“Just give it to the Lord”

Short Exhortation before Wednesday Night Prayer

Jan 18, 2012

In times of trial, difficulty, confusion, despair, depression, dismay, discouragement, and fear, well-meaning saints, oftentimes for lack of more meaningful support or advice, will sometimes say, “Have you given it to the Lord?,” or, “You just need to give it to the Lord!”  When prayers are going unanswered, or when it seems like God is not hearing you, or worse not there at all, it’s easy to enter into a season of doubt, compromise, and even backsliding.  When friends or loved ones or a brother or sister sees this happening they may attempt to help by hitting you with, “You just need to give it to the Lord.”  It may even be because dealing with you in the situation makes them uncomfortable or inconveniences them.  If you would only, “Give it to the Lord,” they wouldn’t have to deal with it with you anymore. While this advice may sound spiritual, I’m afraid there is such a lack of real understanding of what it means to, “Just give it to the Lord,” that we can be left feeling even more confused, discouraged, afraid, desperate, and dismayed.  What I’d like to do in the brief time we have tonight is to consider what it means to, “Give it to the Lord.”

What it does not mean.

Stop thinking.

Some would suggest it means to stop thinking about it, or the more spiritual sounding, “Take every thought captive.”  Good luck with this.  Try to stop thinking about a dire situation when your mind wakes you up with it at 3:00 a.m.  Have you experienced this?  You go to bed very aware of a real trial in your life but exhausted from days or weeks of trying to figure a way out of it, only to wake up a few hours later with your mind running like a video in fast motion.  You can no more stop yourself from thinking about a trial or temptation than you can stop yourself from feeling hungry if you haven’t eaten all day.

Stop asking.

Some would suggest it means to stop asking for it, or the more spiritual sounding, “Just trust God.”  As if approaching God with your trial is somehow revealing a lack of faith.  But this is what is meant oftentimes when people say, “Have you given it to the Lord?”  Like the solution is to simply say to yourself, “God is in control,” and then to stuff the issue deep down and wait for the answer to come.  Like sending your list off to Santa at Christmastime and hoping that He’ll deliver in due time.  The trouble with this approach to “giving it to the Lord” is that after a time, usually a lot shorter time than you thought you’d be able to bear, you find yourself in despair again and begin doubting that God is even receiving the message. 

Stop trying.

Some would suggest it means to stop trying to do anything about it, or the more spiritual sounding, “You just need to stop striving.”  As if it’s possible to “give it to the Lord” so you don’t have to deal with it anymore.  As if “giving it to the Lord” removes it from your life.  Imagine telling the apostles in the boat in the midst of the raging sea of Galilee to “just give it to the Lord.”  As if by doing so the sea would immediately calm and the sun would come out.  They were in a real storm.  The boat was really filling with water.  They were really going down if the situation did not change.  To simply stop trying is rarely an option and can at worst result in laziness or failure to act responsibly with critical issues in your life.  In reality, the resolution of a trial, or an unforeseen circumstance in your life, can often demand your resources, your energy, your mental capacity, your emotions and your time.  “Not trying” is simply not an option.

What it does mean?

I believe “Giving it to the Lord” means being even more active with God on the issue, but with a changed perspective.  Instead of not thinking about it, not praying about it, or not trying to deal with it, “Giving it to the Lord” means doing all of these things, but with a different end in sight.  “Giving it to the Lord” means instead of seeking for ways to change the situation so you can be most benefitted by the outcome, you turn your attention in the situation to God and His will in an effort to see how He can be most glorified through it.  Instead of trying your hardest to find your way out of the situation, you spend your effort finding God’s way in it or through it.  “Giving it to the Lord” means being truly aware of the reality that God is fully aware of all aspects of the situation you’re in, and that He’s allowed it that something true about Him and His goodness and grace can be shown through the way you deal with it.

How you do it.

                By being transparent and honest.

In order to, “give something to the Lord,” you must first reach Him.  Rather than ceasing to pray; keep asking, seeking, and knocking until peace is found.  Jesus told us to ask and keep asking, seek and keep seeking, knock and keep knocking; for whoever asks receives, whoever seeks finds, whoever knocks the door shall be opened to them.  To do anything less than this is to be at best relying on your own strength and at worst a hypocrite as you claim to have a relationship with God, but fail to bring to Him the most pressing issue in your life.  Consider Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Three times he prayed that he would not have to go through the suffering and death of the cross.  It wasn’t until agonizing prayer number three that night that he was able to finally say, “Not my will but thine be done.”   He didn’t try to ignore the trial, he took it right to God in prayer until he found his way to remembering the truth about His Heavenly Father; that He is good, that this was His plan for dealing with sin and defeating Satan once and for all, and that He had promised a resurrection.

By knowing His character.

God is good.  God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.  Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of Lights in whom there is no shadow of turning.  God is a giver of grace.

Phil 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Learn of His care for His people.  Study how He’s cared for Israel throughout the ages.  Learn of Jesus and see how He dealt with all those in need who came to Him.  Learn of how He is a covenant keeping God and how He, time and time again, turned seemingly hopeless situations into manifestations of His strength, provision, and goodness.  Understand what He meant when He said He is the Good Shepherd.  Study the lives of saints and hear their testimonies of God’s goodness and faithfulness in the midst of their trials.  This knowledge is not something that is achieved overnight.  This comes from a daily looking to God for His provision and care.  If you don’t live trusting in and thankful to God during the easy times, you won’t know Him as good and trustworthy when the trials come.

                By trusting His judgments.

Romans 8:29  For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

In His infinite wisdom He has determined to allow this current situation into your life.  Trusting His judgments means to believe that His purpose it to transform you into the image of His dear Son, and that this current trial is the most direct route to this end for you . 

When God determined to flood the earth in the time of Noah, He put Noah through a trial unlike anything we will ever face.  For 120 years Noah and his sons built a boat to survive a flood in a world that had never seen rain before.  An interesting thing to note about the arc is that it had no oars, no rudder, and no sail.  In other words, Noah’s trust in God was so complete he was willing to load himself and his whole family into a boat that was little more than box; a giant floating coffin if you will.  He trusted the judgment of God that this was the best way through the coming flood, and that as he trusted God with the path through it, God would be glorified through his obedience.

This was demonstrated most perfectly again in Jesus.

Hbr 5:7-9 Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared; Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered; And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.

“Giving it to the Lord”  means trusting God’s judgments concerning what He’s allowed in your life presently and allowing Him the opportunity to refine you in it that His glory might shine more perfectly through you.

Ultimately we “Give it to the Lord” through prayer and through surrender to God, who through devotion to His Word we’ve come to know is good, and who through daily reliance we’ve come to trust.

Why you do it.

For the same reason we are to do all things…for the glory of God.

1Cr 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

That He might take the situation and be glorified in and through it.

That all that’s true of God’s goodness, mercy, gracefulness, His light, His joy, His salvation, might be demonstrated through you.

Because He’s the only one who has power over sin.      

Any trial, temptation, disappointment, tragedy, illness, loss we experience has come into our life as a result of the fall and sin; either ours or someone else’s.  We are subject to the fall.  We are faulty and are prone to deal with the issues of lives in faulty ways.  God is the only one who through Jesus Christ has conquered sin, put it to open shame, and triumphed over it.  Giving our trials, our disappointments, our fears, our regrets, our difficulties to the Lord means taking the situation that He has allowed into our lives, by His wisdom, and turning it around back to Him that He might be glorified through it.  As long as you try to preserve yourself in the trial you are seeking to, “save your life.”  What did God say about those who would seek to save their lives?  They will lose them.  But he who will lose his life for Christ’s sake, and for the sake of His gospel, will find it.

To “Give it to the Lord” means to look for ways to display God’s goodness and God’s love to others, by the power of the Spirit, in the midst of the trial.

                                                In illness – to Dr’s, nurses, caregivers, family members, etc.

                                                In job instability – to coworkers, friends, managers, etc.

                                                In financial troubles – through gratitude and service.

                                                In lonliness – through patience and reaching out to others in need.

Because He’s the only one who can bring a dead thing to life.

…and He’s the only one who can take what seems like a truly hopeless situation and triumph in it.

The greatest seemingly hopeless situation was seen by the eyes of the disciples when Jesus was apprehended but the Romans and was led away to be crucified.  When the disciples looked upon the cross and beheld the tortured body of the one they thought was their deliverer, all hope looked lost.  And when the stone was rolled across the mouth of that tomb, all the hope of Israel was closed off in it. 

But that was not to be the end of the story was it.  Because the One who hanged on that cross, and tasted death, and was shut up in that tomb, was also the One who in His darkest night, and in the face of His greatest trial, by faith saw through the seemingly hopeless situation to the One who promised to never leave Him nor forsake Him, and “Gave it to the Lord.”  He saw through the dire circumstances to the one who promised not to let his Holy One see corruption.  He, in the valley of the shadow of His death remembered Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou [art] with me… and by the power of the Holy Spirit He walked out of that tomb bringing glory to God and salvation to the world He loves.

Giving it to the Lord means Phl 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ.

Let’s get to the business of “Giving to the Lord.”