When We Feel Helpless - Part 2

Welcome to the index podcast with Charles Stanley for Tuesday, February 8 you ever faced a difficult situation that left you with few or no options today, you'll discover an ancient example, pointing to a timeless response to trouble you turn if you will. Second chapter 20 I'll give you a little bit of background while you turning there.

We just read the first couple verses of this chapter, but will take the whole job of is most what is happened is Joshua, who's the king of the nation of Israel is a good king but the Bible says about him in the 19th chapter that he said his heart to seek the Lord God, the Bible says that the Lord had used him to bring the people back to the Lord, the God of their fathers, and so he's a good king and suddenly he gets this message and the message is that there are three arm is three nations three tribes that have come together and their goal. Their purpose is to attack him and his people and to destroy them in the take what belongs to them and this passage of Scripture is your harsh effects.

Response to what he says is a very helpless and very powerless situation which he did not know what to do next. So was to read these first four verses together gives a little background. Now it came about after this that the sons of Moab, and the sons of a bond together with some of the new knives came to make war against your harsh event then some came and reported that your harsh event 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 threat 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 anytime we feel helpless. What we have done is we are experiencing what it means they 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 personal 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 verse the principle here is simply this, that Yehoshua fat was fearful for those moments that 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 and 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. 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 said to you over and over and over again your keeper Darren you are to write it down. 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. So number one. What do we do when we hit one of these helpless situations. We don't know what to do next, we turn our eyes to seek the Lord in prayer and secondly, we begin to recall Lord when I was in a circumstance equal to this like this in the past, got his what you did your faithful got a loving God, a true God. You don't give up you said I will be with you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

You said I'll never forsake you, God, here's where I am. I need your help. When you and I can refer back to recall his hand in the past, something begins to happen that Al helpless situation does not leave us hopeless. 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 Monday in his my situation is not circumstance. There's something about affirming that they when you not crying out to God, will recognizing who he is. That is, is your harsh event said he's the God he is the sovereign of this universe. He's Rutland listen rule over all kingdoms, but he's the ruler over every single person he allows people to reckon with their lives when they choose to. He reaches down to redeem the most wicked and violent sinful human being when they're willing to respond to his love best account of God is and what happens as we come to the place of saying to God I'm hopeless, helpless. I don't know what to do.

Which way to turn system wisest thing you can do is to tell them God.

I don't know which way to turn your acknowledging that he is the one person who can help you. Your acknowledging that you can do anything for yourself.

Your acknowledging that he is the God. He says he is. That's why you coming. Well, the principle of a check on that's this and that is that God will encourage us in the times of our helplessness list of this passage want you to notice of where Jehoshaphat is in this passage we get this verse 12 oh God, will you not judge them, but we are powerless before this great multitude who, coming against is no do we know what to do, but our eyes are on you and most of the time when you're praying and talking and you put a but at the end of something as bad news when people say I love you but I know God answers prayer. But I know he works on people's lives.

But I know he can change circumstances but usually that means but you can't do it for me. You won't good for me and but usually is a is the prelude to an expression of my doubt, but all God, what about my situation but look at this, but he says oh God, would you not judge them, but we are powerless before this great multitude who, coming against is no way do we know what to do but our eyes are upon you when you and I get in those circumstances or situations.

Whatever may be the cause. That's the time when we need to open our eyes to look for the evidence of the presence of God in this circumstance in our life. Secondly, this we need to open our ears to listen to what God may be trying to say there was God is always speaking in difficult circumstances.

He wants us to keep your eyes open to see what he wants us to see. Is he working out something here. He wants us to keep our ears alert to the voice of God. Sometimes, his voice may come through someone else, or it may come through his word, or it may come through a change of circumstance. We think certain this is the work of God in my life so that whenever we face when those situations that's the time to be very sensitive no way listening to, and who will listing to very sensitive to what we see going on around us, because God is and encourage about heartless know what he says and my favorite word of encouragement is in Isaiah 41 when he says do not fear and review do not anxiously look about you, am your God.

I will help you. I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Although certain since the about you pieces will be as nothing. He's a God of righteousness and holiness, but is a God of compassion and love and oneness and empathy with us, and he desires to take her hand and walk us through those values of helplessness so that he can walk us through it in with his unconditional love so that we come out of the other side. We praise him and adore him and worship him and realized we were at the end of our rope and only at the end of the rope but the rope was was was unwinding and it was about the snap at any moment and God rescued us. That's the kind of God hears you. The problem is that's not the kind of God. The world sees.

Secondly, that's not the kind of God that most Christians know they kind of got most Christians know is what you got yourself in that message you get out. That's the kind of God. Most people know he's a God of loving compassion. It doesn't make any difference what caused you to feel helpless as a believer. He's there to enable you strengthen you encouragingly want you to focus on him. This Almighty is sovereign God of the universe who loves you individually and personally, and surely listen to this. He was encourage. This battle is not yours but God's. You don't have to fight this battle is his own to do three things station yourself stand and see the salvation of the Lord well when we get in those circumstances. This list carefully. Most of the time 99.9% if not 100% of the time God is going to require us to act in some fashion is not a managers crying out to God, but he's going to command us to obey him in some act is think about what these people were.

First of all, they felt absolutely helpless. But now they become encouraged and as a result of their encouragement and trusting God as something happens you because I want you notice how encouraged Jehoshaphat became, because in verse 12 pieces were powerless before this great multitudes coming up on.

But verse 20 says they arose early in the morning, went to the wilderness of Tacoma when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, listen to me old Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your faith in the Lord your God and you will be established in this land. Put your trust in his profits and succeed.

Something happened to his faith God encouraged him in the most in the most trying this stressful time of his life and what is he saying to them, he saying put your faith in God.

Trust him.

He will establishes in this land and he says listen give thanks to the Lord for his lovingkindness is everlasting. If I want you to see God used this profit to encourage listen.

Not all the nation. But the king and now we see the king coming out and say trust the living God before he was single guy with the Lord trust the living God that he required of them. Something that would appear absolutely ridiculous and listen.

A sure a sure plan of total defeat. He said his what we gonna do gun smoke and turn the light. He said we don't get all of her arm, and together we hardly heard the message we won't have to fight to get the Army together, but we gonna put the choir and orchestra in front.

They all got together and they went out verse 21 when it consulted with the people he appointed those who saying to the Lord, and those who praised him the holy attire as they went before the Army and said give thanks to the Lord for his lovingkindness is everlasting and here they are going to battle, and what I don't latest praising God, giving thanks for the giving thanks for what they believe God is going to do in their life, not what reason tells them not what history is told them not not what rationale details them, but we can trust God. We've heard the message of God from the prophet of God who says this is not our battle.

We can stand. Listen we can take our stand and we can watch God do his awesome work in our life and to me personally I don't like difficult and hardship and pain anymore than anybody else. I don't like to be in those hopeless or helpless situations and what anyone else but I will have to convince this. I love to watch God do his work when I know that there's not one thing, under God's Heaven I can do about there is the most thrilling joy with the pay is like this is Joe and pain come together and the pain of how you hurt, but the joy of watching God work in your life and change the circumstances right in front of your eyes. There is something gloriously exciting about being helpless and standing and listen taking your position of faith and watching God work in your life.

Well, one was Prince of blood mention that's it for this that we can expect God to miraculously intervene in our circumstances, we can expect we can anticipate that MS exec Prince going on here. They anticipated what God was going to do a list of what happens verse 22.

They began singing and praising the Lord praising the Lord set ambushes against the sons name on Moab amounts ear would come against Judah. So they rerouted is what God that he so confuse them. Look what he did to the sons of Reimann and Moab rose up against the inhabitants amounts ear that that was part of the Army destroying them completely. And when they had finished within have associate.

They help to destroy one of the eternal nature probably got some argue about who's going to have what we destroy all these people in this or whatever's. When they came to look out at their own the wilderness. They look to the multitude.

Behold, they were corpses lying on the ground and no one had escaped hallelujah amen what is God doing he just being himself.

That's a big deal to us. But God's outages being himself.

You know what he is doing acting in behalf of those who waited for him.

What's this waited for him his seat.

Josh Yvette didn't call his sold his generals to the war room he called the whole nation to the parent and what happened. They waited to respond until they got a message from God.

What did God do Isaiah 64 for he acted in behalf of those who waited for him and will refund refund now verse 25 Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil.

They found much among them things which they took for themselves and more. Listen more than they could carry. They were three days taken the spoil because there was so much of it. What a God do watch this. Remember this they listens. Amen. This when you and I wait upon the Lord, and we do it his way and we respond to helpless, hopeless situation in the way that honors and pleases him. He always gets involved for those who wait for he is willing to do whatever is necessary. When you and I willing to wait to we get a clear message from God and when we get his message he's going to make it just right. That is one big key to this whole thing. I want you look at this passage, they move on back across to Jerusalem carrying all these goods and they can even do it one day. They praise the Lord and and so forth. What you notice something, something about your hardship that because here is the ultimate key Jehoshaphat he verse 32 he walked in the way of his father, Asa, and did not depart from it doing right beside God. You will these principles.

The work in your life they'll work in your life not sometimes but every single time that you not come to him and when those circumstances when we are walking right with him and God is simply saying to you, whatever the circumstance in your life would you feel helpless.

Here's the guidebook here. The principles this is life's compass unfailing, unchanging, unalterable, eternal compass of truth and God will walk you through what you're facing, and you will walk through it and what you realizes this, that for the child of God. The best is always what God gives his obedient children and father how grateful we are that you can take a simple incident has in the life of Jehoshaphat thousands of years later, we can apply these simple principles in our lives and they work every single time I pray the Holy Spirit will sink this message drive it home, drive it deep, ignite faith, change attitudes, transform lives, save people turn their hearts to the one true God to you Jehovah Yahweh Elohim at Anaya, the one true God, and to your son, the Lord Jesus Christ, whose shed blood at Calvary has paid man's sin debt in full and makes it possible for the Lord's worst, most evil being on the face of this earth to experience forgiveness. Experience your love experience your redemption, your reconciliation, your justification, your sanctification, your awesome forgiveness for every sin and to experience a wonderful intimate relationship with you. This is my prayer in Jesus name, amen. Thank you for listening to part 211, when we feel helpless. If you'd like to know more about child family are in touch ministries that enhance that L-arginine is podcast the presentation of intense ministry in Atlanta, Georgia