Being “Still” before the Lord does not mean doing “Nothing!”

As we closed this section of Judges 14 – we were left with a statement that in reality became a prophetic utterance of Samson’s life:

v. 20 But Samson’s wife was given to his companion who had been his friend.

Sadly, this is a good summation of Samson's life! All that he had potentially, he missed out on.

Who are some others that missed Potential?

Some that come to my mind are; Adam, Moses, Solomon, Asa, Judas, Ananias & Sapphira. All of these folks made major decisions based on an emotional channel.

Many times when we are trying to make decisions based on convictions I find many people saying that they become frustrated because they are in the “gap” waiting for a sense that it was time to make that decision but very frustrated over the situation as it is now. This is when it becomes very dangerous; our frustration can drive us to a decision that is based more on emotion than on conviction.

It is important that we find a way to patiently wait for our sense of God’s desire in a matter, (Conviction) so we do not give in with our desire to just resolve the situation immediately. (Emotion) We call this “being still” before the Lord. Sadly many think this means doing nothing, which actually will exasperate the issue. No one can ever turn his or her mind off, so if we do nothing, our mind has nothing to think on except where we are at that moment, which brings more frustration. We need to be proactive in dealing with our emotions.

I have founds several things help me dealing with my impatient emotions, while I am waiting on the Lord.

1. Pour your complaint out to the Lord

An example is Psalm 102, it helped me when I was in the midst of a huge decision and was feeling overwhelmed about the situation:

A Prayer of the Afflicted when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord.

        

Ps 102:1-7 Hear my prayer, O Lord! And let my cry for help come to You. Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress; Incline Your ear to me; In the day when I call answer me quickly. For my days have been consumed in smoke, And my bones have been scorched like a hearth. My heart has been smitten like grass and has withered away, Indeed, I forget to eat my bread. Because of the loudness of my groaning My bones cling to my flesh. I resemble a pelican of the wilderness; I have become like an owl of the waste places. I lie awake, I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop.

Have you talked with God about your feelings? Not just the problem, but how you feel about it. Just like the body gets sick when not exercised so will the mind. Much of what we call mental illness is caused by not really letting your intellect and emotions work through situations.

I have 2 more approaches to suggest, but let me stop here to deal with the outcome of feeling overwhelmed: Discouragement. Many times the war we feel going on inside can drive us to some very anger driven behavior. It reminds me of this story:

An Englishman was sitting between two grouchy old ladies on a train. They were arguing over whether the window should be shut or open. One of them had opened the window. "If you don't shut this window, I'm gonna' die of pneumonia," one whined. "If you don't let me leave this window open, I'm gonna' die of heat stroke," the other grouched. They made so much noise fussing and fuming that the conductor came over. The Englishman spoke up at last:  "I have a suggestion. Why don't we put the window down, and the one who's gonna get pneumonia will die.  Then we'll put the window up, and the one that will suffer heat stroke will die, too.  Then we'll have peace!"

That is not the kind of peace we want! How can we deal with discouragement in a way that brings not only peace but also growth?

In October 2013 I did a 6 part Devo on dealing with discouragement, if you are interested just go to my blog page http://gwmnate.blogspot.com/ and scroll down to the Library of Devos and click on ►  09/29/13 - 10/06/13 that is where they begin. Just to help now – here are the steps, which are described in greater detail in the Devos of 2013:

Steps in handling Discouragement:

[1] Establish certain things:

{A} Set the record Straight:

         

1. Deal With Guilt

2. Deal With Lies

{B} Separate yourself from sources of discouragement - NOT PROBLEMS BUT SOURCES OF PROBLEMS

1. Establish a time and place to commune with the Lord

2. Turn off people with little or no faith

3. Seek out examples: Read Christian Biographies

{C} Stand Still - Do not make decisions in that state of mind, there is no sense of reality. Remember this does not mean doing nothing. Go to the Lord through prayer and the Word until you hear Him speak to you. 

{D} Change direction of attention:

1. Look at God's reputation

2. Remember your position in Christ

{E} Change your normal reactions

1. Instead of Complaining and throwing a pity party – Give thanksgiving to God.

2. Instead of with drawling inside and becoming very private - Seek support

{F} Change your idea of success – Remember the principle of the birth of your vision, the death of your vision and the resurrection of your vision by God!

When you feel that urge to push through with a decision, yet lack a clear conviction, first go and pour out your heart to the Lord. If your feeling discouraged, do not sit and meditate on how discouraged you are, take proactive steps to deal with it and grow!