YOUR WITS’ END
Are you discouraged, depressed, or in despair? Read these verses out of Psalm 107:
"THEIR SOUL FAINTED WITHIN THEM. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He delivered them out of their distresses" (Psalm 107:6).
"THEY STUMBLED AND THERE WAS NONE TO HELP. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses" (Psalm 107:12b-13).
"THEY DREW NEAR TO THE GATES OF DEATH. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses" (Psalm 107:18b-19).
"THEY WERE AT THEIR WITS' END. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distresses" (Psalm 107:27b-28).
All my life, I've relied on the twin activities of strategy and proactivity in every one of the above situations. There are times when it seemed that my "natural" strengths had righted the ship and kept it from taking on more water. There are times when it seemed that my mind and my talents enabled me to meet goals and accomplish tasks. I have found, however, in the latter part of my life that anything I succeed at doing apart from complete and utter dependence on the infilling, anointing and presence of God's Holy Spirit is actually failure.
It is a decoy, a counterfeit, a substitute. It is something that reinforces my flesh instead of killing it. Anything I succeed at on my own is failure in God's eyes. Satan cheers because his counterfeit plan for my life has won out.
When troubles come, I don't need to pull myself up by the bootstraps and try harder. I don't need to "cowboy up." I don't need to make a plan and work that plan. I don't need to power through despite how I feel. I need to come humbly before the throne of grace that I may find help in time of need. I need to empty myself and proclaim my inadequacy. I need to do what the Psalmist said. I need to "cry out to the LORD."
Read James 4:6-10, NLT carefully: "And He gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up in honor."
My precious friend, when you are at your wits' end, the answer is only found in casting yourself upon the grace, mercy, and unfailing love of God. The impossible situation you find yourself in right now is actually a pathway that has been mercifully given to help you find your way back to God.
The things you can figure out on your own do exactly that. They reinforce you figuring things out on your own. When "your soul faints within you," when "you stumble and there is none to help," when "you draw near to the gates of death," when "you are at your wits' end," that is when you are forced to "cry out to God." And that is when He will "deliver you out of your distresses." That impossible place you are in right now may seem like a bad place. That place is actually the place of your deliverance.
