Problems. The come daily, hourly, sometimes minute by minute.
It's a given. A fact of life.
How do you handle problems?
Listen to Scott Peck, from his classic book, "The Road Less Traveled."
"It is in this whole process of meeting and solving problems that life has meaning. Problems are the cutting edge that distinguishes between success and failure. Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom; indeed they create our courage and our wisdom. It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually.....It is through the pain of confronting and resolving problems that we learn.
As Benjamin Franklin said, "Those things that hurt, instruct. Fearing the pain involved, almost all of us....Attempt to avoid problems. We even take drugs to assist us in ignoring them, so that by deadening ourselves to the pain we can forget the problems that cause the pain."
And then Peck goes on to write, "this tendency to avoid problems and the emotional suffering inherent in them is the primary basis of all human mental illness."
Carl Jung once wrote, "neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering."
In other words, the substitute itself ultimately becomes more painful than the "legitimate suffering," it was trying to avoid.
On top of that, when we try to avoid legitimate suffering that means that we also avoid the growth that problems demand of us.
The Bible tells us in Hebrews 5:8 that Jesus, "learned obedience from the things which he suffered." From the things he suffered, not in spite of those things.
Do you have a problem? "Well, yeah, George," you say. Could it be that your problem is a God-appointed situation that is there to instruct and challenge and deepen your walk with Him?
Face the problem head on! Lean upon the provider in the midst of your problem.
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2 comments:
I've taken to asking God right up front in problem situations if there is something I need to learn, please let me learn it quickly. Times of hardship provide many opportunities for all of us. It was hard to realize this throughout our terminally ill son's life and death but what we learned in the process has been vital in our continuing walk in this world and with God. As a father, it is my job to instruct my children; I learned more from that child than I ever taught him. He walked the talk, you could say! And Jesus did the same thing...in fact, He was the originator of walking the talk! So, when times get tough, I ask God what I am supposed to learn from my troubles, from my problems, and then I ask that He teach me quickly. Sometimes He does and sometimes, it's the patience and fortitude that He's been trying to teach me.
In all cases, I have learned to sing His praises and sing songs of worship. Even in the worst of my times and trials, songs have lifted me...scripture has lifted me...prayer has lifted me...God has lifted me!
Love God, love people.
Jon
For me, there is no question if I focus on the problem, it seems insurmountable. However, when I seek the Lord, he guides me to focus on Him, not the problem and what I am personally dealing with. I have had to learn to go straight to the Lord when crisis hits. If I don't, I'm a wreck and can barely focus on anything else. And there are still times I fail to do this. The Lord is always waiting for us to come to him and relieve us of our burdens. We just have to give it up and quickly. It sounds so "spiritual" to say give it to the Lord, but it just means talk to him instead of everyone else and trust Him because he is in control of all the circumstances. Talking to others will relieve some stress and make you feel better to know someone is there, but giving it to the Lord is where real freedom and peace comes.
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