Some people seem to have all of the answers... or so it seems. Sometimes I feel like I have had a lot of experience in life and can pretty well figure out the best course of action in most situations. But, you know what? There are and have been a lot of times when I just simply did not know what to do.
I served as a Pastor for over 34 years and I have to admit that there have been times couples have set in my office with problems so complex that I simply had to tell them... "I don't know what to do." Hey, if you empathize with me, we are not the first to not know what to do. Listen to the Word of God...
2Chronicles 20:12 "O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do; but our eyes are upon thee."
Here are three things to do when you don't know what to do.
1. Just go tell Jesus and leave it with Him right there on the altar and don't do anything else. In Hezekiah 37, when the great empire of Babylon was threatening King Hezekiah and sent him a devastating sounding letter, with his superior armies surrounding the city... Hezekiah had no answer but to take the letter and spread it out before the Lord and leave it there!
Then God said, "I have heard his threats and his big talk, but rest assured its no longer your problem, but my problem. I will put a hook in his jaw and he will go back where he came from and not enter this city and you will not have to do ONE THING!" Now, I am paraphrasing a bit, but that night Hezekiah slept like a baby because he had placed it on the altar and left it. Watch what happened while he slept ...
One...get this... just one angel of the Lord slipped down into the camp of the Assyrians that night and all by himself slew 185,000 Assyrians. When the survivors awoke the next morning and saw the slaughter, they packed their duds and headed back where they came from as fast as they could.
2. Here's another one that I like. It was the occasion of the scripture I put first... numerous armies had come up against Jehoshaphat and he did not know what to do. But, he did know to call a fast and prayer and God heard him and said this to him.
2Chronicles 20:17 "Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you."
The next day, Jehoshaphat appointed himself some musicians and singers. They just went out like God said; praised and worshiped. The Word says that the Lord set ambushments against the enemy and they destroyed each other so that all Judah had to do was gather up the spoils that had been left behind.
3. Finally, in my last example it will be a bit different. In both previous examples they had to do nothing and God did it all. King David had smitten the Philistines once, but they were a resilient bunch and spread themselves before David for battle again. This time God said, "Don't go out and fight them as before, but slip over to the grove of Mulberry trees and just hide out and wait there. But when you hear the sound of a going in the tops of the Mulberry trees, you go out to battle and the Lord will fight for you and give you the victory."
This time they were going to have to engage in the battle, but they were not going to just do it half-cocked when they got ready... there was going to have to be a sign from the Lord in the tops of the Mulberry trees before they took any action at all. (God's timing) When God gave the sign... they went forth and won the victory.
So when you don't know what to do... don't do anything until you have taken it to the Lord.
In each case, after those involved in their dilemmas took it before the Lord, there was a Word from the Lord that told them what to do.
- Sometimes they did nothing but stand still and see the salvation of the Lord,
- Sometimes they sang and praised their way to victory and ...
- When they did have to take physical action themselves... it was only after God gave them a very sure and definite sign that He had told them to look for.
What to do when you don't know what to do? Put it before the King of Kings and don't do a thing until you hear a Word from Him. Lately, my favorite song has been the song by Mercy Me... "Word of God Speak."
