Staying Guided in Complex Situations: Hearing God, Walking in Mercy and Truth

In this message, we reflect on how God can guide us through complex situations where emotions are high, people are speaking from different angles, and we are unsure whether our position is right or wrong. Drawing from Proverbs 16:32, Isaiah 30:21, 2 Corinthians 5:14–15, and Psalm 25:8–15, this episode calls us to control our emotions, listen actively for God’s voice, and see people through mercy and truth. It is an encouragement to remain humble, Spirit-led, and sensitive to God’s will even in confusing circumstances.

Transcript

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There are moments when a situation becomes so complex that even after taking a position, you are still not sure whether you are right or wrong. Emotions are involved, people are speaking from different angles, interpretations are flying everywhere, but even in such moments, God can bring us into a posture where we may not know everything, yet we are guided enough not to miss his will. Good morning and welcome to today's expression of igniting your day. Have you ever found yourself in a situation so complex that many emotions are involved? A situation where people were saying different things, bringing different interpretations, and everything became so confusing that you were no longer sure whether the position you had taken was right or wrong. From your own point of view, doing one thing may look right. Then you listen to another person and it begins to look as though even if your position was right, it may not have been the best. Then another person speaks and another interpretation comes. By the time all those voices are brought together, the matter becomes so confusing that you begin to wonder whether what you have done is correct or wrong. But I know this, no matter how complex a situation, happening, or circumstance becomes, God can bring us into a posture where even if we do not know everything, we can still be guided enough never to miss his will. Let me say that again. No matter how difficult things become, and no matter how difficult they are to sort out, God can bring you and me into a position where despite the level of our ignorance in the situation, we can still be guided enough never to miss his will. That is the point of our engagement today. I do not know where you are or what currently looks confusing to you, but I know that it is possible for God to guide us in such a way that no matter how ignorant we may be concerning a circumstance, we will not miss his will. There are three instructions I received that we will consider, and then we will look at Psalm 25, verse 10. As we do, I trust that the Lord will not only help us interpret what is happening, but He will teach us what to do. Number one, control your emotions so you can still hear God. Yes, the first instruction is to control our emotions such that when God speaks, we can still hear Him. Maybe the situation resulted in an argument, maybe it brought many conversations. Maybe people have spoken strongly and you also feel strongly about the matter. But the instruction is clear: do not let your emotions run you over. Do not let your emotions take total control of you. Psalm 16, verse 32 says, He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty. He that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. Anger is not the only emotion that must be brought under control here. The passage is saying that the person who can rule his spirit is stronger than the person who only has outward strength. The one who can govern himself inwardly has a kind of strength that is greater than physical conquest. When your emotions are not under control, they can drive you to places where it becomes difficult to hear God. They can push you into conversations that were not meant to join, that you were not meant to join. They can make you respond when God wants you to be quiet. They can make you listen to things that only stare you up and make your heart less sensitive to the Lord. So we must pray and declare that our emotions will not rule us. We must ask the Lord to help us remain quiet when he expects us to be quiet. Some conversations are not meant for us to join, some are not meant for us to partake in. Some are not even meant for us to listen to. Any conversation that spikes your emotions and makes it difficult for you to listen to the Lord must be avoided. You must refuse to be driven by emotional pressure. You must remain spirit-driven. This is important because when God speaks, we must still be able to hear Him clearly. Galatians chapter 5, verse 22 to 23 speaks of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. Against such there is no law. That means when these fruits are in place, you are still in order. When these fruits are operating in you, you are still intact. You are not crossing a boundary you are not supposed to cross. You are not being pushed beyond the order of the spirit. So the first instruction is simple but powerful. Control your emotions. Do not let your emotions take you to places where it will be difficult to hear God when God speaks. Number two, listen actively and stay open to God's voice. Yes, it is not enough to control your emotions. As the discussions are going on, do not allow your emotions to make it difficult for you to listen. But beyond that, you must remain aware that your Father may want to speak to you. There may be something the Lord wants you to know. There may be angles you are not seeing. The Spirit of God may be willing to help you discern what is hidden, what is wise, and what is required. In short, stay open. The Lord may want to come in. Isaiah 30, 21 says, and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it. When ye turn to the right and to the left. When you find yourself in these complex conversations where people are saying many things, and you are not even sure whether the position you have taken is right or wrong, remember this: God can guide you, God can speak, God can say this is the way, walk in it. So the first thing is to control your emotions. Your emotions have the capacity to drive you and take you somewhere. Keep them under control. The second thing is to stay open because your father may want to tell you something. As the Lord speaks, you must hear and yield. You must not only hear Him, you must follow Him as well. There is a phrase in Luke 1:17 that helps us understand this posture. The King James Version speaks of turning this the disobedient to the wisdom of the just. Another rendering explains this as the attitude of the righteous, which is to seek and submit to the will of God. That's powerful. There is something called the wisdom of the just. There is an attitude of the righteous. It is the posture that seeks and submits to the will of God. So when you are in a complex situation with many positions many emotions, and many voices, you must not let the conversations fly over your head without spiritual attentiveness. You must be actively scanning your heart before God. What is the Lord expecting me to do? What is the Lord expecting me to see? What is the Lord showing me? What is the Lord correcting in me? What is the Lord asking me to submit to? The moment you catch the signal, submit. That is the wisdom of the just. That is the attitude of the righteous. You seek and you submit. You seek and you submit. You seek and you submit. Number three, see all the actors as people God loves. The third instruction is this see all the actors in the situation as people God loves. The people who caused the problem, the people who contributed to the confusion, the people who, according to the information flying around, are the reason there is so much disturbance. The Lord says, see them as people God loves. That person you think acted wrongly, Jesus died for that person. That person you think acted badly, Jesus died for that person. That person whose behavior appears beneath what is expected of them, Jesus died for that person. It is when you see the actors in this way that you can exercise mercy towards them. It should pain us that the price Jesus paid may not yet be effective in the life and conduct of that person. That awareness enables us to look at people with mercy instead of mere judgment. The Lord is saying to you and me, see the actors as people God loves. See them as people Jesus paid the ultimate price for. See them as people who are yet to fully realize that they ought to live for Christ. Perhaps there is a situation at hand. You know it. You have talked more in the past week than you normally talk. You have been dragged into many conversations about why someone should not have done what they did. You have tried to explain yourself, but it seems as if nothing you're saying is penetrating. The instruction is this see the actors as people God loves. Why is this important? Why is it important to see the actors as people God loves? Psalm 25, verse 10 in the New King James, it says, All the parts of the Lord are mercy and truth to such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. That means there is no direction the Holy Spirit will lead you to take in that situation that will not contain mercy and truth. There is no method the Holy Spirit will want you to use that will not carry mercy and truth. This helps us understand why we must see the actors as people God loves. If all the parts of the Lord are mercy and truth, then any path God leads us through must carry both. Truth means we do not deny what is right. Mercy means we do not become destructive while standing for what is right. Truth means we remain aligned with God's will. Mercy means we remember that people are still people God loves. Truth without mercy can become harsh. Mercy without truth can become compromise, but the paths of the Lord carry both mercy and truth. So when the Lord is leading you in a complex situation, you must listen actively for truth and you must see people through mercy. You listen actively to what the Lord wants you to do. That is connected to truth. You see everyone in that situation as people God loves, that is connected to mercy. All the parts of the Lord are mercy and truth. What is the second reason why you must see all the actors involved as people God loves? We are vessels of mercy. You see, many times as believers, we ask God to show us mercy, we ask Him to help us and give us mercy. But we often do not consider that the Lord has made us vessels of mercy. That means you may be the vessel through which another person experiences the mercy they're asking God for. Romans chapter 9, verse 23 to 24 says, and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had afore prepared unto glory, even us whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. See, God has made us vessels of mercy. The mercy some people are trusting God to receive may be carried through your response, through your words, through your restraint, through your prayer or your refusal to act in bitterness. So, apart from controlling your emotions and apart from staying open to hear what the Lord wants to say, you must see the actors involved as people Jesus paid the ultimate price for. You must see them as people God loves. You must see them as people for whom God gave his son. That is why mercy must be found in your disposition. Let's bring all this together. What have we considered? We began with this question: Have you ever found yourself in a situation so complex that emotions were involved, people were saying different things, the outcome was uncertain, and you did not even know whether the position you had taken was right or wrong. Yet we know that God can bring us into a posture where no matter how much we do not know concerning the situation, we will not miss his will. Three instructions came from this meditation. First, control your emotions. Do not let your emotions take you to places where it will be difficult to hear God when he speaks. Second, listen actively and stay open. This is the wisdom of the just, the attitude of the righteous to seek and submit to the will of God. Seek and submit. Seek and submit. Seek and submit. Third, see all the actors as people God loves. See them as people Jesus paid the ultimate price for. Let mercy be found in your disposition. Why is this important? Psalm 25, verse 10 showed us that all the parts of the Lord are mercy and truth. Every method God will use to lead you safely through that situation will contain mercy, it will contain truth. There is no way God will guide you that will not require mercy. There is no way God will guide you that will not require truth. So I pray for you today. Wherever you go, may you exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. May your emotions remain under the government of the Holy Spirit. May your ears remain open to the voice of God. May your heart remain humble enough to seek and submit. May you see people as those God loves. And may mercy and truth be found in your posture, your words, your decisions, and your responses in the name of Jesus. Take a moment today and pray over any complex situation around you. Ask the Lord to help you control your emotions, hear his voice clearly, seek and submit to his will, and respond to everyone involved with mercy and truth. Thank you once again for being here today. I wish you an amazing day ahead. God bless you.