What To Do When You Don't Know What To Do

There are those times when life not only throws a curve ball but the pitches come two or three balls at a time.  I'm going through one of those times where I really don't know what to do because I barely know what just happened.  So...what do you do?

Here's what I have been living on for the past few days:

1.  This (fill in the blank) has not taken God by surprise.  He knew these circumstances were coming and He has allowed them to come into my life.  Somehow in the mysterious purposes of God for the world and for me, He has allowed me to be in the situation I am presently confused about.

2.  The first thing to do is to get into God's presence.  I have put on some meditative music, read some Psalms and then just sat quietly sharing with God how good I know He is, how much I love Him and then sitting quietly knowing it's OK if neither one of us says anything right now.  Basically I'm operating on the principle that if God is quiet, He wants me to get closer.

3.  Keep things to yourself while at the same time reaching out to a few trusted friends.  When you're in the whirlwind of confusion it is easy to make one of two mistakes.  One is to grab everyone you can and send out an S.O.S. signal.  It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking if everyone knows and prays that somehow things will turn out better for us.  The other mistake is to isolate yourself and keep it all inside.  You need to share with a few trusted people to get not only their prayer support but also to give you outside perspective.

4.  Ask God to show you why you are responding like you are to the situation.  Are you scared?  Are you angry?  Does this feel familiar?  When the pressure goes up the toothpaste comes out of the tube.  So what is coming up inside you?  Let God deal with it.

5.  Come to the place where you ask God for His decision over these circumstances and make the decision you are not going against His decision.  I am learning there are some times in life when God does not reveal very much.  But I do have the confidence that whatever will bring God the most glory will also ultimately be for my very best.  That's the time for the prayer of surrender:  "God, I don't know why I'm going through this.  I don't know what You are doing.  But whatever it is I want You to know that I am not deciding against Your decision.  And when or if You think I need to know any more I trust You to tell me.  In the meantime, I am agreeing with Your purposes...whatever they are."

Let me know if any of this resonates with you.