Do the Next Thing Correctly

FORGET NONE OF HIS BENEFITS
volume 25, number 9, February 26, 2026

So David arose from the ground washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he came into the house of the Lord and worshipped, 2 Samuel 12:20.

Like any pastor and pastor’s wife, we have had our share of tragedies to deal with in the churches we have served. When we first went to Marietta, Georgia in February, 1982 to pastor a church we became very good friends with a wonderful couple who had two beautiful young girls. The man and I spent a lot of time together evangelizing door to door and discipling other men. He was quite capable in his business expertise but when told by his employer on a Friday that he needed to transfer to another city, after being in Atlanta for less than a year, my friend balked at the idea. His boss said, “You have until Monday to tell me your decision.” My friend thought, “I cannot move my family again. This is too much.” So on Monday he told his boss, “No.” He would not take the transfer to which his boss said, “Well then you are fired.” My friend was not too worried. After all he was very good at what he did and the economy was booming and he figured he would get another job in the Atlanta metro area without any trouble. Over a year later he was still without a job and this became a major problem for the family, as it would for any family. 

Finally he called me one day to say that he received a job offer but it would require a move to Charlotte, North Carolina. By this time, he knew he needed to take this job which he gladly did. About eight months later my friend called me in tears saying, “It just happened again. My company just let me go. They had to cut back and since I was the last one in, I am the first one out.” I couldn’t believe it. I thought to myself, “What more can this poor man take?” We were soon to find out. 

About a month later he called on a Sunday evening after we came home from church. He was in tears. He said that his wife and ten year old daughter were on their way to church that evening and a dump truck crossed the center lane and hit them head on. He said things did not look good. I prayed with him and asked him to call me later when he had more information. About 1 a.m. Monday he called. You never want to get those 1 a.m. phone calls. He said there was no hope for either his wife or daughter. I drove the next day to Charlotte and entered the hospital to see him and his daughter and wife. The wife’s head and face were swollen beyond recognition because of head trauma while his beautiful ten year old daughter simply looked like she was sleeping. Both however were “brain dead.” A few hours later doctors took both of them off life support. I stayed with my friend and his other daughter until after the funeral and then left for Marietta. At that point I learned the importance of this one liner—do the next thing correctly. I read this somewhere from Elizabeth Elliot who knew her own fair share of tragedy in life. 

This is precisely what King David did in the 2 Samuel 12 passage. He had committed adultery with Bathsheba and then had her husband Uriah murdered. The offspring of their sordid relationship, a little boy, had become ill. In fact we are told in the text that “the Lord struck the child. . . so that he became very sick.” David fasted and prayed all night on the ground. This went on for seven days. David was beside himself with grief and sorrow. He refused to eat or be with anyone. Finally David perceived that the boy had died because his handlers were trying to figure out the best way to tell him what had happened. After they admitted that the boy had in fact died, we find that David did the next thing correctly. He arose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, changed his clothes and came into the house of the Lord to worship. He then came to his own house and requested food and sat down and ate.

When tragedy strikes, when something comes out of “left field” and rocks your world, discipline yourself to do the next thing correctly. Stay in the moment. Do not play the “what if?” game. You know how this goes, don’t you? “What if my child gets really sick, what if I lose my job, what if my son in the army is deployed to a war zone?” Usually the next thing is nothing big or monumental, but do it anyway and do it well. Usually it is as simple as preparing breakfast for your children, shaving and taking a shower and going to work, doing household chores, or cutting the lawn.

In the context of a business deal that just went south, forget what just happened, pick up the phone, and work on your next deal. If you get a bad medical diagnosis, don’t fret for this will lead only to evildoing (Ps.37:8). Take care of business. Pray, worship God, and find what options you have. Ask yourself, “Okay, what are my next steps? What do I do now?” One of the marks of depression is emotional paralysis which puts people in a stupor. A person suffering in this way often goes into seclusion. The more this happens the more behind they become in their job or family responsibilities which contributes to the downward spiral into depression and despair. 

So I always tell myself and others, “When you feel depression or despair crowding out your joy, make sure you get up early in the morning, have your devotional time, get your exercise, go to work on time, tackle the most pressing and challenging tasks first, put in a full days work, and then go home, leaving your stress from work at the front door, and then give your attention to your family. Never forget that desire realized is sweet to the soul (Prov.13:19).  

Doing the next thing correctly will prevent you from spiraling downwardly, out of control into depression and dismay. Are you presently in a crisis? If so, then focus on “next things.” Consistently do the next thing correctly, no matter how mundane it might be.