What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do

Opening Reflection

Few experiences feel more unsettling than not knowing what to do. Sometimes the uncertainty comes from a sudden crisis. Sometimes it comes from a prolonged season in which no clear answer presents itself. Sometimes it comes from realizing that the size of the need before you is greater than the strength within you. That is exactly where Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah found themselves. A great enemy was advancing toward them, and they had neither the power to overcome it nor the wisdom to solve it. Their situation was not manageable. It was overwhelming.

Yet this verse shows that not knowing what to do does not have to lead to panic, paralysis, or unbelief. Jehoshaphat did not pretend to be stronger than he was, and he did not disguise the gravity of the moment. He confessed, “We are powerless.” He admitted, “We do not know what to do.” But he did not stop there. He added the decisive phrase that turns the whole verse from despair to faith: “but our eyes are on you.” That is the posture this devotion presses upon the heart. When uncertainty meets unshakable trust, the absence of answers no longer has to control the soul.

Taking a Devotional View

One reason believers often do not know what to do is that God allows us to reach situations that expose the limits of our own strength. We prefer to feel capable, prepared, and in control, but the Lord often brings us to places where self-sufficiency can no longer pretend to be enough. Jehoshaphat openly said, “We are powerless,” and that confession was not a failure of faith but an act of faith. It is often the beginning of true spiritual clarity when a believer stops overestimating personal ability and starts acknowledging real need before God. Scripture consistently teaches that divine strength is most clearly displayed where human adequacy ends (2 Corinthians 12:9). Many believers remain troubled not because God is absent, but because they are still attempting to carry what only He can carry.

Another reason believers do not know what to do is that they seek certainty in circumstances before they have settled their gaze on God. The heart naturally searches for visible reassurance—a resolved situation, a clear plan, or an immediate answer. Yet God often calls His people to trust Him before He explains Himself. Judah did not receive a battle plan and then look to God; they looked to God while still lacking one. Faith does not begin when all variables are removed, but when the heart fixes itself on the Lord in the presence of unresolved variables. “Our eyes are on you” means that God Himself becomes the believer’s point of stability—His character, His rule, His wisdom, and His faithfulness outweigh the confusion of the moment (Psalm 123:1; Hebrews 12:2).

Believers also fail to know what to do when fear begins to dominate interpretation. Fear exaggerates the problem and diminishes the practical nearness of God, narrowing the mind until only danger and uncertainty remain visible. Jehoshaphat saw the danger, but he did not allow it to become the final interpreter of reality. He prayed, sought the Lord, and gathered the people into dependence. When fear rises, the answer is not mere reassurance but deliberate reorientation toward God. Prayer recenters the mind, worship recalibrates perspective, and Scripture restores proportion. The believer may still feel weak, but weakness with God is safer than confidence without Him.

This passage ultimately establishes that posture must come before direction. Believers often rush to act, but this verse begins with dependence: “our eyes are on you.” There are seasons when the most important response is not immediate action, but intentional focus—seeking the Lord until clarity comes. God responded to Judah not by rebuking their uncertainty, but by meeting them in it and declaring, “the battle is not yours but God’s” (2 Chronicles 20:15). This is the relief the believer must recover. You do not need full understanding to trust Him rightly. You need the humility to admit, “I do not know what to do,” and the faith to anchor your attention on Him. When your eyes are truly fixed on God, uncertainty may remain for a time, but it no longer governs the soul—trust does.

Father, You know how quickly my heart can become unsettled when I do not know what to do. Forgive me for the ways I look first to myself, to circumstances, or to fear instead of to You. Teach me to be honest about my weakness and steadfast in my trust. In every confusing and overwhelming place, fix my eyes on You. Let Your presence steady me, Your wisdom guide me, and Your faithfulness quiet my heart until I can say with sincerity, “I do not know what to do, but my eyes are on You.” In Jesus’ name, amen.