14 February 2010
Problems are Just Faith Opportunities!
February/16/2010 05:00 PM
Problems, worries and cares. We all face them from time to time. Some folks stay buried beneath them their entire life. As I was meditating on this verse and how problems come to challenge all of us, I remembered a song I used to hear on the radio when I was a small child. It was a song by the Everly Brothers called "Problems, Problems." Here's an excerpt from the lyrics of this song in case you are too young to remember it:
"Problems, problems, problems all day long.
Will my problems turn out right or wrong.
Worries, worries pile up on my head, woe is
me I should I should have stayed in bed."
Born again children of the most High God shouldn't be speaking out words like these. However, this can be said of many Christians. Instead of calling a tough spot a problem, call it a faith opportunity! A problem is the perfect opportunity to use our faith to bring attention and glory to God rather than singing the praises of the problem and making it appear as if the devil's in charge! Without the use of our faith, the enemy will have a heyday at our expense. We need to be praisers, not pacers!
We were saved and healed by faith, but let's not forget that it is by faith that we receive all the promises to walk victorious every day. God doesn't bring the problems our way so we can use our faith! On the contrary, He gives us the powerful tool of faith to use against the enemy and all negative circumstances that He knows will come because we live on this earth. Our Father is a good God. He cares for us affectionately and cares about us watchfully.
John 10:10 says: "The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the fullest."
We must be careful not to see our problem as so huge that it actually over shadows our trust in God and in His greater power. Remember: BIG GOD - little devil; not the other way around!!
1 John 4:4 "Greater is He who is in you than He that is in the world."
We are born of God:
1 John 5:4 "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world, and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."
We must learn to do what 1 Peter 5:7 says. We must cast all of our cares, or roll the whole of our care, on God. If we don't, the worries just "pile up."
Don't let cares and worries become piled up. There are many kinds of "pile ups." There are laundry and dish pile ups that happen if we don't tackle them right away. If we don't knock them out as we go, then the pile up just gets bigger and bigger until the job seems overwhelming!
It is also a good idea to check the traffic news on the television or radio before heading out of the house for an important activity or a trip out of town. If there is a big sporting event such as football championships or a NASCAR race there are bound to be traffic pile ups. If we know ahead of time we can have an alternate route planned out and avoid the traffic jam. Let’s be prayers and praisers and not pacers!
All of the "pile ups" in life can cause us to get buried in the worry and care of it all and steal our joy. Jesus told us in Matthew 6:25 and 6:34 not to worry about our life, what we will eat, drink or wear. He said not to worry about our lives and not to worry about tomorrow because tomorrow would have plenty to deal with in itself. If it is something you can't physically change at the moment, why worry?
Rest in the Lord, He is the one who can change what is needed. He cares about you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. He knows the number of hairs on your head. He cares about every detail of his creation, including a little sparrow that falls. How much more valuable are you than the sparrows?
Instead of taking the opportunity to worry over the problem, make it a faith opportunity! Speak the word of God over your situation. Start praising and worshipping Him and thanking Him for deliverance and victory.
"I will sing to the Lord because He has taken care of me." Psalm 13:6
Don't proclaim the problem all day and carry all the burdens and let them pile up. Roll them over on God's big shoulders every moment of every day.
Luke 8:14 "The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear but as they go on their way, they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature."
What an amazing thought! If we want to grow and mature spiritually, we have to learn not to worry. Actually, not worrying keeps us alive! When we worry over our problems the life will be choked out of us. The word that was alive and working in us will be stolen and produce nothing.
Faith filled words, on the other hand, carry power to give life and to change things! Any situation, no matter how bad it looks, will surrender to the word and our faith. We must get our heart filled with God's word and be sure that is what we speak. Singing the song "Problems, Problems" and" Woe is me" will keep us defeated. Speak out and sing out your faith!
"For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." Matthew 12:34
Luke 17:6 “He replied, ‘If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it will obey you.’”
Instead of speaking defeat, gloom and doom, speak the word. When problems arise just praise God and say this is a great faith opportunity!
Hebrews 13:6 “So we will say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid: What can man do to me?”
Phil. 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice!”
The righteous cry out and the LORD hears them. He delivers them from all their troubles. Psalm 34:17
kimconnor@whwc.org
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