Trusting God When We Don't Know What to Do

Trust in God becomes real when life stops going according to plan. A hard diagnosis, a lost job, or a broken relationship exposes the limits of what human effort can produce. The Father’s goodness offers something greater than white-knuckling a situation and trying harder. His gifts are not limited to what his children can imagine or create.

Habakkuk shows what that trust looks like under pressure. With economic ruin, famine, and destruction ahead, his body trembles and his lips quiver. Faith does not mean that fear disappears. Habakkuk remembers what God has already done and makes an active choice to rejoice in the God of his salvation. Remembering is not a way of reminding God; it reminds the believer of God’s faithfulness. Habakkuk’s confidence also reaches beyond a tidy ending, since he does not live to see Judah restored. God’s goodness remains trustworthy even when the outcome stays out of sight.

Jehoshaphat joins dependence with action. Faced with an overwhelming army, he calls a fast, brings the danger plainly before God, and fixes his eyes on the Lord. Honest prayer has no need to sugarcoat fear, anger, or helplessness. Obedience does its part, then waits expectantly for the Father to act.

The upside-down kingdom challenges the belief that more striving always brings more gain. Surrender is not laziness, and trust does not remove difficulty. It releases the pride that assumes a human plan must be better than God’s. His provision comes according to his riches, while his children are called to seek his kingdom first.

Gratitude and a mind stayed on God give that trust a daily shape. Thanksgiving belongs in every circumstance, not only when emotions cooperate. Scripture read, studied, and memorized gives believers truth to answer the waves of anxiety. Honest Christian accountability and constant conversation with the Father help keep their gaze on him. Peace grows through knowing his promises and leaning into them.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Remembering Makes Room For Deliberate Rejoicing. Habakkuk’s trembling does not disqualify his faith; it shows how costly his rejoicing really is. Remembering God’s past faithfulness gives him something firmer than his emotional state to stand on. Recording answered prayers can give believers a place to return when the next trial makes God’s goodness hard to see. [46:19]
• 2. Faithfulness Reaches Beyond A Tidy Ending. Habakkuk does not live to see Judah restored, yet his confidence rests in God rather than in seeing the whole story resolved. Trust cannot depend on every hardship receiving a visible explanation or a quick reversal. The promise that God works all things for good gives believers something to hold tightly when the ending remains out of sight. [48:21]
• 3. Dependence Takes Action Then Waits Expectantly. Jehoshaphat responds to danger by calling a fast and bringing his helplessness plainly before God. His fixed gaze follows obedience rather than replacing it. Believers can make their requests without sugarcoating their fear, then wait for the Father’s answer without demanding that the answer must be yes. [53:32]
• 4. Gratitude Does Not Wait For Feelings. Thanksgiving in all circumstances leaves no exception for the days when gratitude feels unnatural. A believer may not understand the reason for a trial and still give thanks because God calls for it. That obedience changes the heart and draws it closer to Christ rather than allowing circumstances to determine every response. [1:05:29]
• 5. A Fixed Gaze Has Daily Habits. Keeping the mind on God takes shape through Scripture, honest Christian community, and ongoing conversation with the Father. Memorized truth gives believers something ready when anxiety presses hard, while faithful friends can name the moments when emotion has taken the lead. These familiar practices are not stale answers; they are practical ways of leaning into God’s promises instead of being thrown around by the world. [1:07:25]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [40:40] - Trusting God When Life Gets Hard
• [41:19] - A Father’s Gift Beyond Human Effort
• [43:58] - Habakkuk Remembers And Chooses To Rejoice
• [48:21] - Trust Without Seeing The Ending
• [49:40] - Jehoshaphat Faces An Overwhelming Army
• [52:04] - Taking Action And Fixing Eyes On God
• [54:34] - A Steady Path Through Life’s Highs And Lows
• [55:54] - Learning To Release Control
• [57:55] - God’s Promises And The Father’s Provision
• [1:01:53] - Surrender, Obedience, And The Pride Of Self-Reliance
• [1:05:00] - Giving Thanks In Every Circumstance
• [1:06:25] - Perfect Peace And A Mind Stayed On God
• [1:07:25] - Scripture, Accountability, And Constant Prayer

Bible Reading

Habakkuk 3:16-19
“I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us. Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places.” [44:30]

2 Chronicles 20:3-12
“Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said, 'O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, 'If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.' And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. 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.” [50:18]

1 Thessalonians 5:18
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” [01:05:26]

Observation questions

1. In Habakkuk 3:16–19, what signs of fear appear alongside Habakkuk’s decision to rejoice? What does he identify as the source of his strength? [46:19]
2. In 2 Chronicles 20:3–12, what does Jehoshaphat do in response to danger, and what does his prayer recall about God’s power and past actions? [50:35]
3. How does Jehoshaphat describe Judah’s ability to face the approaching army, and where does he direct their attention? [51:45]
4. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, what circumstances are included in the call to thanksgiving? What connection is made between thanksgiving and God’s will? [01:05:26]

Interpretation questions

1. Why is Habakkuk’s rejoicing not the same as pretending that everything is fine? How can his response help a believer understand the relationship between fear and faith? [46:19]
2. Habakkuk’s confidence rests in God even with devastation ahead. What is the difference between trusting God’s goodness and trusting that a hardship will end in a particular way? [48:59]
3. How does Jehoshaphat’s response show that admitting helplessness is different from doing nothing? What might distinguish faithful waiting from avoiding responsibility? [53:41]
4. What is the difference between giving thanks during a painful circumstance and calling the painful circumstance itself good? How can thanksgiving leave room for honest grief? [01:05:49]

Application questions

1. What situation is testing your trust in God right now? If you feel comfortable sharing, what fear or frustration could you bring to him more honestly? [53:32]
2. When has God shown his faithfulness in a way you did not expect? How might you record that experience so you can return to it when trusting him feels difficult? [46:37]
3. Is there an outcome you are holding so tightly that it is hard to trust God with anything different? What might surrender look like while you continue to care deeply about the situation? [48:59]
4. As you think about a current challenge, what is one responsible step you could take, and what part is beyond your control? What would it look like to act faithfully without trying to force the result? [53:44]
5. In a circumstance you would not have chosen, what can you genuinely thank God for today without minimizing the pain? How could you make space for that gratitude this week? [01:05:49]
6. When anxiety rises, which would most help you turn your attention toward God: a passage to memorize, an honest conversation with a trusted Christian friend, or prayer throughout the day? What small, realistic step could you take this week? [01:07:25]