When You Don’t Know What to Do

Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NLT)
“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.”

Our Heavenly Father delivers a powerful prophecy through the prophet Ezekiel, who served the Lord during the time that His people were exiled by the Babylonian empire and living in captivity. As anyone might imagine, it was very difficult and taxing ordeal, and of course the people were tremendously discouraged, even though it was their own sin against God that landed them in this terrible state. This promise from God talks about a radical transformation, the kind that only He can give. It’s an internal renewal that changes the very core of who we are. It’s no secret that many of us living today are in desperate need of God’s transforming power.

During this time in the Old Testament, God’s people made sinful choices and made the decision to turn away from Him. The people of Israel were in captivity as a result of their sinful behavior and their choice to turn away from God Their hearts had become hardened, and they continually ignored His commandments. Instead of worshiping Him, they chose to worship idols. They were rebellious and brought shame to God’s holy name. Yet, in His infinite mercy, Ezekiel 36:22 (NLT) states that He declared: “I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations.” This scripture conveys God’s unfailing faithfulness. While He acknowledges that they didn’t deserve His restoration because of their disobedience, He remains faithful to His promises.

Many of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s goodness and mercy but that doesn’t keep Him from loving on us continuously. His grace is the reason we are still here, breathing and moving, despite our shortcomings. His mercy is evident even after we knowingly fall into sin, time and time again. It’s time for us to wake up and truly embrace His love. God is calling us to a deeper understanding, a higher standard of living. Romans 6:1-2 (NLT) says, “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?” God’s grace isn’t a reason to continue in sin—it’s the power to overcome it and live fully for Him.

Sometimes we get ourselves into situations that cause tremendous heartbreak and pain. And there’s no sugarcoating it, a lot of times we land ourselves in these relationships and situations because we didn’t seek the wisdom of the Lord or listen to His voice. Proverbs 14:12 (NLT) tells us, “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” Taking the wrong path can lead us to a place that is crazy confusing and stressful. We think we can handle it because we’re accustomed to making our own choices and decisions, but this approach will ultimately cost us. We’ll end up in a place where our backs are against the wall, and we just don’t know what to do.

We might feel guilty about leaving God out of the equation, knowing deep down that we didn’t follow His guidance the way we should. We realize that by not following His Word, we've been making decisions on our own and relying on our own understanding, instead of trusting in His wisdom. The guilt we feel comes from recognizing that we’ve turned away from the very Source of peace and direction that could have spared us heartache. It’s hard not to feel convicted when we see how much smoother things could have been if we had only listened to God voice.

He never turns away from us and will never withhold His help for any reason. Romans 8:38-39 (NLT) declares, “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.” This is an extraordinary and powerful truth. No matter what we face, God’s love remains constant and unshakable. He knew the challenges and situations we would encounter in our lives long before we were born. There is absolutely nothing too big, too overwhelming, or too impossible for our Heavenly Father to handle.

Even though we might feel guilty or unworthy at times, we shouldn’t let those feelings hold us back. God isn’t in the business of punishing His people—He wants us to grow in Christ, and our destiny is far greater than our mistakes. Romans 8:1 tells us that ‘there is no condemnation in Christ,’ which means we don’t need to keep punishing ourselves with feelings of unworthiness. Instead, we can come to God boldly and confidently, knowing that He loves us and desires us to draw near to Him. No matter where we’ve been or what we’ve done, God’s arms are always open, inviting us to strengthen our relationship with Him as we accept His amazing grace.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“When You Don't Know What to Do”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2025. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.