Hank Paulson has published a book detailing what happened during the most intense hours of the financial meltdown of 2008. On the weekend of September 13-14, 2009 Paulson met with New York Fed Chairman Timothy Geitner and other banking execs to figure out how to save Lehman Brothers and the global financial system.

After Barclay’s in England backed out of a deal it was apparent nothing could be pieced together to save the over leveraged financial house. Paulson felt the fallout would have been catastrophic. He had no answers.

Walking out of the meetings, it was Sunday morning, he called his wife. “What if the system collapses? Everybody is looking to me, and I don’t have the answer. I am really scared.”

Paulson says he asked her to pray for him and the nation. He especially wanted prayer to cope with the fear he was facing. He writes, “She immediately quoted from the Second Book of Timothy, verse 1:7–”For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Fear has a way of focusing the mind. It is fascinating to see how people at the top deal with such a crisis as the one facing Paulson on that weekend. The stress and pressure can be crushing. Paulson’s wife showed wisdom in directing him to this scripture. Reliance on the power of God is crucial to navigating any period of trial.

Good advice for us all.