Conrad Reid, Jamaica
“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
2 Chronicles 20:12b
If your car is giving problems, you call for a mechanic. If the plumbing at home is giving problems, you call for a plumber. If your grades are falling apart, you go to a tutor. But what do you do and where do you go when your life is falling apart? When things are out of your control and you don’t know what to do, what’s next?
Today, my prayer is that God will re-enter your situation of life and that you will find Him to be real. Oftentimes for that to happen, however, God must put us through crisis situations. Such is the situation we find in 2 Chronicles 20 with King Jehoshaphat.
In the previous chapter, there’s the story of a great national revival, a spiritual awakening. Then it says, “After this, [Israel’s enemies] came to wage war against Jehoshaphat” (20:1). We all know this principle: with every high, there is also a low; with every mountaintop, there is a valley; after every victory, there is always a letdown; and with every blessing, there comes a testing.
You may not be in a battle right now, but you’re going to be in one tomorrow or the next day or the day after that. God allows, creates, and uses crises so He can demonstrate that He alone is God. Let me say that again: God allows, creates, and causes overwhelming circumstances in our life so that we can discover Him.
In a crisis, you don’t need nice-sounding words. You don’t need high-sounding theological statements. In a crisis, you need to see the living God. I find so often that in crisis situations many Christians either abandon or forget what they were taught, and then they wonder why God is not real in their crisis moments.
So, what do you do when you don’t know what to do? Notice these steps in Jehoshaphat’s prayer:
1. Turn to God first. Remind yourself who God is. He is bigger than the problem you are facing.
2. Talk to God about your situation. There is no problem that is too big and there is no problem that is too small to pray about. Ask God for help now.
3. Trust God to help you. When you’re overwhelmed, all you tend to see is the problem. You don’t look to God. You can’t be discouraged and focus on God at the same time. The battle is not yours—it’s the Lord’s!
4. Thank God in advance. You are giving thanks for the fact that you have passed the ball. You are thanking God in advance for the victory. If you thank God after the fact, that’s gratitude. If you thank God before it happens, that’s faith.
When you allow God to solve your problems, it becomes a testimony to unbelievers; the world takes notice when the Christian lives by faith. So, are you facing a crisis and don’t know what to do? Are you facing a difficult circumstance this week? What do you do next?