Facing Problems

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 reasons God May have Permitted the problems you experience in your life:

1. God permits 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 allowing this situation to get your attention?
"Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways. " Proverbs 20:30

2. God permits 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 tested your faith by allowing a problem or two into your life? 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

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." Psalms 119:71-72

4. God permits 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

5. God permits 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

** 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.

I Choose Love...

By Max Lucado:

I CHOOSE LOVE...

No occasion justifies hatred: no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves

I CHOOSE JOY....

I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I refuse the temptation to be cynical....the tool of a lazy thinker. I refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I CHOOSE PEACE...

I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I CHOOSE PATIENCE

I will over look the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I will invite him to do so. Rather then complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I CHOOSE KINDNESS...

I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. I will be kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I CHOOSE GOODNESS....

I will go without a dollar, before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked, before I will boast. I will confess, before I accuse. I choose goodness.

I CHOOSE FAITHFULNESS...

Today I will keep my 0promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My spouse will not question my love. And my children will never fear their parent will not be coming home.

I CHOOSE GENTLENESS....

Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice, may it only be in praise. If I clench my fist, may it only be in prayer. If I make a demand, may it only be of myself.

I CHOOSE SELF CONTROL....

I am a Spiritual being...after this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned, only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught, only by Christ. I choose self control.

LOVE, JOY, PEACE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS AND SELF CONTROL. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek HIs Grace. And then, when the day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest. Amen