WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO
We all have calamities and problems that are shocking and appear unsolvable. To clean up the vernacular: “It Happens”. Sometimes, the problems we face seem like the end of the world. However, they rarely are.
Relationships explode, jobs get lost, unexpected disasters happen, a loss of loved ones strike, and accidents occur. These things are painful sometimes beyond description, but we must deal with them.
Our initial reaction to what appear to be catastrophic events in our lives is to panic, get in fear, and ask the wrong question; “What Am I Going To Do?” The correct question is: “WHAT HAS JESUS DONE”? The answer is everything.
Jesus was preparing His disciples for the disasters to come. He told them that He would be taken away from them. Jesus told them that they would be in sorrow but that, just as a woman who suffers in childbirth but when she delivers the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world; then, her sorrow turns to joy, their sorrow would also turn to joy. He told them it was a great blessing that He would leave them because they would be blessed by the same gift He gave us: The Holy Spirit!
Here is the profound statement that He left the disciples with that is just as accurate for us today:
I have said these things to you: that in me (Because of me and what I am about to do for you, which would be a more accurate translation),YOU MAY HAVE PEACE. (undisturbed by anything.) In the world, you will have tribulation, BUT BE OF GOOD CHEER; because I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD.”
(John 16:33)
What at first appeared to be the worst thing that could happen to the disciples turned out to be a great blessing.
When the vicissitudes of the world attack, when the problems come, we can and should be of “GOOD CHEER.” Because whatever the mountain of tribulation is in our lives, Jesus has overcome them.
We can rest assured that we are never alone. God the Father, God Holy Spirit, and God Jesus are always with us no matter how scary the situation. God has promised us that He will never leave us or forsake us!
Speaking to the Israelites about their enemies, He spoke this unbreakable promise to them:
“BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord Your God who goes with you. HE WILL NOT LEAVE OR FORSAKE YOU!”
(Deuteronomy 31:6)
The tribulations we face are our enemies. When they come, we can rest assured that our God Himself is with us!
King David, acting in the office of the Prophet led by Holy Spirit, wrote this promise to us:
“GOD IS OUR REFUGE AND STRENGTH, A VERY PRESENT HELP IN TROUBLE. THEREFORE, WE WILL NOT FEAR THOUGH THE EARTH GIVES WAY. STILL, THE MOUNTAINS BE MOVED INTO THE HEART OF THE SEA, THOUGH ITS WATER ROAR AND FOAM, THOUGH THE MOUNTAINS TREMBLE AT ITS SWELLING.
“BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD, I WILL BE EXALTED AMONG THE NATIONS, I WILL BE EXALTED IN THE EARTH!“
(Psalm 46:1-3 and 10)
Here is another Holy Spirit-directed prophetic message to us from King David:
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High (those who believe and believe in Jesus) will abide in the shadow of The Almighty.
That is us. When the going gets frightening, we must remember that we are resting in the shadow of The Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and fortress, my God, whom I trust.’ Because He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler (the traps set for us, the disasters we face, even the consequences of our own actions and mistakes) and the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with His pinions (The outer part of His wings), and under His wings, you will find refuge (a safe place to hide). You will not fear the terror of night, the arrow that flies by day, the pestilence (plagues or diseases) that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, but it will not come near you; NO EVIL shall befall you; no plague shall come near your tent. BECAUSE HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU TO GUARD YOU IN ALL YOUR WAYS!”
(Psalm 91:1-11)
It is hard to imagine a more horrible and frightening situation than to be an eighteen-year-old American soldier fighting in the trenches of France against the German army. It primarily involved face-to-face combat with bayonets. Check this out!:
“In World War I, the 91st Infantry Brigade of the U.S. Expeditionary Army recited Psalm 91 daily. The soldiers took the Psalm into battle with them, hoping to be protected. This led to the Psalm becoming known as “The Soldier’s Psalm.”
How the story goes
- The commander of the 91st Brigade gave each soldier a card with the Psalm printed on it.
- The soldiers agreed to recite the Psalm daily.
- The soldiers were nicknamed the “91st Brigade” by other soldiers.
- The 91st Brigade fought in three of the war’s bloodiest battles but did not suffer a single combat-related casualty.
Read the Words of Jesus our King:
“O Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children (The Jews and us) together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!”
(Matthew 23:37)
Jesus gathers those who believe and believe in Him under His wings. Could there be a safer place?
Opening the door to fear and panic is dangerous and causes us to be led into a downward spiral. It is toxic because it infects our hearts and causes us to agree with
the symptom or problem.
Jesus taught us that what we allow to be planted in our hearts will produce a crop, and then we will speak our fear into existence because, from the overflow of the heart, the mouth will speak, and we will have whatsoever we say as long as we believe that what we say will come to pass, without doubt in our heart.
(Luke 6:45, Mark 11:22)
In other words, fear causes us to speak the imagined calamity into existence. Faith produces good things and overcomes terrible things for the same reason. That is why the Bible is filled with God’s instructions to us: “Fear Not!”
Remember David’s confession that should be written in the heart of every believer:
“Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow (and 99.9 percent of the things we fear are only shadows) of death, I will fear no evil because YOU are with me. Your Rod (Jesus) and Your Staff (Holy Spirit) comfort me. You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows; surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
(Psalm 23:4-6)
I love the table in the presence of our enemies. Imagine having a big lobster dinner celebrating your victory while the problem, the spirit of fear, the calamity, or your enemies glare at you, knowing they have been defeated.
When faced with situations that appear disastrous, remember that the acronym for fear is (false events appearing real) Read this assertion from our anointed and appointed teacher, Paul:
“For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.”
(2 Timothy 1:7)
You may be the roughest, toughest cowboy in the West or Wonder Woman, but at some point in your life, you will face a situation bigger than you or your ego. That is when this teaching will help you.
When the going gets rough, remember the admonition of Jesus from His dissertation about anxiety and worry from the twenty-third chapter of Matthew, beginning in the sixty verse, Summarizing: DO NOT WORRY, BE ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING, TAKE NO THOUGHT FOR TOMORROW, (live in this present moment) SEEK FIRST GOD’S KINGDOM AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS!
When Jesus was about to finish His work, He instructed His disciples and as their fellow heirs, us:
“DO NOT LET YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED, NEITHER BE AFRAID!”
(John 14:1)
The fourteenth chapter of John may be the most power packed of all of Jesus’s proclamations. He goes on to explain who He is, where He is, how we can join Him and the power He left us so that we would not be left alone in the World as orphans. I suggest you read it, meditate on it, believe it, and walk in it.
Finally, let’s close with the most comforting Words of Jesus: “I am with you always, even until the end of the world! ” (Matthew 28:20)
END OF TEACHING
End of Teaching:
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