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What is
God Telling You?
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What is
God telling you with the problems He permits in your life?
The problems you face will either
defeat you or develop you depending on how you respond to them.
Unfortunately most people fail to see how God wants to use problems for
good in their lives. They react foolishly and resent their problems rather
than pausing to consider what benefit they might bring.
Here are five ways God wants to
use the problems in your life:
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1. God
uses problems to DIRECT you. Sometimes God must light a fire under you to
get you moving. Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us
to change. Is God trying to get your attention?
Sometimes it takes a painful
situation to make us change our ways," Proverbs 20:30 (GN)
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2.
God uses problems to INSPECT you. People are like tea bags. if you want to
know what's inside them, just drop them into hot water! Has God ever
tested your faith with a problem? What do problems reveal about you?
"When you have many kinds of
troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles
test your faith, and this will give you patience." James 1:2-3 (NCV)
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3.
God uses problems to CORRECT you. Some lessons we learn only through pain
and failure. It's likely that as a child your parents told you not to
touch a hot stove. But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we
only learn the value of something ... health, money, a relationship... By
losing it.
". . . It was the best thing
that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your
laws." Psalm 119:71-72 (LB)
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4.
God uses problems to PROTECT you. A problem can be a blessing in disguise
if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. Last year
a friend was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss
had asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem-but it saved him from
being convicted and sent to prison a year later when management's actions
were eventually discovered.
"You intended to harm me,
but God intended it for good. . ."
Genesis 50:20 (NIV)
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5.
God uses problems to PERFECT you. Problems, when responded to correctly,
are character builders. God is far more interested in your character than
your comfort. Your relationship to God and your character are the only two
things you're going to take with you into eternity.
"We can rejoice when we run
into problems . . . they help us learn to be patient. And patience
develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time
we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady."
Romans 5:3-4 (LB)
Here's the point: God is at work
in your life-even when you do not recognize it or understand it. But it's
much easier and profitable when you cooperate with Him.
(Guyworsham@aol.com)
"You may be only one person
in the world, but you may also be the world to one person" |
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