We Don’t Know What To Do

When You Come to the End of Yourself

Today we’ll talk about what to do when you come to the end of yourself and have no idea what to do next.

Life actually throws a lot of situations like that at us: times when you come to the end of your rope; situations that leave you feeling overwhelmed and wondering how you ever got there. You know you can’t go back in time and change things now, but facing the challenge, you truly don’t know what to do. You may be confronted by one or more of the following situations:

• A teen who is a holy terror and whom you can’t control.
• A marriage that is crumbling.
• Being accused of something you never did OR being exposed for something terrible you actually DID.
• Maybe you just look at your life – the mountain of debt, the job you hate, and your lack of any enjoyable hobbies or friends – and you simply feel lost.
• If you can’t relate to any of those situations, I’m sure you have your own. We all face circumstances that make us feel we are at the end of our rope. We didn’t know what to do, and life felt hopeless..

In those situations, we need to join the prayer prayed by King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah. As recorded in 2 Chronicles chapter 20 they prayed: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

Jehoshaphat Turns to God

If you have a Bible with you, I encourage you to find Second Chronicles chapter 20. (Second Chronicles is about a third of the way from the front of the Bible.) Here we are going to read a lengthy story about a time when God’s people came to a dead end, and how they responded.

A little backstory is in order. Jehoshaphat was the King of Judah after Israel split into two kingdoms, and he is described as a good king. He got rid of the idol worship in his kingdom; he sent teachers out to teach the law to the people; he established judges; and he reinstituted proper worship in the temple.

Even with all of that, there was no guarantee that his kingdom would experience perfect peace forever. (That’s a future promise WE can all look forward to even though we now live in a broken world.)

2 Chronicles 20:1-4 – 1After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat. 2Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi). 3Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed they came from every town in Judah to seek him.

This was shaping up to be a three-on-one attack! And the attackers were already getting close! Faced with this surprising news, what does Jehoshaphat immediately do? He turns to God. Not only does he pray alone, but he proclaims a fast, and all the people responded by gathering to pray.

(We don’t have time to go into this deeply, but when was the last time you fasted while praying for something significant in your life? I’m not saying this is a sure-fire way to curry favor with God to get a better outcome, but it is a pattern we see often in the Bible. People go without their daily bread while they seek the Bread-Giver.)

Obviously, calling a national fast and time of prayer is not something we ever see in our culture. Nor do most people even go straight to God when hit with bad news. When people get terrible news, where do they most often turn? Google!

If you have weird health symptoms – you self-diagnose via Google. If you find out your child or grandchild is suffering with depression – you go back to Google. If you face an unexpected lawsuit against you – again, back to Google to find an attorney.

I understand that Google is really helpful. It can help you do so much on your own. But what if you went to God First, Not Google? What if you prayed first for wisdom, for guidance, for God to intervene, AND THEN you began working through the bad news and investigating solutions?

2 Chronicles 20:5-9 – 5Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard 6and said, “Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. 7Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying 9”if calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.

Jehoshaphat begins by reminding God of who He is and what He has done for Israel: God of our ancestors; ruler over all nations; no one can withstand you; you drove out all the inhabitants. I’m sure a big part of this prayer was not only to remind God of what He had done (I think God already knew), but to remind himself and the people of Judah that their God had already proven He had the power to intervene. Sometimes we need that reminder ourselves. We need to think about the times in our lives when God has already come through for us.

Then Jehoshaphat points out how God’s own reputation is on the line. Twice he alludes to the sanctuary and the temple that bears God’s Name. Basically, he’s saying, “God, if they defeat us, that makes You look powerless too.”

2 Chronicles 20:10-12 – 10But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. 12Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

Jehoshaphat: “Hey, God, this is kind of Your fault. Remember – You didn’t let Israel invade and destroy them. And now look at what they are doing to us.”  This is not exactly a perfect model prayer for us, but SO human. It’s proof that this actually happened because no one creating a story about God would add characters who say things like that to Him!

But Jehoshaphat shows humility. “We have no power to face this vast army. We are at the end of our rope. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” To me this is the heart of this prayer. It is a very vulnerable statement. The King of Judah, in front of all his citizens, humbly admits he has no answers.

Too often, we don’t want to admit what we can’t do. We think if we just work harder, try harder, or keep Googling options, we can find our way out; but what if, instead, we were more willing to admit our inability and simply say, “I’m out of answers, so I’m focused on You to lead.”

That is NOT showing weakness. That’s showing faith and dependence on God, which is exactly what He desires from us. He isn’t seeking self-reliant followers. In fact, that phrase seems to contradict itself.

Now I want to compare this situation with another similar time when the Israelites were facing an attacking army and felt a sense of doom.

After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, as they came to the Red Sea, they got word that Pharaoh and all his chariots were quickly approaching in pursuit. But they didn’t fall on their knees to pray.

Exodus 14:11-12 – 11They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? . . . 12It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

To be fair, at this point it had been 400 years since the Israelites had seen God acting on their behalf. This whole idea of God caring for them was a very new thing. Rather than joining in prayer and trust, they complained. They lamented how terrible their situation had become. They weren’t turning their eyes toward God for answers, they were pointing their fingers toward Moses!

Here is the decision that faces every one of us when we come to the end of our rope: will you draw closer to God in trust or run further away in disappointment?

What I’ve seen is that people who are already close to God draw closer when the pressure of life increases; but those who see God as only a small part of their lives often turn away. They don’t have the experience to trust God to see them through. They might even blame God for allowing them to go through the painful experience, and that demonstrates their lack of understanding of who God is or how He works.

2 Chronicles 20:13-15 – 13All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord. 14Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahazel son of Zechariah, the son of Benniah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly. 15He said, “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.’”

Do not be afraid. This is the most common phrase God speaks to His people throughout the entire Bible. Fear not. Often, when we don’t know what to do, fear starts rising in our chests; but trusting God should drive out fear. God is bigger than any mountain you are facing.

Do not be discouraged. Beyond fear, our hope quickly collapses when we feel like we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. Discouraged people end up angry and irritable. Discouragement makes us ugly versions of ourselves. Instead, God wants us to have peace and confidence in how God can.

The battle is not yours, but God’s. “The Battle Belongs to the Lord.” This is one of the most important things you must remember through much of life. The struggles and challenges and major stresses are not for your shoulders. They are God’s.

God’s instructions:

2 Chronicles 20:16-17 – 16Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid, and do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.

Even though they are promised they won’t have to fight, they still have to take up their positions and stand firm. They have to go out to face the enemy. While God is doing the heavy lifting, the army also has a part.

Put yourself in their shoes. They still have to get up the next morning, get dressed, prepare for battle, take their positions, and trust that the prophet who spoke the message to them was actually speaking the true words of God.

What God doesn’t do (and rarely does) is take care of it all for them without their having any skin in the game. Often, you have to get uncomfortably in the middle of the storm before, suddenly, things are cleared up.

2 Chronicles 20:18-19 – 18Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. 19Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

Respond with Worship.– Upon hearing this message through the prophet, Jehoshaphat and all the people responded in the only appropriate way: through worship. They didn’t doubt. They didn’t cheer for their own good fortune. They gave God the credit He deserved.

The Rest of the Story – The people of Judah sang praise and worship to God as they took their positions, and God caused the opposing kings to fight with one another until every soldier died. And so King Jehoshaphat’s soldiers walked in and picked up all the spoils from a battle God fought for them. Even before the battle began, they had worshiped as though they had the victory. It was better than they ever could have imagined!

How Things are Different for Us Today

As we apply this story to our lives today, there is one massive difference between those soldiers and us. They lifted their eyes toward God; but we lift our eyes to Jesus Christ, the One who died for us on the cross.

I think many Americans, when in trouble, muster some type of a prayer to “god” whether they know Him or even have much belief that He exists. Most people, though, when they realize that life is completely out of their control, turn to whatever their version of God looks like.

Here’s what we see in this passage. Jehoshaphat and his followers knew exactly which God they were praying to. They knew Him, had relationship with Him, and had put their trust in Him. That’s why He responded.

If you are at the end of your rope today but have never put your hope in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and your own eternal life, then that’s the first and most important prayer Jesus wants to answer. More than freedom from life’s troubles, you need freedom from sin and death. That’s where it all begins.

As we go through this series on prayer, I want to be clear that these are not special prayers anyone can speak and sometimes gain God’s blessing or an answer to prayer. No, God’s greatest desire is that we come to Him and submit to Jesus as Lord. Then, as we join His family, we gain the right to ask our Heavenly Father for what we need.

Conclusion

Recap: what we learn about what to do when we don’t know what to do:

• God first, not Google.
• Turn your eyes toward God, not your back.
• Stand firm because the battle belongs to the Lord.
• When God responds, give Him praise.

I know this message is nothing new for many of you. You’ve been turning to Jesus for all your needs for many years. However, I also know many of you have still not gained the confidence to turn to God first in everything. You need to hear this: Go to God first. Trust Him. Give Him your baggage. Let Him carry your load. You’re fighting a battle that’s not yours. Give it to God, and pray.