When Life Seems Complicated, There’s One Thing You Must Do…

Complicated crossroad

You get to this point in your life where your path seems to split in different directions, or problems run towards you from various angles.

Right then, the loud bell ringing in your head simply spells – CONFUSION!

Anyone been there?

You have a partner! I’ve been there a number of times, and to varying degrees.

Wondering which career path to take, or which should precede the other; the burden of the ill health of a loved one, or even of oneself; painful death of a dear one; unfulfilled hopes and desires; misunderstanding by those you think should understand you better; pressure to “get married”, with different people seeking for attention and you wondering who the right person in, or maybe no one seems to show interest and you wonder if something is wrong with you, or probably the person you are interested in is rather interested in your friend; no job!; no money!; how do I resolve this issue with this friend or co-worker, and the list goes on…

A lot of things could make our life complicated, leaving us at crossroads with no true sign of the way forward.

At such times, our default response could be to – complain, cry, run off and talk to a friend, counselor or your pastor about it, or we could just decide to randomly try out different options and go with the one that looks suitable.

But you know what taking all that as an initial step will do; it will get your life more complicated.

Yes, I’ll tell you why I said that.

Imagine you are sent on a journey to a particular place, and along the way you suddenly get to a junction split into different paths, moving towards different places.

What will you do?

Complain, murmur, cry…? Total waste of time and effort!

Ask a friend? He/she is on his/her own journey and so wouldn’t be a good fit to show you the path to your “expected end”.

Go to a counselor or pastor? Yes, they could guide you if they have the right information and experience backed up with God’s power. But why ask the servant if you could have access to the omniscient Father Himself.

Randomly try out different paths? You’ll spend your lifetime walking around aimlessly, and might finally not get to your “expected end”.

God said in Jere 29:11 – “for I know the thoughts I think towards you saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Yes! God has an expected end for you, and so you can’t afford to toy around with that, or allow the perplexities of life rob it away from you.

Therefore, at such times when life seem complicated and overwhelming, when you don’t know the next step to take, I have learnt from study and personal experience that the one thing you must do is to – STAND still!

Stand, when I really need to find a way to move forward?

Yes, STAND! So you could clear your head and SEE the right step to take… “Stand ye still and see the salvation of the Lord with you…” (2 Chron 20:17).

That was exactly what God’s people were told to do when they were faced with really complicated, life threatening situations. Example – when the children of Moab, Ammon, and mount Seir arrayed themselves in battle against Judah (2 Chron 20:1-25); the people Israel standing before the red sea, with Pharaoh and his people pursuing hot after them  behind (Ex 14:8-31).

To “stand” doesn’t imply folding your arms and gazing around. It means to –

  • Sing praises to the Lord
  • Trust wholly on the Lord
  • Ask in prayer
  • Neglect not God’s instruction
  • Desist from fear

Sing praises to the Lord: When we praise God, He is magnified, and our eyes fixed more on Him and less on the problems. A way of escape from the prison was made for Paul and Silas as they sang praises to God (Acts 16:25). Sometimes, it wouldn’t come natural to praise God at such distressing moments, but when you put your feelings behind and praise God anyway, you’ll be surprised at the sudden surge of strength and direction.

Trust wholly on the Lord: “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” (Prov 3:5, 6).

Ask in prayer: God’s promise to us says “ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you (Matt 7:7). He can’t lie to His children, neither will He fail. A favorite hymn by written by Joseph M. Scriven says “oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear; all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer”. So when you get to that crossroad and look around with no way out, simply look up and say – my Father…

Neglect not God’s instruction: When we table our requests to God in prayers, sometimes He might give us answers/direct us into a path that seems ridiculous – like telling the people of Judah to sing praises unto the Lord when their enemies were fast approaching with swords (2 Chron 20: 21); walking into the middle of the red sea not knowing if the water will sweep back over you or if Pharaoh and his men will catch up on you right there (Ex 14:22, 23); walking round the high fenced wall of Jericho seven days and shouting on the seventh day expecting the wall to fall down (Joshua 6: 3-5); or like the widow woman, pouring a pot of oil into several vessels and expecting them to be filled up and sold (2 kings 4: 2-4). If you must get directives from God, “when His message comes to you, there is but one thing to do – just obey”!

Desist from fear: Fear! The number one thing that keeps you back from standing and confronting those challenges… If you must see the way forward and take that walk to your “expected end”, you must be fearless.

So dear friend, when life seems complicated, just STAND still…

Remain Radiant!

 

 

                                

 

7 thoughts on “When Life Seems Complicated, There’s One Thing You Must Do…”

  1. This is such a great reminder to trust in the Lord and seek His instruction when things get complicated! Often, it’s so easy to try to figure things out for yourself. Thanks for your words and encouragement!

  2. This is really timely… God give me the Grace to stand and fully trust him without fear…
    Thanks and God bless you.

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