Go and Tell Jesus

When crisis hits, when we are facing hardship, when we are sick or in need, we should call on the Lord.

When the Israelites criticized and turned against Moses, we read that he "cried out to the LORD" (Exodus 15:25). When King Hezekiah received a threatening letter, he "went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD" (Isaiah 37:14). When John the Baptist was beheaded, we read that his disciples "came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus" (Matthew 14:12).

That is exactly what we ought to do when hardship comes our way. We should go and tell Jesus, because "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1).

Paul had his "thorn in the flesh." We don’t know what it was, but he asked the Lord three times to take it away. God didn’t answer those prayers as Paul wanted Him to. Rather, He gave him the grace to get through that time of difficulty. There are times when God has a purpose in suffering, a plan through the pain. We always want to leave that option open. And, it is okay to pray about it. In fact, James 4:2 says, "You do not have because you do not ask."

Paul prayed about his difficulty more than once, and we can pray about our problems more than once. Jesus said, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Luke 11:9). This could be translated from the Greek, "Keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking." The Bible encourages persistence.

We don’t necessarily need to tell God what He should do, but we should call on Him. Bring your troubles to Jesus.