When We Feel Helpless - Part 1

Welcome to the intense podcast attire for Monday, February 7 thinking and overwhelming problem that seems too big to handle the hand that held that Team to hot the guy going can be your hope to some time ago I found myself facing a situation that caused me to feel very helpless.

I didn't know what to do. I didn't know which way to turn. I knew I didn't have a solution whatsoever that helplessness means that you have passed the point of personal manipulation. There's not anything you can do. Helplessness means that you are now at the mercy of God. Well, I think I've been there enough times in my life to have learned exactly what to do and that is to open God's word and define the past of Scripture with those principles will help me through that particular situation. So what I like to do in this passage today. I will talk about this simple thing when we feel helpless and I want you to turn to a passage in which you will find the principles of how you not to respond when we have that helpless feeling when we don't know what to do next. We don't know which way to turn. It seems that we don't have a solution. We don't know where to go when you turn if you will to second Chronicles chapter 20 and this passage of Scripture is Jehoshaphat's response to what he says is a very helpless a very powerless situation which he did not know what to do next. Almost to read these first four verses together gives a little background. Now it came about after this that the sons of Moab, and the sounds of a month, together with some of the new Knights came to make war against the harsh event then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat say a great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea out of a around and behold they are in has Asante mar that is in getting Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast read all Judah. So Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord.

They even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord now somebody says 10 wait a minute does not. The Bible say they're not there or not they are not did not. David say that throughout the Psalms and did not Jesus say that that's true, does that mean that that no Christian is ever expected to be afraid under the condition that is not what it me. God knows that there will be circumstances. Sometimes instantaneous unforeseeable circumstances and unforeseeable things that you and I will not be able to foresee and predict it will happen in our lives and so therefore it may be that at the moment we first hear them. We are gripped with fear because our first sudden response is I don't know what to do. I don't know which way to turn any time we feel helpless. What we have done is we are experiencing what it means to feel out of control the feeling of being out of control is always a fearful position to be, but those of us who trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior and we know the Almighty God of the universe.

Personally, as a result of our relationship to Jesus. We know what to do when gripped with fear and that that there should only last a few moments, and of what I want you to see in this first, the principle here is simply this, the Jehoshaphat was fearful for those moments but he made the wisest decision he could never have made, and this is the first thing that you and I should do one ever. We feel helpless and that is to turn our eyes to seek the Lord. The first principle above all the rest turn our eyes to seek the Lord because the first word that should come out of our mouth. When we feel helpless is father because what that does is this it is a sudden recognition of Almighty God is a sudden recognition that we have help is a sudden recognition that we have someone to turn to. It is an instantaneous igniter of my faith when I know that I can turn to him looked at him and respond to him. I know in my heart I have someone that I can turn to that I may feel helpless at the moment, but I am not hopeless, as long as there is a God. And this is exactly what he did.

The Scripture says he was afraid he turned his attention to seek the Lord and he proclaimed a fast read all Judah that one thing wires here with this very evident that he was a wise man is this, he did not only turn to God himself.

He sent out the word and he was asking all of the people of Judah to fast imprints of the Scripture says Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord.

They even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord, let me ask you this the you have someone, anyone, in whom you have confidence in a friend in your life, to whom you can go when you have those helpless feelings when you don't know what to do next. You don't know what a turn and you know they listen, you have passed the point of personal manipulation. You can't make it work. Is there somebody you can pray with somebody you can call upon his what I'm feeling is what's happening in my life. I don't know what to do.

I don't know what a turn I feel absolutely helpless. There's something about knowing that somebody is calling your name before God and here was your hardship at the key who was saying all Lord and we go to see just a few moments he said, we are powerless we don't know what to do. He said I don't know what to do and so what did he do. He did the smartest wisest thing he could do the gathered people around him who would pray for him and pray for the nation and who would prayed that God would give him wisdom to know what to do and how to go about. There is something about in a moment of fear simply crying out to God all father because what you have done. You have tapped this you have tapped the eternal omnipotence of the living God who made us the promise when he said he said he will enable he will help, he will become involved in the life of the person who waits upon him, that is, instead of running to someone else. First first of all, father, it ignites faith.

It stirs something with the nose and it gives us instantaneous old. We have hope in our God will see us through this. So when you hit those times that you know what to do. What a turn next and there is no way to turn. It seems the first thing we do is we turn our hearts towards seeking the Lord in prayer asking for his direction and if you are one of those blessed people who has one or more folks want more people to whom you can go and say to them or call them. This is what I'm facing. Would you please pray for me.

Ask God to show me what to do how to do it and where how to go about it. God will hear your plea to him. The second thing I want you notice in this passage is this, that the second thing Jehoshaphat did is one the wisest things you and I can do and that is the recall God's past deliverances in our life that is because all of us who are believers, we have a heritage we trust of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Over the years we watch God work in our life and those of us who keep a diary.

We have recorded what he is done and I say to you over and over and over again. You want to keep a diary you ought to write it down and many of you have started keeping dollars you begun to write it down and what happens is when you don't you will forget Satan will see to that. You forget it because, listen, you may recall, in distant times past, how God's work to some degree and all you remember is a minuscule part of it. When you take the time to write it down. His what you do, you'll express your feelings at that moment, you'll express how you feel when you express your fears. You express your hope you express your faith you put down and and and and what it's pencil or pen on paper, you will describe your feelings that nobody else can describe for you and if you don't you will forget it about a people say why this don't have time to do that.

You mean to tell me you don't have time to write down what God is done in your life you don't have time to record the blessings of God and the truth is, here's what that'll do.

It'll make you become more's more sensitive to God's actions in your life daily little things that he does not just the big things. I just answered prayer, but you will begin to see and begin to observe things that you never saw before. When you and I begin to record and decide we can record the events in our life is what happens those things that get washed out in the general view of your daily life, all of a sudden you see this from a different perspective and then you see that's the hand of God liquid God didn't care. He answered it. Look how God spoke, and he provided this in my life and what happens is your life takes on a whole different spiritual level because you beginning to see things you have never seen before of the hand and presence in purpose and plan and work of God in your life. What is the third principle here, look at this if you will. The third thing I want you notices this that he had affirmed his faith in the living God is not enough to pray and say Lord, his money and his my situation is my circumstance. There's something about affirming that they that is confessing that they we can confess and affirm got his my circumstance is my situation, his eye helpless and hopeless I feel about all of which way to turn and we can go old and old and all in our prayers about how bad things are how hopeless it looks like to us and how helpless we feel in God. Why don't you do this, we can go old and alone. There's something about affirming our faith and I want you notice your how he does this look if you are in verse nine he said Mr. like diversity, he said, speaking of the nation the past. They lived in it. They built you a sanctuary. Therefore, your name, saying, this is what they pray should evil come upon us, the sword or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you for your name is in this house and we will cry to you in our distress and you will hear and deliver us think about this for a moment.

What is fear, but an emotion and emotion. The console grip was that it can absolutely paralyze us from acting. Fear is destructive.

Fear causes all kinds of problems in our life so we can either be afraid and fear is simply emotion and emotion you say. Well I just can't overcome it. Yes, you can if you're a bull unbeliever you know Christ as your Savior, your God is your father.

You're right may be times when you can. But every single believer has within him and her.

The power to overcome fear we have the power to move from fear to faith. We can step up out of the slime pits of fear onto the listen God the level of faith.

How do we do that it's an active mind. It's a choice we make.

It is a decision that we make.

So when somebody says nondescript with it. I don't know what to do understand you don't have to stay in that position.

We've all been there for either a few seconds or a few moments, or maybe a few days or few weeks and some people a lot longer than that, living in fear living under this also horrible cloud of fear what's going to happen next. I don't know what to do next envelope. I don't know what kind of decision to make. You don't have to stay there. It is a decision you make. What is a decision we make is this is remake we will stand before the living God. We will cry out to the living God in our God will deliver us, he will give us a sense of direction. He will show us what to do.

We may feel helpless but we are not hopeless. No child of God has ever been hopeless when it comes to the reality of things.

You may feel fearful, you may feel absolutely helpless to change your circumstances.

But if God is your God, you have no reason to be hopeless no reason to be hopeless whatsoever. And so that he said he said they stood before the house of the Lord.

He said they cried out to God, and they cried out and they said you will deliver us, that is an affirmation of faith, I'm trusting my God. Now the problem is this open times when we start praying, the more we pray.

The longer we pray we build up this awesome case against SL God I feel so helpless. I feel so hopeless I don't know what to do.

Nobody cares, things are bad all that is negative affirmations. Whatever happened to the sovereign omnipotent God who loves you unconditionally don't even say those kind of things they don't fit who you are you a child of an omnipotent God, what did he pray he said, oh Lord, the God of our fathers, are you not the God of the heavens, are you not the ruler over all the kingdoms of the nation's power and might, are in your hands so that no one can stand against you listen no obstacle, no obstruction, no intimate, no matter what, can overpower the child of the living God, walking in faith is that mean that you not be persecuted know is that mean that some people not lose their lives because their faith know. It simply means that is that even in death, they still conquer. If that is the will of God in times of persecution. You still conquer because absent from the body present with the Lord well on which notice of the principle here and that is it's not enough to cry out to God, but we must be willing to confess our helpless feeling. If we don't confess it, it's because we going to figure out somehow to manipulate a circumstance their situations and circumstances in which people get in that they are helpless but they won't be denied. Well I'll figure it out somehow.

I'll manage somehow.

Sometimes when you start talking those people about the Lord they get so turned off because the reason it turned off is because their pride, no one wants to admit I don't know what to do next. Absolutely helpless as to what to do except a committed child of God, who is learner had at least learning the ways of God. There's nothing wrong with saying I don't know what to do next. There's nothing wrong with saying at this moment and the situation were like Arkansas help is nothing wrong with that. It's what you do. Following that, and so if you did not your feeling of helplessness, you didn't die that you and desperately what you will do, you will try to manipulate and work at your circumstances. The suit you, and more than likely go to the wrong thing you say listen, this is nothing wrong with feeling helpless. In fact, I guarantee you at some point of point so many times in your life. God is going to arrange to bring you to the place of helplessness and think that's how a lot of people get say when they have exhausted everything they know how to do to manage their life and it ends up in absolute total disaster. How many people have said God just brought me to the end of myself. Which means listen. He shut me up to my own failures and he's the only one I had to turn to and I trust him as my Savior and God is transform a life so feeling helpless is not all that bad. If we respond in the right fashion. Sometimes people deny the fact that they feeling helpless and and so I think that's a matter of pride while Hamlet I'll make out this. Don't worry about it and I have said to a few people. Not many people life was was known to be praying for you what's okay thank you very much. But I'm sure all work out. I'm not sure it all work out this some things listen to me friend doesn't think you are not going to be able work out this some circumstances and situations you can handle.

So what you do, you go get a drink or you take some drug are you do something else. The words you know if your mind for a while but doesn't go away, you will never be able to live in contentment and joy and peace and happiness in the grace of God until you learn to be able to say God I need you. I desperately need you father I don't know what to do. I don't know what a turn I need you now that the cry was a meeting cry to God is simply means this is a spontaneous response to an urgent need that I owe father 05, a spontaneous listen I don't have the preplanning. It's just a spontaneous response to an urgent need got his what's happening and I received a call from someone in the distant state and when they finished telling me what they were facing in the uncertainty of it. I get on my knees before God and I wept and wept and wept and wept and the reason I did was because I couldn't fix them. I couldn't change the situation.

I couldn't help them but I could cry out to God and called their name and plead for God to do something in their behalf so that physically they would be well.

We cry out to God because is a sense of urgency, a spontaneous sense of urgency. If you came to me and said to tell you what's on facing in life spontaneously.

I would want to cry out to God in your behalf because the things I know I keep fix in somebody else's life, and I keep changing their life is much as I would like to but I can try to God and ask God to do it and so this whole idea of crying out to him and admitting the fact that the situation is hopeless and helpless and and what we are doing is his real recognition when you say God I feel helpless. What you saying is, in my circumstance, God, you must do it if you don't do it. God is not going to get done and there's nothing wrong with saying God you must do it. What I'm saying is God I have exhausted all possibilities. I'm absolutely helpless God, you must do it. Does God love to hear that he loves you know I love to hear that because what that means is finally a got you where you want to watch you can do a thing about you circumstance. We don't like it. It's painful we like to change and sometimes he's not going let us change he is going to squeeze us to the point that there is absolutely nothing Latin America possibility of manipulating and changing and then we have to lift our hearts in you Mildred for him and say, dear God, please change my circumstance.

Thank you for listening to me feel helpless. If you like to know more about Charles Stanley or intense ministries in that L-arginine is back after the presentation of intense ministry in Atlanta, Georgia