crisis of your eternal soul.

Even if you are a genuinely born-again Christian, Christ is the answer to your crisis.