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

//Craig W. Hagin

Have you ever gotten into a situation where you just didn’t know what to do? Your circumstances didn’t look good and it seemed as if your world was falling apart.

The Book of Acts records a time in the lives of Paul and Silas when it seemed as though their circumstances were out of control. It happened after Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia crying out for help (Acts 16:9). He and Silas got ready at once to leave for Macedonia because they concluded that God was leading them to preach the Gospel there. However, not long after they arrived, they were thrown in jail!

Sometimes when we’re following God’s plan for our lives, things don’t turn out the way we think they should. Because of the adversity we are facing, we think we must have made a mistake and missed it. But just because things aren’t going well, that doesn’t always mean we’ve stepped outside of God’s will.

Paul and Silas were doing exactly what God wanted them to do. But that didn’t mean the devil was just going to step aside and let them follow after God.

This same thing happens with us today. We usually face stronger opposition when we’re doing what God wants us to do. If we’re outside of the will of God, why would the devil care? He probably would be happy about it. It’s when we’re being used of God and stomping on the devil’s territory that he gets mad. And that’s usually when we run into obstacles.

At the Midnight Hour

Let’s see how Paul and Silas handled their imprisonment. Their situation didn’t look good and their future didn’t look very bright or very long. They were going before the judge the next day and might be sentenced to death.

Just because things aren’t going well, that doesn’t always mean we’ve stepped outside of God’s will.

ACTS 16:25–26 (NCV)
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing songs to God as the other prisoners listened.
26 Suddenly, there was a strong earthquake that shook the foundation of the jail. Then all the doors of the jail broke open, and all the prisoners were freed from their chains.

We can see from verse 25 that Paul and Silas were praying and singing songs to God—and their voices were loud enough that the other prisoners heard them. These two men were a little different from most believers today. When we face adversity, usually the first thing out of our mouths is “Where did I miss it?” or “Why am I suffering?”

These servants of God took a different approach. Paul didn’t try to second-guess the vision he saw. Neither he nor Silas doubted that they should have gone to Macedonia. They knew that God wouldn’t lead them to that region to kill them. So they weren’t concerned or fearful about being in jail.

God Is Waiting on Us

Now, it’s interesting to note that God didn’t do anything for Paul and Silas until they prayed and sang praises to Him. God knew they were in prison for the sake of the Gospel. He knew their backs were bleeding and they were chained to a wall. But He didn’t do anything until they asked Him for help.

The truth is, God can’t do anything until we ask Him to intervene in our situation. A lot of times we don’t pray for help because we think God knows what we are facing. He does know, and He wants to help us. But He’s waiting for us to ask Him. That’s what gives Him permission to move in our lives.

If some Christians today were in the situation Paul and Silas were in, they would probably be crying. But crying is not praying, nor is it asking. Crying is feeling sorry for ourselves. It’s OK to have emotions, and at times it is OK to cry. But it’s not OK to whine or worry. That won’t get us anywhere.

Hand It Over to God

We can worry about something until the day we die, and all of our worrying won’t change anything. But instead of worrying, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God. They invoked the authority they had in Christ. And the moment they did, they transferred their situation to God. It now became His problem.

When something is God’s problem, there’s no reason to worry about it because God has it under control. When we were little kids, we used to sing a song that God has the whole world in His hands. When we grew up, instead of leaving “our world” in His hands, we thought that because we were educated, we could handle our situations. But in our own strength, we can’t do anything.

Whenever we get into a situation where it looks like our world is falling apart, let’s follow Paul and Silas’ example and put our trust in God. At the midnight hour in our lives, let’s lift our voices and pray and sing praises to God, for He is well able to turn our situations around.

Lifting our voices in prayer and praise to God is always the right move to make in our darkest hour. Because Paul and Silas did this, an earthquake shook the foundation of the jail and set all the prisoners free. The jailer took Paul and Silas into his home to wash their wounds and give them food to eat and his entire family believed on Christ. In our own lives, we can expect nothing less.