When the Alarms Go Off

When the Alarms Go Off: Practicing Trust Before Crisis Hits

Think about the last time a fire alarm went off unexpectedly. Maybe it was at work, or perhaps your home security system malfunctioned at 3 a.m. Your heart races. Adrenaline surges. In those disorienting moments, clear thinking becomes nearly impossible.

But emergency responders don't panic when alarms blare. Firefighters don't freeze when smoke fills a building. Why? Because they've practiced. They've rehearsed their response so many times that when crisis actually strikes, their training takes over.

Even schoolchildren learn this principle through fire drills. The first alarm might terrify a kindergartener, but by high school, students calmly file out because the response has become second nature. They know where to go and what to do because they've practiced it dozens of times.

This same principle applies to our spiritual lives in profound ways: What we rehearse each day is what we'll repeat in crisis.

The story of King Hezekiah in Isaiah 36-38 provides a masterclass in crisis response rooted in daily faithfulness. Hezekiah was one of the few genuinely good kings in Judah's history. Scripture says there was no king like him either before or after. He didn't just talk about trusting God—he actively demonstrated it through radical obedience.

When Hezekiah became king, he literally cleaned house. He removed pagan shrines, destroyed idols, and even broke apart the bronze serpent Moses had made because people had started worshiping it instead of God. He reopened the temple and restored proper worship. Every decision flowed from one question: What would please God?
This daily practice of trust and obedience prepared Hezekiah for what came next.

After fourteen years of Hezekiah's reign, the Assyrian king Sennacherib invaded Judah, systematically conquering every city except Jerusalem. Then he sent his commander with an intimidating army to deliver a message designed to crush any remaining hope.

The Assyrian commander's speech was psychological warfare at its finest. He mocked Hezekiah's trust, ridiculed the idea that God would save them, and pointed out that no other nation's gods had been able to stand against Assyria's might. His message was clear: You're helpless, hopeless, and your God is powerless.

Notice how many times the commander used the word "trust." He understood that faith was the foundation of Judah's resistance, so he attacked it relentlessly. He even blasphemed by claiming God Himself had sent Assyria to destroy Jerusalem.

The threats escalated to graphic descriptions of the suffering Jerusalem would endure under siege. The commander shouted that conditions would become so desperate that people would eat their own waste and drink their own urine. He declared that the king of Assyria was stronger than God Himself.

Here's where Hezekiah's daily habit of trust became crucial. When his officials returned with this devastating news, their clothes torn in grief and distress, what was the king's first response?

He went to God.

Not to his military advisors. Not to seek political alliances. Not to strategize with his cabinet. He went straight to the house of the Lord.

This response wasn't manufactured in the moment—it was muscle memory from years of practice. Hezekiah had cultivated such a consistent pattern of going to God first that when crisis struck, he didn't have to think about it. His feet simply carried him to the place of prayer.

This is the critical insight we cannot miss: When it's your habit to listen to the Lord when you're not in crisis, it's easier to discern His voice when you are in crisis.

Consider your own prayer life. When do you pray? Is it your practice to go to Jesus with all things throughout the day—touching base, checking in, listening and adjusting? Or is prayer primarily reserved for the big stuff you can't handle on your own?

The Bible instructs us to "pray without ceasing"—not just morning and evening prayers, but constant communication with God. This isn't about religious performance; it's about relationship. It's about remaining in such close contact that His voice becomes familiar above all the noise.

Sometimes we can better see where our trust truly rests by examining where we fail to be obedient. Perhaps you say you trust God as your healer but have never asked anyone to pray for healing. Maybe you claim to trust God as your provider but don't give generously because you're afraid you can't afford it. You might say God's leading your children, but you try to control their every move because you're terrified they'll fail.

Too often we live like we're in charge and God needs to run His plan past us. But genuine trust means following His plan, not asking Him to bless ours.

Hezekiah sent messengers to the prophet Isaiah, asking him to pray for the remnant of Judah. But here's the beautiful part: we don't see Isaiah stopping to intercede because God was already on the move. He had already prepared Isaiah with the answer.

God's message was simple: "Do not be afraid. I will send Sennacherib home, and he will die by the sword in his own land."

When Sennacherib later sent a threatening letter, Hezekiah's response was identical to before. He went to the house of the Lord, spread the letter before God, and prayed. His prayer focused not on his own preservation but on God's glory—that all kingdoms would know that Yahweh alone is Lord.

God's response was decisive. He sent an angel who killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night. Sennacherib returned home, where his own sons murdered him in the temple of his false god.

The story doesn't end there. Later, Hezekiah became deathly ill. Through Isaiah, God delivered the message: "You will not recover. You are going to die."

Imagine receiving that diagnosis. Yet even in this deeply personal crisis, Hezekiah's response remained consistent. Too sick to go to the temple, he simply turned his face to the wall and prayed. His words were simple: "Remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness with a whole heart."

Then he wept.

God's response? "I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life."

The God of the universe hears your prayers and sees your tears. Let that truth sink deep into your soul.

What crisis are you facing today? What struggle threatens to overwhelm you? Whatever it is, it's not too big or too small for God.

If you've practiced being obedient and trusting Him each day, you can certainly trust Him in whatever storm you're weathering now. If it's not your habit to go to God first, let this be your invitation to start. Confess your resistance. Repent of your unwillingness to trust. Pour out your heart.

He knows what you need. He made you for Himself. He knows exactly where you are.
And He's trustworthy—not because you decided to trust Him, but because of who He is. It's about His character, His loving kindness, His grace and mercy, His strength and purpose and plan.

When we genuinely trust God, we can stand in quiet confidence no matter how desperate the circumstances may seem. As Romans 8 promises, nothing—no problem, no issue, no crisis—can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

So practice trust today in the small things. Go to Him first with everything. Stay in constant communion with Him throughout your day. Because when the alarms inevitably sound, you'll know exactly where to run.

This blog was generated with the help of AI, and is based off of Pastor Phil's sermon on February 1, 2026: Trust in Crisis.