Saturday, October 28, 2006

What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do?


Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. KJ

I was asked to speak at a conference in Dallas. The program coordinator had chosen my subject matter and sent me a book to read as my resource. The book that they sent me was a book entitled, “God Will Make a Way” by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. This book was subtitled, “What To Do When You Don’t Know What to Do.” My mind was captivated by this subtitle. What do you do when you don’t know what to do?

Many Pastors and Ministers will attest to how God sometimes makes you experience the message before you can preach the message. Before I could preach this message, I was put in a place where I had to apply this message in my life. I had been trying to take my life and ministry to the next level and it seemed like I was going around in circles. I began to think that instead of conquering the land it seemed as though I wandering aimlessly in circles. I wanted to break this cycle and go to the next level in my ministry.

However, I had done all I know to do and what many ministry experts advised to do. I was burnt out and I don’t know what to do. I had done all I could! I was living on a street called Wits End Blvd when I should have been on Destiny Drive. I didn’t know what to do.

In my life, it was ministry problems. In your life it may be marriage, health, money problems, family, singleness, divorce or the death of a love one and you don’t know what to do. You have done all you could do! You have done all you know to do and what the experts advised to do. For you, there isn’t any love in marriage, health in your body or any money in your bank. There is hatred in your divorce, you are single and you do not have a relationship in sight and at the last resort, you just don’t know what to do! What do you do when you don’t know what to do? I would like to encourage you to trust in the Lord when you don’t know what to do.

Trust In the Lord

Proverbs 3:5 states to “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart.” The word translated “trust” as a means “to lie helplessly facedown.” If you are at a place in your life and you don’t know what to do you, you need to trust in the Lord. You need to lie helplessly facedown with all your heart. God is saying that you are doing too much. You are trying to hard to figure out all of life’s problems. You are working two jobs and missing church every Sunday morning and every Wednesday night. You should be working one job and coming to church on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. You should be lying helplessly facedown with all your heart for God to provide for your needs. You have tried everything else, “Why not try God?”

I can remember my worries as I brought my daughter Christal home from the hospital shortly after her birth. I worried about her, because she was very small at six pounds. I had to lay her helplessly facedown in her crib. I was worried that I would not hear her cries in the middle of the night. How wrong could I be? As my little girl who was laying helpless facedown began to cry in the middle of the night, we all jumped to attend to her needs. Her mother and grandmother as well as I vied to take care of her.

There is one thing to learn from the previous scenario. Little babies lay face down and helpless until someone comes to take care of them. This is the insight of the word. As we enter into our own helpless state where we do not know what to do, it is there that we can begin to trust in God the same way that little babies have to trust in their parent to hear their cries in the middle of the night.

You have to in your lay your life down helplessly and facedown in the circumstance while waiting on the Lord. My little girl had her father, mother and grandmother. You have God the Father, Jesus the Son and God the Holy Spirit to attend to you if you lay helplessly facedown and wait on the Lord. Do this with all of your heart. God will help you, but you have to keep waiting on Him by crying out to Him.

Stop Trying and Start Crying

Stop trying and start crying! If you don’t know what to do, just pray. Lay down your cares and burdens in crying out to God. Lie helplessly facedown and cry to God with all your heart. God will come to see about you and tell you what to do in His own time.

For those who have been trying to get right with God, you need to stop trying and start crying. Here is God’s plan for your salvation:

1. Every human is a sinner. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:23
2. God's penalty for sin is death. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23
3. In His great love, God has made provision for the salvation of sinners. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
4. Each person must put his trust in God's Son, Jesus Christ.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:9-10, 13
Once you are saved, you need to be a part of a bible teaching, bible believing and bible living church. If you live in the Abilene, Texas area, I would love to see you in our service at Holiday Hills Baptist Church. May God bless you and keep you.

Michael Eaton is Senior Pastor of Holiday Hills Baptist Church. You can write to him at meaton@holidayhillsbaptistchurch.com or visit his website at www.holidayhillsbaptistchurch.com.