In positions of leadership that deals with people there is constant awareness of the issues and circumstances in people’s lives. As burdensome as this may be, such responsibility demands a certain level of calm, wisdom, and grace. There are times when we have the tendency to over complicate and over dramatize various situations in our lives. Just the stress of life alone can cause us to unnecessarily overreact to situations that we may face. After many years of serving in a leadership role and through learning from my own failures here are a few things to keep in mind when dealing with difficult situations that may arise in our lives:

1. STOP and EVALUATE. Whatever situation we face in our lives we should take a moment to stop and evaluate the situation before we react. Hasty reactions can invite more trouble in our lives than we desire.
2. Listen to what people have to say. Don’t automatically start giving a solution to the problem. Take time to listen intently and pay attention to what is being said.
3. As you evaluate the situation and as you listen to what is being said, take time to pray over the situation. Understand that you are not the hero and you do not have all the answers. However, you do know the One who is the Hero and has all the answers. Call upon the Lord and bring your concerns to Him. If a complaint needs to be made, bring your complaint to God before you bring it to others.
4. STAY CALM. This is one thing I have learned over the years and that is the need to stay calm. When you are approached with a difficult situation don’t act surprised and don’t react in a way that makes the situation bigger than it really is.
5. Once you have thoroughly evaluated the situation and you listen to what people have to say and you pray fervently and through it all you maintain a sense of calm, then it is time to act in accordance to God’s will and in His grace. Timing is everything in our response to difficult situations. We must learn not to act too quickly while at the same time not delaying a response that is needed.