Have you ever been in a critical situation, and you didn’t know what you didn’t know? But you knew you had to make vital decisions immediately. Oh, the agony. Several years back I needed to make significant life decisions for someone, and I had no idea what was right. The choices would ultimately affect almost every area of life for a loved one. Life would literally be forever changed.
I prayed for wisdom and guidance. I tried Google. I tried listing pros and cons. With tears in my eyes, I then bowed my head in a hospital waiting room and silently talked to God. God, I know You know the clock is ticking. I need answers, and I truly need them now. I don’t have time to research every possibility. Guide me. Show me what to do. And give me peace with whatever You lead me to. Because once these decisions are made, there is no going back.
I bet you can relate to waking up and finding yourself in a life-altering intersection. You know things will change and maybe even know they must change, but wow, the weight of those choices is tremendous!
When you are facing a deadline and you have no idea what you should do, what is the solution? Psalm 46:10 offers wisdom: “Be still and know that I am God.”
But, I don’t have time to be still! That was my knee-jerk reaction. But then I took a moment to really consult God right there in that waiting room. And that’s when I realized I certainly didn’t have time to NOT consult Him.
That life-giving verse can literally be translated to state, “Stop fighting and know I am God.” In that situation, I was reminded to stop fighting for control, to stop believing I had to be the one to come up with an answer. I needed to surrender the entire situation to God and allow Him to work it out, time crunch and all. After several moments of struggling to relinquish it, and many more times over the next few days to have to “Give it back to Him, again”, I began to realize that when I could actually let go, that surrender was surprisingly sweet. I didn’t have to figure it out. God had promised to never leave me nor forsake me, He had promised to provide for all my needs. He certainly knew about this. (And He had heard about it many, many times from me just for good measure!)
I needed to trust Him.
It wasn’t easy with medical forms needing signatures or legal paperwork needing completion. It was gut-wrenching to see threads of the life I knew torn away, knowing that fabric was forever destroyed.
But God did provide. Every need. From medical care, new methods for family support, and even accomplishing goals previously set that I thought would be erased when the tragedy struck.
I had to learn to let go and stop fighting. Stop fighting for control. Stop fighting God. Allow Him to take the lead and work all things out for my good. I had to learn to lean on His promises and trust in His word. A process I am better at, but still refining today.
Thankfully not every transition in life is so traumatic and dramatic. But He did teach me that whatever transition I am in, He is leading. He knows exactly what I need, when I need it, and where He is leading me.
When I’ve been caught completely off-guard and need to just catch up on Where am I now? And What happens next? He is the One to turn to, to unload on, and to patiently wait by as He works it out.
I don’t know where you are today. But if you are stuck there, in that awful, everyone is waiting on my say-so, I am holding you in prayer. Feel free to reach out via email or Facebook messenger. Or, just rest, knowing you are held in prayer because God knows who needs this.
The hardest lessons produce the greatest growth in faith, but oh, it’s so hard to go through. I pray you can surrender to Him and find the strength to stop fighting. Allow Him to take the lead. And allow Him to give you peace, His peace.
Let’s go to HIm in prayer for just that.
Prayer: Dear Lord, You know. You know the situation I am facing today. Decisions need to be made. There are timelines, God. You know. You know all about the situation and the timeline and the stress felt right now. God, hold me. Guide me. Give me wisdom, help me be at peace in following Your lead. Thank You that I do not need to fight for control. Help me surrender this situation to You. Please Lord, fulfill Your promise and work it all for my good. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.