When I Don't Know What To Do.

"There is a problem,"  his words jolted me out of sleep. I sat up at alert.

"What happened …?"

"I honestly don't know what to do," he groaned.

My chin snapped into my chest. My head felt as heavy as lead in my hands.

Why? How? Confused. Tons of questions reeled across my mind.

We prayed: "Lord, we need the help of Your Holy Spirit. We need counsel and wisdom. We need You to intervene on our behalf. Thank You, Father, for taking control of this situation."

At one time or the other, everyone of us will find ourselves at such a point like this, when for a moment everything looks bleak, and the questions outstrips the answers, if any answer at all.

Times when you feel …

… hemmed into a very tight place

…at loss of what to do

Times when

… the unexpected happens

… the best laid plans lay in disarray;

… and life goes out of control.

The horizon is bleak

The clouds, dark and ominous

Your heart beats fast

Yearning to understand

The mysteries around you

You hold your head in hands

As your world spins on its axis

"I don't know what to do" —

the cry from the depth of your soul.

"God is good all the time"—like a lightning bolt through the dark clouds—flashed in the recesses of my mind.

Even in all of these?

Yes, God is good ALL the time!

God is a God of knowledge.

    God is perfect in knowledge.

These words swirled around my head. As the minutes turned into hours, the truth of these words sank deep into my heart and took roots in my spirit. He knows all things. Nothing catches Him unawares. He does not make mistakes. There are no accidents with Him.

The more I meditated on this truth, the clearer my vision became, and the more things I found to give thanks for in the situation. So I kept my mind fixed on it.

"God has perfect knowledge of everything—past, present, and future—both of what is actual and what is possible. As a godly woman named Hannah said in a famous Old Testament prayer, “For the LORD is a God of knowledge” (1 Samuel 2:8). God’s knowledge is perfect—comprehensive and all-encompassing. There is nothing that lies outside its scope. Nothing can possibly happen to us that God does not already know and has not known eternally. And that includes every trial we face in the course of a lifetime" - Richard Strauss.

"He knows everything: everything possible, everything actual; all events, all creatures, the past, the present and the future. He is perfectly acquainted with every detail in the life of every being in heaven, in earth and in hell" - A.W. Pink.

"You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue. You know it completely, O Lord" - Ps 139: 2-4.

God has a full knowledge of me—in every posture, movement and occupation. I can not put myself out His sight. He is fully acquainted with all I say and all I do. He has a personal knowledge of our lives from the beginning to the end. He is the Author of all knowledge.

He knows and discerns the thoughts and intent of our hearts. Nothing can be concealed from God. The struggles I have. The questions in my heart. The burden I bear. My dreams, my desires and my hopes are all plain before His sight. God knows the things that come into my mind, every one of them according to Ezekiel 11:5.

He Who knows it all, knows it best. He will work it together for our good. In all circumstances, He does good. He acts on our behalf even when it is difficult to see. Even when I have acted in error, He is able to work all things together for my good.

So when I don't know what to, I know I can trust in Him and depend on Him Who knows all things to take care of all that concerns me. I can put my hope in His infinite knowledge, power and ability. Because He is immutable, His knowledge does not vary, it does not increase or decrease! WOW!

When I find myself in a situation where all looks bleak, when all seems incomprehensible, when things do not go as planned, when the unexpected happens and when life visits me, I can lift up my head to the heavens and say with confidence: God, You know all things. You know what this is all about. I know You are in control and You can make a way out for me. I know my sighs and tears will not escape Your notice.

"God's knowledge of the future is as complete as His knowledge of the past and the present … The infinite knowledge of God ought to fill us with holy awe. Nothing we do, say, or even think, escapes the cognizance of Him with whom we have to do… (Hebrew 4:13)" - A.W. Pink

When I don't know how to pray, I can trust in Him Who knows my thoughts, my heart and desires to meet me at my point of need. Because He promised that before I asked, He has heard and while I am asking He has answered.

Like light breaking out at the dawn of a new day after a long and dark night, it dawned on us that there is purpose in this situation. And as it unfolds, it became obvious that this was not a chance event. God is working out something in all of these.

This knowledge continues to fill me with incredible joy and hope. God is working out the purpose of His will for our lives through all these events—the highs and the lows, the trials and tests, the difficult and the challenging—He knows is all and He has it under control.

Praise be to His name for ever and ever!!!

Knowing that God knows all things and that He is a God of knowledge has been a source of great encouragement to me.

I pray that this knowledge will keep your heart at peace and from agitating fears during those moments when you are at loss of what to do.

I share with you When I don't know what to do  by Tommy Walker.

Reference:

http://www.gobible.org/bible/job/perfect_in_knowledge.html

http://www.pbministries.org/books/pink/Attributes/attrib_03.htm

http://bible.org/seriespage/perfect-knowledge

Happenstance or God's Guidance

Happenstance refers to a chance occurrence (Collins English Dictionary) or a chance event. An event that appeared to have happened without an apparent cause, also described as a coincidence.

The story of Ruth is a clear case of happenstance versus God’s guidance. In order to feed herself and her mother-in-law, Naomi, Ruth had decided to go and glean after the reapers. In Chapter 2 verse 3, the phrase “she happened to” jumped at me. It caught my attention and held me captivated—she happened to stop at the corner of the field belonging to a man called Boaz. But did she really find herself there by chance?

I have read the Book of Ruth a few times in the past and had even done an in-depth study when I wrote an article on Mother and Daughter-in-law relationship but not once did I take note of that phrase the way I did that morning.

It was not by chance or coincidence that Ruth ended up in the field belonging to the man who would later redeem her. It was a divine appointment. Events in our lives don’t just happen. It is amazing how God uses small and seemly inconsequential events to orchestrate His larger plan for our lives. The story of Ruth and Boaz is an example of God designed connection. In her search for favor, God guided her by His unseen hands to where He had providentially prepared untold favor and kindness for her.

The story of my life is replete with many examples of such happenstance and connections which later became a catalyst for a chain of events that have brought untold blessings to my life or a springboard with which God launched me to a new and flourishing level. Here is one example of such “chance occurrence.”

In October 1992, I was invited for an interview as a Nutrition Officer with an international agency. I prepared as best as I could for the interview. As I left the office, the day before the interview to travel to the city where it was holding, I passed by my friend’s office. I ‘happened’ to look up to the book shelf overhead and an orange-colored publication caught my attention. I pulled it out and it was …Nutrition Goals for the 1990s. Needless to say, I read the volume all through the 150km-trip to Lagos and half the night. The following morning, every question I was asked at the interview came from that book!

Three months later, I received a phone call to take up the position. I learnt later that there was a bit of a debate following the interview because I had the least number of years of experience for the position but my performance far outweighed all contrary argument. Simply because a brightly colored publication which had been on the shelf for at least a year happened to catch my attention at that moment I was leaving for the interview. That was not a happenstance or coincidence but divine guidance. It was also the beginning of a 15-year-long career with the organization.

Sometimes it is difficult to see how a chance event could have been guided by the Hands of God especially when it seems to cause so much pain and distress. When we know that we are not a product of chance but every event in our lives in being used of God to work out His ultimate purpose, we can be assured that even in that contrary or adverse situation God is working out something good in our lives. His thoughts towards us are thoughts of good. He works all things together for our good.

These chance events are small pieces of a jigsaw fitting together into the large picture God has of our lives. So don’t despise the days of small beginnings. You will be amazed what God is using that small event in your life to prepare you for.

Will you trust God to guide you by His unseen hands to the place He has prepared for you ahead of time?

Irene O.