This article presents biblical principles that we can use to help us in situations that go wrong.

Introduction

There are times during anyone’s life when things go awry. ?A person may be laid off from their job, the house seems to start falling apart, the marriage relationship isn’t as one hoped, and it even seems like your prayers aren’t being answered. ?You are having a very tough time keeping your composure and remaining encouraged about the future. ?However, things seem to pile up. ?What do you do?

This article presents biblical prniciples that you can use in these types of situations. It is important to know what to do when things go bad because eventually they will. ?Whether it is finaicial, health, or whatever. Things will go bad. ?We however have the power of God available to us to help us in all situations, but we have to know what to do in order fo God’s power to come alive in our situations.

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Scripture Lesson

Let?s look at some fundamental scriptures that will launch us into our discussion. These scriptures are intended to reveal principles that we can use as we deal with the many things that go awry in our lives.

• Ephesians 4:1-3 (NKJV) — {1}I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, {2}with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, {3}endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
• Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV) — {6}Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; {7}and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
• Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV) — {5}Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; {6}In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
• Mark 11:22-24 (NKJV) — {22}So Jesus answered and said to them, ?Have faith in God. {23}For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ?Be removed and be cast into the sea,? and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. {24}Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
• Matthew 6:19-21 (NKJV) — {19}?Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; {20}but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. {21}For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

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Be Prepared Beforehand

The first thing we should do before anything happens at all is to be prepared. I don?t mean to prepare yourself for failure or prepare yourself for the worst. I mean prepare yourself to deal with any situation regardless of whether it is bad or good. Consider what the three scriptures above reveal to us.

1. Live a lifestyle indicative of a Christian. ?This will help you avoid the witch hunts that you will be tempted to perform. ?It is easy to attribute your misfortune on something bad that you have done or punishment for something you did. ?Living an upright life will help eliminate such witch hunts
2. Don?t worry about anything. ?Instead of worrying, trust God. ?This is something you have to learn to do.
3. Trust God to be led by God
4. Have faith in God for what you ask Him
5. Get your priorities correct

These all require that we first have a relationship with God. We must know God in order to really trust him and consequently not worry about things. Once we get to know God we could learn to depend on Him and trust Him. I can?t stress enough the importance of that relationship with God. Do your best to establish a good relationship with your heavenly Father. It will make all the difference in the world when you face the plethora of things that life throws your way.

Develop an attitude of anti-worry and spend that energy to deal with the situation instead of worrying about it. Learn to trust God so that you are not so affected by the disappointment. Have real faith in God in the things that you do and ask for. Know that He is with you helping you to succeed if indeed you are moving according to His will.

Develop the attitude in your life to seek God first. This is the most important thing that you can do even though our actions don?t show this. We have to realize the importance of God and His Kingdom in our lives if we are going to truly rely on God instead of ourselves.

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Don?t Wait Until It?s Here

We have a habit of waiting until something happens before we do what was necessary to possibly avoid it or place ourselves in a better situation to deal with it. We wait until the doctor tells us the bad news before we take care of our bodies or do the necessary lifestyle changes that could have possibly helped us avoid the condition or better deal with it.

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Don?t wait until things go awry before you start seeking God.

We are good for running to God when something really bad happens. The churches were packed when the United States was attacked by terrorists in New York. Now things are back to ?normal? so to speak. People are doing their own thing yet again. It was the same cycle in the Old Testament. The Israelites would be judged and then they would cry out to God. They would then fall back into sin and reject God?s way only to be judged again, which started the cycle all over again.

Develop an increasingly good relationship with the Lord now so that you would be more confident about dealing with things in the future. Learn God?s ways now so that you would be better equipped to deal with things that come your way in the future.

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Enjoy Your Life

Ecclesiastes 2:24 (NKJV) — {24}Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.

The book of Ecclesiastes taught me to strive to enjoy my life whenever I can. I try to find enjoyment in all that I do even when things go sour. Life is a journey to me and I hope to make it as pleasant a journey as I can. Things go bad and sometimes things get very tough, but I still have to strive to find fulfillment in all that I do.

I don?t believe that we should spend our time looking for a good time. We should enjoy what we have when we have it. If you have a one room apartment then enjoy it. If you have a 12 room mansion then enjoy it. The point here is to enjoy or be content with what you have. Learn to find fulfillment and joy it what you already have been blessed with. You will then be able to deal with the disappointments that much better because you already have a disposition of enjoying life.

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Seek God?s Word

You know you should pursue God as I said previously. However, how do you do that? How do we seek the Lord? Well one thing that is intimately involved with seeking the Lord is reading and studying His word. The Bible is the revelation of God to us and we should know what it says. We should become familiar with its truths and principles so that we would better govern our lives. The Bible says,

Psalm 119:148 (NKJV) — {148}My eyes are awake through the night watches, That I may meditate on Your word.

We talked last week about the importance of being watchful in prayer. Here we see being watchful and meditating on God?s word together.

Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) — {33}But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Make it a habit to pursue the Word of God. Be diligent in the study of the Bible so that you would be equipped with knowledge of God?s Kingdom and ways to better govern your own life and of course deal with the situations that come your way.

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The Importance of Faith and Trust

How dependent are you on God now? How much do you really know Him and how much do you really seek Him? It is very important that we come to know God intimately. We have to have a genuine trust in Him else we will be easily affected by things that happen.

We read earlier that we should not worry about anything. Instead we should pray and experience the affects of God?s peace. However, we can?t do this unless we know God. If we don?t know God intimately then praying would simply be a gesture that we go through with no real meaning. If we are not confident in God before hand then our efforts after the fact will be mere mental ascent.

We can better deal with things with Trust in God. We would know within our hearts that God will not fail us and that ultimately all things would work out for the good being that we love God and are indeed called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). However, this confidence only comes because of the developed trust in God.

I?m going to use faith here to refer to confidence in action. In other words, I have faith that God will be with me as I do something. I?m not standing around wishing and hoping. I am actually doing something that I think will contribute to the solution. I also believe that I?m going in the right direction according to God?s way because of the relationship I have developed beforehand and the fact that I seek Him as a matter of course.

We would be at the mercy of the situation and our minds if it were not for trust and faith. We would have no reason to hope if it were not for faith and trust. We have all of the reason in the world because of our trust in God and faith in Him.

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Move Forward

Try your best to go forward and not backward as you deal with situations in your life. Try not to be paralyzed by things that happen to you; good or bad. Let the blessings bless you and let the problems edify you. Things happen to us all of the time, both good and bad. So try to go forward in all things. Consider the following scripture.

Romans 8:28 (NKJV) — {28}And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

That is a lot to say, but we should still try to live with the notion that God is working things out for our own good.

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Get Help

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NKJV) — {9}Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. {10}For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. {11}Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? {12}Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

We are indeed our brother?s keeper. This is more accepted and practiced on the giving end. However, sometimes people have a hard time asking for help when they need it. This could be due to a number of reasons. However, we should reach out for help when we need it. We should ask for prayer, ask for advice, ask for input and opinions, etc. One could gain much if one would just ask.

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Conclusion

We should deal with things much differently than the world because we have something they don?t have. We have an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit within enables us to truly obey the Lord. We can deal with things with confidence because of our relationship with Christ. We don?t have to worry. We should instead trust and have faith in the Lord to help us in all situations. We should know the path that we are on as much as possible. We should deal with things with character and be a witness for the Kingdom of God and even God Himself. Amen.

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What to do When Things Go Wrong
By Pastor William R. Cunningham
For Sunday August 21, 2005