“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
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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