Stuffed Problems

There are many problems and difficulties as we walk this journey called life.  Many mornings we awake and faith is there to help us walk through them.  This is a sweet time to awake and enter into the sweet fellowship of the Lord.  But what about those mornings, when faith is absent?  When you awake and the problems/difficulties seem so big that you can't see past them.  You want the faith to believe that God is bigger.  You want the faith to believe He is all powerful.  You want the faith to believe He will take care of this problem...Maybe you know He is able-fully capable of taking care of this problem but wondering if He will choose to.

May I suggest it is time to look reality in the face.  To get serious about the problem before you.  If you are like me, this problem is always in the back of my mind.  I keep stuffing it down.  As it comes to the surface, I continue pushing it down and with each push the problem goes bigger and bigger.  It seems to take on life all its own.  Then one morning you awake and it is large with its ugly teeth growling at you.

God gives us answers for this through His Word.  We must first acknowledge there is a problem. I would suggest writing this problem out.  This will help us face the problem head on.  Acknowledging the problem is the first step toward freedom.  Many times when we look at the problem head on-it is not nearly as big as it was perceived in our mind.  It loses its teeth and bite. 

Next the Bible teaches us to be thankful.  We can always be thankful for we have a God who cares, understands and knows our heart.  We can be thankful because life here on this earth is temporary and we are just passing through.  We can be thankful for our sins are covered by the blood of the Lamb.  We can be thankful because we have hope and future in this world through our Savior Christ Jesus.  We can be thankful that God is ever so merciful, even if this problem is built by our own sin. We can be thankful that He will walk through this with us and He will never leave us.  We can be thankful that our problem is coming to light. We can be thankful that this problem is not bigger than it is. We can be thankful that our heart can long for God and wait upon His hand and deliverance.  We can be thankful for the problem because it could be the tool God uses to draw us into His presence.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7  (notice He will guard our minds)
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17
 
Next I would suggest doing as King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 19-14-19.

After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the Lord’s Temple and spread it out before the Lord.  And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord: “O Lord, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God.  “It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations.  And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all—only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands. Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O Lord, are God.”

Friend, face your problem. Acknowledge it.  Ask God to cultivate a grateful heart.  Ask Him to extend mercy.  Ask Him to move.  Search His word for Scripture that pertain to your problem.  Mediate upon His Word and wait upon Him.  For faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word.  He loves you truly!