Divine Dilemmas

Dilemma: a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially equally undesirable ones.

A dilemma is what it means to be between a rock and a hard place. There are dilemmas being played out in the international arena right now that have captured the attention of the world.

Pope Francis is facing dilemmas as he seeks to lead the Catholic Church into relevant righteousness. He knows Jesus came to call sinners to repentance. He wants the church to be welcoming and loving to whosoever comes; yet, he cannot be true to Christ if he blesses people in their sin.

People who follow Jesus must change their behavior from self-serving, to God-honoring. This happens when they receive grace from Christ and experience transformation from the inside out. If the church blesses people in their sin, it is no longer preaching the gospel of salvation through the blood Christ. How to love the sinner and hate the sin is often a dilemma for believers.

Israel has been trying to remove Hamas from Gaza since October 7, when Hamas attacked and killed over 1,000 Israelis. Hamas continues to hold hostages and fire rockets into Israel. Israel wants to destroy Hamas and rescue the hostages without killing civilians or the hostages. Since Hamas hides among the civilian population, Israel has a dilemma.

The longer it takes Israel to finish their operation in Gaza, the more pressure they get from nations around the world to stop the war. If they move too quickly, their soldiers are left vulnerable to Hamas’ traps and it is harder to rescue the hostages alive. This seems like a no-win situation for Israel.

Occasionally, we all are in situations in which we are in over our heads. We don’t have the resources to fix some problems which concern us the most. The more we care about the trials we face, the more agonizing they can be. The solution to our dilemmas is not to withdraw and care less about people. God allows our dilemmas so we will call on Him for wisdom and be transformed in the process.

The births of our children were each traumatic. Kristina was in labor with Matthew for over fifty hours after her water broke. Philip was born blue in a home birth and needed his lungs immediately suctioned out. Kelly was born at a friend’s house after we had to pull the car over on our way to the hospital. Kathryn’s umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck three times and her heart was decelerating.

We had to make decisions with life and death implications in each of these situations. The Holy Spirit guided us through these trials. The long term benefit for me was an increased confidence that I can depend on the guidance of the Spirit in times of crisis and good times as well.

I came to a simple conclusion: If God guides us when we call on him in times of crisis, then how much more can he give us wisdom and understanding if we seek him when we are not distracted by crisis. This insight continues to motivate me to seek the Lord.

I often counsel pastors and leaders who are facing dilemmas. They are squeezed by their love for their family member or church member on one hand, and their frustration over an intractable situation on the other hand. They desire to stay faithful to the Lord, so they resist anger and seek wisdom from God.

Many of our major trials are spiritual wars which we cannot control. To those in midst of these circumstances, I stress three fundamental truths. First, when you are in a spiritual war, everything you say and do, can and will be used against you. Therefore, do not say or do anything unless you are prepared for everyone involved in the conflict to know about it.

Second, though we don’t know the ultimate outcome of our trials, we do know God will ultimately work all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). Therefore, trust the Lord and stay close to him. Don’t compromise your faith by trying to comfort yourself in the midst of your pain in a way that will be harmful to your soul, or you will miss the blessing the Lord wants to give to you through your trials.

Finally, since you will be making decisions in this situation that have implications you can’t reverse, you need the guidance of the Holy Spirit in your decision making. The Lord promises the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth (John 16:13). As you learn to listen to the Holy Spirit and follow his lead in your trial, the redemptive aspect will be an increased ability for you to recognize and receive guidance from the Spirit for the rest of your life.

Your destiny will be shaped by how you respond to the dilemmas of life. The hotter the fire of your trials, the more blessing you will receive as God reveals himself and his purposes to you. The revealer of mysteries is your Father in Heaven. He loves you and is for you, now and forever.