When you don't know what to do, do what you know to do."

When I was in the high school department at my church (like it was so long ago…) my youth pastor, whom I can say I love because he is family, would often bring up a certain phrase that has stuck with me and which I know will stick with me for the rest of my life. “When you don’t know what to do, do what you know to do.” It may seem a tad bit confusing at first, but ill attempt to expound on it for you. This past weekend, God allowed a brick to be thrown into my path that I was in no way anticipating. (That’s a lesson in itself: We must ALWAYS be prepared for adversity.) My emotions were of no help whatsoever, and I fell flat on my face. I was in a dark place; my thoughts were not pleasing to the Lord, my heart was allowing its deceitfulness to shine through, and for some reason, I allowed Satan to steal my joy. This earthly circumstance had robbed me of the joy I had been experiencing in the Lord. (This sounds even more pitiful to me as I recall it.) How sad; Such love the Lord has shown me, amazing peace He has given me, what joy he has threshed upon me, and I allowed my nature to completely rob it all from me. Thankfully, every sidekick has a super-hero, and mine showed up after she had taken way too long of a shower. After I had cried it out, talked it over, and was in a stable place of emotional stress, (like there is such a place…) the Lord simply whispered to me, “Emily, trust Me.” Well, when you’re a control freak and your circumstances are out of control, you don’t like to hear the whole ‘relinquish’ control thing. Anyway, I’m getting carried away from my point here; the next day God brought the phrase back into my head, “When you don’t know what to do, do what you know to do.” I am in no way control of my life. I can try as hard as I can to control it, but if I do, peace and joy will certainly not find their way to me. (Or should I say I am hindering them from being thrown upon me.) Sometimes in life, God will not give us the complete story, the entire road map, or the next 5 steps. A lot of times, He will tell us to move right when we need to move. No advance notice, no 10 foot billboard, no sign. The Bible says in Psalms that the generation that asks for a sign is foolish. He expects is to step out on faith. So, how do you know what to do…when you don’t know what to do? Simple: God’s word. Seek His face. Draw near to Him. Pray without ceasing. No matter where you are, God will meet you, you just have to call on Him and listen to His voice. Be obedient. It’s hard, but there is no joy outside of Christ. There is hope in none other. He is WORTHY of all the praise from ever single person in the world; He’s God. Run to Him. Trust Him, because He really does know what He’s doing and He really does have a plan. He wants to exceed your expectations, but you’ve got to learn to trust Him first. While you’re waiting for the answer, trust Him. He’s going to come through.