Have you ever asked yourself, “Who would I like to become?” What people or events in life have hindered your reaching that goal? To achieve something, you have to remove all distractions that are blocking you from making progress. Fear stops most people from getting what they want — fear of failure, fear of success, fear of rejection, of the unknown, of disappointment. Then, of course, the “what if” fears always fuel these hindrances.
Fear produces crises that have resulted in many being stuck in the past, dwelling on previous hurts, rejections and abandonment issues. What is a crisis? It’s an event that leads or is expected to lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, community or a whole society. Most times, it happens abruptly, with little warning. However, you do have the ability to control and direct your thoughts to a desired goal, no matter what crisis you face.
The Bible says, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind!”
To have a sound mind, you cannot allow your past crisis to conquer your thoughts and behaviors. I believe there are three things we must do. First, stop the “blame game.” There’s no point in blaming everyone else for where you are right now. You had a bad childhood. Your father wasn’t there, and you still struggle with abandonment issues. The list goes on, but let it — and them — go! Blaming others just keeps you in bondage to the crisis. In the Japanese and Chinese cultures, “crisis” means opportunity. If we look at every crisis as an opportunity to grow, where would we be in life?
Second, consider the opportunities. Take the opportunity to forgive an offender and to love in spite of the pain you’ve suffered. Holding on to a crisis, if not careful, becomes a “badge of honor” — justification for our negative actions. Isaiah 26:3 says “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
Isaiah sang a song of Salvation. You cannot have perfect peace if your crisis is bigger than your God. Third, trust God. If your mind is not on Him and you’re focusing more energy on your problem, you have trust issues. If we don’t practice trusting God fully, we will never experience perfect peace. Jesus gives us the solution to having a conquered mind in Luke 11:9: “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you.”
It’s time to understand that God wants you to have dominion over the earth — not people, but over your emotions, hurt, disappointment and your crises. At that point, you will become more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus.

Paige is the senior pastor of Immanuel Christian Church and a member of the United Ministerial Alliance.