What do you do when things seem to be getting worse, not better? In this video, Dr. H.B. Charles Jr. offers a threefold answer rooted in Scripture.
You are waiting on God, and things continue the way they are without any change, without any deliverance, without any rescue. And worse, not only do things not seem to be changing for the better, they seem to be getting worse. I think I would commend several things: time, trust, and thanks.
Time means that you should be a good steward of your time. And by that I mean not time management chronologically, but seasonally. I don’t think that Joseph was frustrated in Potiphar’s house and in the prison waiting for his breakthrough with Pharaoh. It just seems from the story that he was faithful where he was, and God was with him and God moved him forward according to His wise, good, and sovereign providence. It’s just not healthy to spend this season preoccupied with the next season. God knows what’s next and you need to be a good steward of where you are and trust God to take care of everything else. Or in the language of Jesus, “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these other things—we are tempted to worry about—will be added to you.”
So, there’s a time factor and then there’s also a trust factor. This is something I have been thinking about a lot recently. I think ultimately waiting on God is not a matter of time as much as it is a matter of trust. So rather than being preoccupied with checking the clock, we should be consumed with guarding our hearts to make sure we are practicing Proverbs 3:5–6: Trusting the Lord with all of our heart, not leaning on our own understanding and acknowledging Him, seeking Him, knowing Him, literally is the idea there. I want to know Him in all my ways, and He will make straight the path.
So, it’s a matter of time, it’s a matter of trust and it’s a matter of thanks. I think it is not possible to really remain anxious and thankful at the same time. They are mortal enemies and the presence of one is going to chase away the others. So, the standing orders of the Christian life are stated in 1 Thessalonians 5:16—18. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God concerning you in Christ Jesus. You’re trying to discern His will. You want to know what’s God’s plan in the midst of this is. What does He have on the other side of this? Well, we’ll get to that in God’s own timing, but we definitely know right here, right now, in this season, what God’s will is for me in Christ Jesus, that I rejoice always, that I pray without ceasing, and that I give thanks in all circumstances.