Have you ever wanted a life with no problems? So has everyone else. I don't know too many people who enjoy going through struggles and trials of various kinds. There is a plan for every problem. Nobody lives a perfect life, and to be honest I wouldn't want a perfect life anyway. Perfect isn't fun. God uses broken people like you and I because he has more pieces to work with.
I never understood why my shoulder popped out my junior and senior seasons of football. I didn't do anything (weights or running) my sophomore season and still had a decent healthy season. My junior and senior year I was running, lifting weights, and working hard all through out the summer and I wasn't able to finish the seasons healthy both years. Some may call it bad luck—I think it's just God growing me. Romans 5:3-4 "We can rejoice when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation."
When it comes to problems—avoiding them is the worst thing you can do. First, you need to acknowledge the problem. Acting like nothing is wrong won't fix anything. The best part of a problem is that each problem has a solution. If you remember anything from this post remember that.
The best way to attack your problems are to go through them, not around them. Like I stated above, avoiding problems won't fix anything. So many people wish all their problems would go away. Wishing won't solve anything. Action is required.
Like anything else, without action nothing will get done. Stop being somebody that complains about all your problems—go attack all your problems. Don't let your problems control and define you. One of the best parts about problems is we can control them, they don't control us.
A story that illustrates running from your problems perfectly is Jonah and the whale. The Lord tells Jonah to go to Nineveh and Jonah did the exact opposite. Jonah was terrified because the people of Nineveh were cruel. Jonah ends up running away from his problem hoping to escape from the Lord. He ends up getting on a ship and falling asleep. While he is asleep the Lord sends a powerful storm. The sailors on the ship wake him up and tell him to pray to his God. The storm ends up getting worse and Jonah has the sailors throw him into the sea.
While in the sea Jonah gets swallowed by a great fish. Jonah stayed inside the fish for three days and three nights. Jonah prayed for God to have mercy on him and the whale spit him onto the beach. Jonah later goes onto Nineveh.
I think that so often we are Jonah. We run away from our problems and hope they disappear— but the storm only gets worse. We have a God that is there for us and we choose to completely ignore him. This God has his arms wide open begging for us to come to him for help.
I have a challenge for you. I'm a fan of challenges. Next time you are facing a problem, instead of complaining about it— pray about it. This same God that helped Jonah with his problem wants to help you with your problem too. Matthew 21:21-22 states, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask in prayer."
Your problem might feel like a mountain, but don't let it control you. We serve a mountain moving God that wants you to give your problem to him. Your problem might be big, but it's not bigger than your God. Stop putting limits on a limitless God—trust in him.
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