Episode #198 God’s Wisdom and What to Do When You’re Overwhelmed- What’s Going On?!

Hey friends, it's Jen and welcome to Good God Talks. I love getting to have these set aside moments to share with you as we build this habit of having uncommon conversations with God in our everyday life moments.

And maybe my favorite part of the podcast is that you don't really come to hear me. The most important thing that you hear on these episodes isn't my voice or my words, but I'm echoing God's invitation to all of us to come closer to him and to hear him.

I want to help you grow in your direct personal connection, your habit of talking with God.

And part of how I get to do that is your habit of listening to this podcast, because I'm always echoing that invitation with fun questions to bring it to him.

And today we're still in our series talking about what's going on when the world seems crazy. And I mean, every time I even open the news or I scroll a feed on my phone, it feels like there's more and more things that are going berserk, catastrophic even in the world. There are so many areas of life that we need God's wisdom. And that's what we're talking about today.

And I'm excited to talk about that because God is so generous with his wisdom in James 1:5-6 it says,

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” (James 1:5-6)

This verse doesn't say if any leader, if anyone in a high position of authority, if anyone with a really big problem lacks wisdom, they can ask God, and he may give it to them.

It says, if any of you lacks wisdom, ask God who gives generously to all.

With any circumstance you're going through, you can ask God for wisdom, and he is generous to provide it for us.
One of my favorite stories about seeking wisdom comes from 2 Chronicles 20. And the Moabites, the Ammonites, and some Meunites are coming against Israel in battle. And the Israelite people don't know what to do. They are at a loss and they're seeking the Lord for wisdom.

And so we're picking it up in 2 Chronicles 20:12. And it says,

“’O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.’ Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's.’” (2 Chronicles 20:12-15)

And then he continues to relay to them the Lord's instruction and God shows up on their behalf in battle.

There's so many things to love about this story, including how God shows up. In this instance God actually takes care of their enemy for them. They don't have to go into battle.

I love that God speaks with clarity. Through one of their people, he gives them a message.

But the big takeaway I have for us today is that the instruction of the Lord might be different. In some battles, God took care of everything.

In other battles, he gave them specific instructions for how they would defeat their enemy.

It's not what to do that matters most.

It's their reliance on the Lord because a great horde was coming against them.

And they said, God, we don't know what to do, but our eyes are on you. And because their eyes were on the Lord, they were able to receive his wisdom. They were able to receive his instruction.

And so in anything that you're facing today, our response gets to be the same. You know, enough to look to the Lord. That's part of why you're listening to the podcast. So let's look to him and ask him to guide our next steps. To give us a battle plan.

And here's our question:

God, I'm looking to you. What wisdom do you offer me on what to do next?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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