What Can I Do?

By Marilyn Travis

I like it when problems are easy to solve. Recently the battery in our car wore out. Solution? Easy. Have Mitch buy and install a new battery. Done. My dresser drawer quit closing. Solution? Easy. Have Mitch diagnose the problem, buy a new drawer guide at True Value, and fix the drawer. Done. My clothes fit too tight after the holidays. Solution? Not easy, but obvious – go on a diet and exercise more! Not done, but in progress! I make light of these minor irritations in life, and it's obvious I’d be in trouble without Mitch, but wouldn’t it be nice if all of life’s problems had obvious, simple solutions?

The solutions to the problems many of us are facing are not simple or obvious. Some of these difficult problems are personal or lie close to home, others are more global. Some problems are so large it makes me feel any effort on my part to offer a solution would be insignificant – and I would be right. It’s a good thing I don’t have to solve anything on my own! God is with me always, and He can accomplish anything! If I rely on the Lord, I am no longer helpless or inadequate.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Proverbs 5:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

I found a quote in one of my devotional journals that made an impact on me.

"The surest method of arriving at a knowledge of God’s eternal purposes about us is to be found in the right use of the present moment. God’s will does not come to us in the whole, but in fragments, and generally in small fragments. It is our business to piece it together, and to live it into one orderly vocation."

– F.W. Faber

In my notes following this quote in my journal I wrote, “I never thought of God’s will in this way, though in Sunday School (April, 2019) we spent an entire study learning to ‘do the next right thing’ which is very close to this idea.”

The quote I referred to was from a conversation Dallas Willard had with John Ortberg. Dallas said,

 "Do the next right thing you know you ought to do. Nothing will drive you into the Kingdom of God like trying to do the next thing that is right…because you WILL need God’s help, and you will get it, because that’s where God is."

One of the entries in the Devotional book 100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know refers to Matthew 7:7-8.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Ask Him For the Things You Need

How often do you ask God for His help and His wisdom? Occasionally? Intermittently? Whenever you experience a crisis? Hopefully not. Hopefully, you’ve acquired the habit of asking for God’s assistance early and often. And hopefully, you have learned to seek His guidance in every aspect of your life.

In Matthew 7, God promises that He will guide you if you let Him. Your job is to let Him. But sometimes, you will be tempted to go along with the crowd; other times, you’ll be tempted to do things your way, not God’s way. When you feel those temptations, resist them.

God has promised that when you ask for His help, he will not withhold it. So ask. Ask Him to meet the needs of your day. Ask Him to lead you, to protect you, and to correct you. Trust the answers He gives.

God stands at the door and waits. When you knock, He opens. When you ask, He answers. Your task, of course, is to seek His guidance prayerfully, confidently, and often.

 – Author Unknown

And then -- Do the next right thing!