"Many are the afflictions (problems) of the righteous: but the Lord delivers (them) out of them all."
I remember reading this: "The question is not whether we will encounter problems; the real question is how we will choose to address them." There is no question that all people encounter problems. People whose lives are not exemplary encounter them, and people who live righteously encounter them. Somewhere along the line, we have come up with the idea that if we live righteously, we will not encounter problems. I don't know where that came from but it surely didn't come from the Bible. Could we really say that Moses never encountered problems? Read about Moses in Exodus through Deuteronomy and you will see that he had many problems. A lot of his problems arose from dealing with people chosen of God to be His people and to bring the Messiah into the world. We certainly could not say that David did not have any problems. He was called "a man after God's own heart," but he encountered problem after problem - some of them because of his own behavior. The point of this article is to point out that, though we will have problems in this life, it is important how we deal with them. We deal with our problems by taking them to the Lord. The Lord has promised that He will help us deal with them, and will "deliver (us) out of them all." Does this mean that when we take our problems to the Lord, He paves the way before us and our lives become easy and problem-free? This was not the experience of the godly people mentioned above, and it has not been true in my life, nor has it been true in anyone else's life that I know. We have to understand that God allows problems in our lives in order to teach us. For example, He uses problems in our lives to teach us patience. We might have to undergo a particular problem over an extended period of time. This does not mean that God has not dealt with the problem. It means that we have something to learn from the problem, and when we learn it, the problem will be solved. Why does God do things as He does? I don't know, but I do know that if God does something that it is for the best and that when He works it out, my life will be better and I will be a better person. Let's stop complaining about our problems and entrust them to God. (Preaching to myself also!) Bro. Joe
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“The blueness of a wound cleanses away evil…”
This text would not be listed among popular preaching texts, but it tells us something that we need to know. Here is the message of the text: Problems can help us do better. I know this has been true in my life. The problems that we face in life will defeat us according to how we respond to them. Our problems will embitter or sweeten us, and the result is up to us according to how we respond to our problems. God will use our problems to grow our lives if we will meet them prayerfully. Here is what God wants our problems to do for us. God will use our problems to direct us. Problems can point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. We can learn this lesson from looking at Paul’s experiences after he was saved and changed sides from anti-Christian to pro- Christian. For example, at Lystra in his first missionary journey, Paul was stoned and left for dead. Paul did not say “this is not what I bargained for when I accepted Jesus.” Instead what he did was to continue his missionary work in the same places where he had his greatest problems. God used Paul’s problems to direct him, and He will use our problems to direct us. God will use our problems to inspect is. Someone wrote that “people are like tea bags because if you want to know what’s inside of them drop them in hot water and see how they react." How we react to our problems reveals the real us. In Acts when the disciples were told not to mention the name of Jesus anymore, continued to share His name and won many people to Christ. The Bible and Christian history are rife with stories about great Christians working their way through problems. Many times they continued to serve in spite of threats on their lives. Many continue to do that today. God will use our problems to correct us. Parents try to tell their children not to touch a hot stove, but usually they have to experience touching a hot stove to discover the problem. The psalmist told us in Psalm 119:71: “It is good for me that I have been afflicted that I may learn your statutes.” If we look back honestly in our lives we will say the same thing. Looking back at my own problems, I can see how they corrected, and redirected, me. I have discovered that the effectiveness of a Christian’s life is how he, or she, addresses their problems and whether or not they are defeated by them, or strengthened by them. Think back on your reactions to your problems in your home, at your work and at your church. What have they done for your life? Have they embittered you or have they made you better? Bro. Joe |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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