“So much of a life,” said pastor Jamie Dunlop, “is shaped really by [our] response to” the crises we face. It’s common to “feel and believe that life is built by the big decisions we make,” he went on to say. “But looking back, it’s very often shaped much more by our response to the decisions we didn’t make” through circumstances we likely didn’t ask to experience.

This concept is demonstrated quite clearly in the lives of some of history’s most influential figures. Corrie Ten Boom, a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp, went on to become a widely known Christian with an inspiring testimony. Despite her afflictions, she responded in faith. The same can be said of Joni Eareckson Tada who, as a quadriplegic with chronic pain, is known as a faithful and reverent believer. Some of the most amazing stories I’ve heard come from Christians suffering persecution in Nigeria, communist China, and elsewhere. Even though they suffer daily, unsure if they or their loved ones will live another day, they respond to their circumstances with faith at the forefront because they know there’s no other response to give.

It’s important to hear of the people who have suffered beyond our worst nightmares yet remained rooted in Christ. Certainly, they’ll be the first to admit how hard it can be to stay planted in belief when trials arise. However, they’re likely also the first to admit that it brought them closer to Christ, and that is worth every ounce of praise and gratitude. You see, these people are important to learn from not merely because their stories are inspiring, but because they offer us invaluable truth: our lives are not defined by what happens to us. Our lives our defined by how we choose to respond.

This is what pastor Dunlop was getting at. It’s far too easy to sit back and complain that life isn’t fair when things don’t go our way. It’s understandably difficult to find joy in the midst of grief or hope in the midst of despair. But even when we’re faced with such calamity, the only defining factor is, indeed, our response, because our responses show us what we really believe. In this life, trials are unavoidable. The Bible makes this clear time and again. So, the question is not, “Will I face trials?” But rather, “When I face trials, what will I do about it?”

Take our current political climate, for example. It’s a mess. If you aren’t sure what to make of it all, rest assured you’re not alone in feeling that way. I’ve been a part of numerous discussions (with Christians, I might add) concerning how America is on the brink of destruction, how no president is a good option, or how there seems to be no point in doing anything about the society crumbling around us. But don’t you see? To have those thoughts, to feel the country is beyond repair, is a response in and of itself. It’s a response that says, “I’m choosing not to do anything.” It’s a response we cannot afford to accept.

Family Research Council’s Executive Vice President Lt. Gen. (Ret.) William G. Boykin addressed this well during the 2024 Pray Vote Stand Summit Gala. “Christians,” he said, “are capitulating. They’re surrendering,” and “they’re surrendering without a fight.” Look around. Roughly 41 million professing Christians are planning to sit out and not vote in this crucial presidential election. A recent survey found that many of the 1,000 surveyed evangelical Christians are “afraid” to share their faith and therefore do not seek out opportunities to do so. As Boykin asked, whatever happened to the believer’s cry, “Here am I, Lord. Send me”? This is the response Christians are called to, yet how many of us can say we’ve even uttered those words?

Surely, our call to respond in faith far exceeds the realm of politics, namely because it applies to all areas of life. 1 Corinthians 10:31 states, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” How do you reckon this relates to your responses to what happens to you and those around you? I can’t answer for you, but I can help provide a framework for how to better craft responses that glorify our Lord.

Dunlop offered these three points: “First … your most pressing problems in crisis are spiritual problems. … Second, your most important response in crisis is to repent and believe. … And third, your most precious hope in crisis is God’s appointed Savior,” Jesus Christ. “[F]aith is inherently risky,” he went on to say. “If there were no risk, there would not be faith,” because the risks we’re willing to take are what show “the value of the One we take hold of when we exercise faith.” Not to mention, Dunlop added, “taking a risk in line with God’s promise that we are one in Christ … are the very best risks to take.”

If our pressing problems in crisis are spiritual problems, then that means no matter what we face, we must analyze our circumstances from a spiritual point of view. Are you afraid, wearisome, or vexed? The Bible tells us to rest in Christ (Matthew 11:28-30). Do you feel without purpose or direction? Scripture tells us our purpose is rooted in Christ, and that His word “is a lamp to [our] feet and a light to [our] path” (Psalm 119:105). Are you overwhelmed by the worldly chaos around you? The Bible calls us to be salt and light, speaking the truth in love (Matthew 5:13-16; Ephesians 4:15).

The list goes on. In fact, quite remarkably, the Bible offers us solutions to all of life’s greatest dilemmas. It gives us hope in despair, light in darkness, truth amid lies, and life stronger than any threat of death. Scripture tells us how to respond. It equips us with the truth that allows us to respond to anything with confidence. God, through His word, asks us to trust in His power and to lean on His understanding. Our responses, no matter what we’re responding to, should be marked by our hope in the truth that “our faith is in our Savior who will rescue us today from the evil within, and will rescue us one day from the evil without.” No matter how big our problems are, our God is always bigger.

We’re allowed to be nervous. Understanding no one is perfect, we’re allowed to make mistakes and called to learn from them. But courage has never been about “the absence of fear,” as Boykin expressed. Rather, it’s about “overcoming the fear.” In relation to our responses to what we endure, Boykin added, we must ask ourselves: “Did I do everything I could?”

Beyond that, we must ask ourselves: Do I really trust in the promises of God? Do I believe risks are worth taking for His name’s sake? Most importantly, do my responses bring Him glory? It’s likely the answers to those questions are “no” if you find yourself frequently responding in ways that contradict the way Scripture calls us to respond. But don’t lose hope! It’s never too late to say, “Yes, I believe in the promises of God. Yes, risks for the sake of Christ are beyond worth it. And yes, my goal is to glorify God with my responses.”

It’s a day-by-day process. But don’t wait any longer to take the steps necessary to respond in a manner worthy of the gospel and the calling to which you’ve been called. Start now. Pick up His word, get down on your knees in prayer, and, daily, shout out the believer’s cry: “Here I am, Lord! Send me.”