EMBRACE PROBLEMS AS GIFTS
Pastor Mark Stephens
dare2believe@aol.com

Problems and crises are a part of life. Some people hit a problem and stop dead in their tracks. That's where they remain-stumped, stymied, stuck. All they want is to get rid of the problem as soon as possible. There are others who find something useful in problems. They think to themselves, "What can I learn from this experience? What does God want to change in me?" This week is our sixth principle for finding God's way in our life: welcome your problems as gifts from God to help you become a better person.

Whether the problems relates to a career, relationships, health, emotions, or loss, we all tend to focus our energies on putting out the fire and making sure it does not flare up anytime soon. It may be a recurring chest pain you just hope will go away. It may be a disconnect in your marriage you are learning to cope with. It may be an eating problem for which you have tried hundreds of diet programs. It is a problem, it is painful, and we want it gone. Yesterday was not soon enough. That is why we focus on it.

Now, there is not anything wrong with trying to solve the problem and ease the pain. The way out of a problem is not the main concern. The primary issue is seeing God's perspective of his problems and finding God's way through it. Key word here is through it.

The word"through" is important. God see our difficulties different than we do. We might compare it to how differently a physician and a patient sometimes view pain. You come to the doctor in agony. You want a shot or pill, something to make the pain go away, and you want it NOW! Your doctor realized that the pain is a sign of a deeper problem. He prescribes more pain: surgery and physical therapy.

Now you have a choice. You can either demand immediate relief, knowing your problem will recur. Or you can go "through" the healing process and resolve the issue once and for all. That's the same kind of choice you face when dealing with life's problems and crises. God loves you completely and wants the best for you. But like your physician, He is less concerned about your immediate comfort than about your long term health and growth.

This is why James wrote in 1:2-3 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." God's way is not out of your problem but through them. That is how we learn from our difficulties to find God's way.

So instead of looking for a way out of your situation, you may want to consider two other places to look which will get you through them: upward and inward.

The first direction to look in order to find God's way through your problem is upward. You must turn the eyes of your heart toward God, His Word, and His ways. Too often, when trouble arises, we run away from God, the church, His people, rather than to them. I can tell you this, you won't need to look far to find Him. He is waiting just beyond your ability to resolve your problem. Like a lost child crying for his/her parent, cry out to the One who knows the solution to your problem, the lessons to be learned, and the way to get you there.

Our tendency is to play it safe. We are uncomfortable relying on an unpredictable God. Yet God knows that our "safe" approach to problems dries up the soul. He invites us to look upward to all His opportunities and resources. Scripture says, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…." (Hebrews 12:2) And also, Psalm 46:1: "God is our refuge and strength a very present help in a time of trouble." God is like a storm that is raining down on a stagnant stream which has been clogged with debris. As the floods come, the debris is broken up and the flow begins again.

The second direction to look is inward. Once you have looked up to God, He will take you on a journey into yourself to teach you valuable lessons. He will shine a lantern of truth into the recesses of your heart, illuminating attitudes, old wounds, fresh hurts, weaknesses, and perspectives where you need to submit to His touch. A good scripture for this is found in Psalm 119:105 "Thy word is a lamp unto my fee, and a light unto my path."

Problems are a gift in that they help us normalize pain, that is, expect pain as a regular part of life. When we are in the middle of a trial, whether it's a minor problem or a catastrophic loss, we protest or deny that these things should not be. But none of it changes the reality of the pain we face. The more we bluster, the harder it is to learn the first lesson of trouble: it must be accepted as a part of life.

You must give up your protest about pain and problems and come to a place of acceptance. Only then can you learn what choices, paths, lessons, and opportunities are available to you. You accept pain as a part of life. You accept that problems will always be with you. You accept that you do not have all the answers. You accept that some problems will remain mysteries unto we are face to face with God. Acceptance helps us to live in God's reality, adapt and change to the way things really are, and to trust Him.

Our problems are gifts in another way. They help us identify with God's sufferings. God is not One to shrink from problems, nor does He avoid the difficulty they cause Him. Actually, they are not difficult to Him at all because I've read someplace that "Nothing is impossible for God." He could have created the world differently. He has chosen a path that brings suffering for Himself. He deals with problems, even when they hurt Him.

Ever since Adam and Eve, the human race has been a problem for God. He only wants to love and guide us, but we have walked away from Him since time began. He doesn't want to destroy us and start over, because He loves us. Yet when He tries to draw close to us we shake our fists in His wonderful face or attempt to be God ourselves. So God has this problem, since our response to His love is not what He desires.

God has a heart. He feels deeply, especially about us, and our rebellion hurts Him. When Israel turned away from Him, His response was, "My heart churns within me" (Hosea 11:8). When Jesus saw the hard-heartedness of Jerusalem, He cried out, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" (Matthew 23:37).

God's response to His problem with us is to face it and take responsibility for doing something about it. He does not protest against, avoid, or deny the problem. Yet He suffers during the process. While He redeems, restores, forgives, repairs, and heals us, He suffers from what we put Him through. When we learn how God addresses problems this way, we learn to identity ourselves with His sufferings. Throughout the ages, spiritual people have studied how identifying with His pain helps us draw closer to Him, see life as it really is, and take a right approach to life's problems.

This is why there is much to be learned through problems as we allow ourselves to come closer to God's suffering, especially the sufferings of Jesus:"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross" (Hebrews 12:2a). When we identify with God's sufferings, we are deepened and matured. Many say that getting through a problem was not nearly as important as what they learned about suffering God's way.

Don't ask God to get rid of your problems, and do not merely tolerate them. Welcome them as gifts and you will find God's way through them. View your problems as the next steps of growth for your spiritual journey.