3 brilliant things to do when you're in deep trouble

Have you ever thought, “If I could just get rid of this problem, life would be great?” Or maybe, “If I could just win the lottery.” Back in my grandparents’ day, people would say, “If only Ed McMahon would bring me that check.”

What I’ve found is that trouble is inescapable. You might be the best person in the world, making all the right choices and trouble can still come. The question is, are we supposed to hope and pray for a miraculous delivery from trouble, or is there another way God wants us to face the hard times?

One day in my teens, I nosed my car out of a side street just as a huge car came out of nowhere. It T-boned me. I just remember the size of that car’s bumper. It was huge. My car was wrecked. I’d never had trouble like that before, so I went to my dad. I had a great dad, and he knew exactly what to do. He couldn’t make the wreck go away, but he did walk me through it.

Our Heavenly Father operates in just that same way. We may say, “God, get me out of this.” We might pray for God to change a diagnosis or solve a financial dilemma, and many of us have prayed those prayers. There is nothing wrong with praying for deliverance from trouble or even praying for a miracle. We have to accept, however, that sometimes, when we pray to get out of trouble, God instead walks us through the trouble. There’s a reason for that.

Jesus loves to be deeply present in our lives. When we invite God into our trouble, it can turn out even better than experiencing a miracle. When we ask Jesus to walk us through the darkness, we can enter a process that forever changes our perspective. As we struggle, the Savior can become so real to us, so close to us that we even find we have joy in the midst of the hard times.

God’s presence transforms us in stormy seasons. God gives us strength when we feel weak. God gives us the endurance to outlast what should have stopped us.

If we only ask God to solve our problems instantly, we can become disappointed, frustrated, bitter, and angry when He doesn’t. As the days drag on, we can be worried, anxious, and fall into depression and despair. Then we emote that on everyone around us. This is the opposite of what the Prince of Peace intends for our lives.

Sometimes trouble comes as a refining fire to bring out our impurities. In the midst of our brokenness, we see more clearly the beauty of God. We trust Him more. When we’re caught up in God’s presence, instead of praying for instant results, we start praying, “God, don’t just change the circumstance — change me.”

In the biblical account of Nehemiah, we can see this was a man in deep trouble. He was trying to rebuild the city walls of Jerusalem at a time when the city was occupied by naysayers and surrounded by enemies. He showed tremendous wisdom and restraint by not inviting everyone into his trouble.

In the same way, when we’re in trouble, we don’t need a ton of negative people complaining along with us. We need to invite God into our trouble. Nehemiah is a classic example of how not to waste a season of struggle. Nehemiah let God see him through, and it changed everything.

Nehemiah did three brilliant things. First, he did a “discovery” phase. Our normal, human reaction is to resist trouble and pull back from it. Even our bodies can start to shut down. Nehemiah had already cried and prayed, but he refused to run away from the trouble. Instead, he ran into it to discover what was really going on.

The second thing Nehemiah did was a “development” phase. He depended on God to develop a plan of action. When our trouble is in our finances, we generally don’t get there overnight, so we’re probably not going to get out of it overnight. Problems in our marriage don’t get there overnight. Problems in our business most often don’t get there overnight. What we need is a financial plan, a relational plan, or a business plan for these troubles.

Nehemiah developed a plan, then moved into a “deployment” phase. He didn’t let people second-guess him. He got to work. It’s tempting to get depressed and let ourselves get beat down. But God wants us to take His direction for action.

While the walls of Jerusalem were destroyed, danger surrounded them on all sides. People even barricaded themselves in their houses at night. But Nehemiah decided to go out at night. He realized it was safer to work at night, in the dark, in the midst of the danger, than during the day. That’s the final lesson.

In your dark season, instead of taking cover, invite God into that darkness. He will be right there with you. It’s not easy to look at a negative bank account, admit we were wrong in a relationship, or change direction and go after our career or business in a different way. But when life is darkest, we can get the brightest vision for our future.

Instead of running from trouble, invite God into our trouble. Face it. Take account of it through discovery. Ask God to help you develop a plan. Then deploy it. Take action.

Remember, our tendency is to want to get out of trouble or pray for a miraculous deliverance. That can happen. But often, God wants to walk us through the trouble. We need to say, “God, please help me walk through the difficult season and help me grow through it.” Trouble is going to come to all of us. Don’t waste a difficult season. Come away with a new sense of God’s presence and enter into His peace.