Don’t Understand? Stuck? Confused? Need Direction? …Ask God

Do you ever just feel stuck, confused, or at a loss about something? I have found myself in situations like that on a number of occasions. Something that I’ve learned about God’s character though is that He doesn’t want us to be confused. He’s also not afraid of nor offended by our questions. God wants us to come confidently and boldly to him without being afraid. We shouldn’t be afraid to ask God about anything. He wants relationship with us.

“For God is not a God of confusion but of peace…” 1 Corinthians 14:33 (ESV)

“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God…” Hebrews 4:16a (NLT)

We should feel free to ask God about something we don’t understand or about something that confuses us. We can ask God for direction when we don’t know what to do about a situation. Additionally, God wants us to approach him with our needs. Anytime we need an answer, we can and should ask God!

When we need understanding

We are free to ask God anything we want. If we don’t understand something, we can ask God! It could even be something as simple as a question about the use of a word we don’t understand in the Bible. I shared before about a time when I decided to ask God about the meaning of the word “glory” when I heard the term used in the phrase “show me your glory”.

I didn’t understand what “glory” meant in that context nor how God could show it to us. So I prayed, “God, what does ‘glory’ mean? How can you ‘show me your glory’?” It was several months later before I got an answer, but it came nonetheless! I was listening to one of my favorite speakers, Beth Jones when she explained that “glory” meant God’s physical, tangible presence. Then I also saw the New Living Translation of Exodus 33:18 “Moses responded, “Then show me your glorious presence.” This again answered my question that I had asked God several months prior. God was faithful to answer me, and He’s done it multiple times since.

When we need direction

More recently, I had an opportunity to ask God for some help and direction as I have struggled some with leading a group of teenage girls in our church youth group. Without getting into the whole story, for time’s sake, let’s just say that I’ve been acting in reluctant obedience for the past 9 months to this “call” to be a small group leader for our students!

Working with the student and/or children’s ministry is WAAAAAY out of my comfort zone! As I expected, I felt that I was in over my head when it came to dealing with younger maturity levels. On many nights our group was quite chaotic, and I don’t do chaos well. I was almost at a breaking point, when I decided to ask God for direction on how to handle this situation at which I felt that I was failing miserably.

I woke up in the middle of the night unable to go back to sleep with several things on my mind. I got up, made cup of hot tea, grabbed my journal, and started praying and asking God about some things. I determined that I would write down whatever “answers” came into my head. As I prayed and asked God for direction, the phrase “tell a story” came into my mind. So I wrote that down. Then underneath that I wrote “What story??”

What Story??

Over the next couple of weeks I attempted researching stories to demonstrate respect in a group setting. I researched classroom management strategies, talked to people, and got a few tips here and there but still no story. I even prayed again, several times, to ask God “What story?” but I never got a direct answer. At that point I kind of just let it go. I remembered the “glory” situation, and I figured that God would direct me to the right story at the right time.

Now, fast forward 2 months…I had another rough night in small group which ended with me in tears begging my coach to let me quit. She gave me a few strategies to try. As I thought about what she said over the next week, the thought occurred to me that I should write my own story. I realized in that moment that “tell a story” meant tell MY story.

The next day I spent several hours writing my story from the setting and prospective of a teenage girl named Holly. Crazy enough, the night I decided to read it, it fit right in with our service topic so it was a great segue into the story. As I told my girls the story, you could have heard a pin drop. At the end of the story we had some good discussion about Holly, and then I revealed that Holly was actually me. You should’ve seen the look on some of their faces! Then I could see the light bulbs coming on as they saw themselves in the story.

In the end we came up with a practical solution for when the group starts getting too chaotic or starts acting disrespectful. God, again, was faithful to answer me.

Scriptures encouraging us to ask God

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV)

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5 (NIV)

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7 (NIV)

“I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4 (NIV)

“You do not have, because you do not ask.” James 4:2b (ESV)

“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:22 (NIV)

Scriptures showing us that God directs our steps

When we ask God, He will guide us to the answer and direct our steps. (Note: The answer does not always come immediately. I’ve learned that God likes to take his time in a lot of situations. Insert semi-frustrated sigh)

“LORD, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.” Jeremiah 10:23 (NIV)

“The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 (NASB)

“A person’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand their own way?” Proverbs 20:24 (NIV)

“The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.” Psalm 37:23 (NLT)

Your turn…

Now, when you find yourself in a situation where you don’t understand something, when you feel stuck or confused or when you need direction…Ask God! God wants to answer you. He just needs you to ask. 

Take Some Practical Steps to Ask God:

• First, in times where you don’t understand something, when you feel stuck or confused or when you need direction, remember God’s character.
  • He’s not the author of confusion–He wants you to have peace (1 Corinthians 14:33)
  • He wants you to be comfortable approaching him
  • He wants to direct you and answer you, but He needs you to ask
  • He will be faithful to answer you
  • He works on his own timetable, not yours (Habakkuk 2:3, 2 Peter 3:9, Isaiah 55:8-9)
• Then, in that moment stop and ask God to help you understand or to give you some guidance and direction on the situation or to reveal the answer to you.
• When you ask God, take some time to stop and listen. Then, be expectant of an answer—have a pen and paper ready (or journal) to write down anything that comes to mind, even if it doesn’t make sense at that moment (like “tell a story”!).
• Finally, if you don’t get an answer right away, just be patient. God’s timing for your answer will be perfect. Just wait and pay attention, especially if something comes to mind that triggers your original question to God.

Have you been in a situation where you decided to ask God for an answer, clarification or direction? What was the outcome? Share your story with us by leaving a comment below.

Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are rude, disrespectful, sarcastic, offensive, or off-topic.  By posting on this site you agree to my Comment Policy.

P.S.  If you liked this post, you might enjoy receiving new posts delivered right to your inbox each week!  Sign up here. 

If you know anyone that could benefit from this, please pay it forward!  Share this post via the sharing links below.  “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)