Problem Solving

Question:  have you ever taken things into your own hands and tried to solve them?  Sometimes problems come up and we think we have the answer and start trying to solve whatever it is ourselves and before we know it we have made the problem worse than it was.

I don’t think it is wrong to try to fix some things but we should know our limitations and seek help when we need it.  One of the things I have noticed about my wife is this, when she needs help with something she asks and she keeps asking until she gets the help.  But many of us don’t ask we just try to figure things out on our own resulting in frustration and, at times, anger because we can’t fix whatever the problem is that we are trying to solve.  

Many men have a real problem with this when they are driving; they seem to have a real struggle with asking someone for directions.  I wonder how much time and gasoline have been wasted because of this problem.  I think you could put this in the category of pride.  Pride is a horrible thing; it keeps people from reaching their greatest potential in life.  I have heard something like this said before, “the dumbest question is the one you do not ask.”

If you are a believer your help should come from the Lord but too many times we forget to include Him in our problem solving.  If you are a believer, do you believe that God cares about every detail of your life?  If every believer believes this then why does this happen?  One reason may be that we are in such a hurry we don’t want to wait on the Lord, we want the problem solved now.  Sometimes we lose faith in God to handle the situations we find ourselves in because we have asked Him on other occasions about things and it didn’t turn out the way we thought it should. Another reason is we may think God is just too busy to be bothered with our problems.  

I want you to know that the Lord loves you and cares about your life and all that involves you.  The Word says in Matthew 10:29-31, “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent?  And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.”  Like I said the Lord loves you with an unconditional love and He cares about everything that you are going through including every trial, circumstance or situation you are facing.  This doesn’t mean that you will be exempt from these things.  Everyone will be tested and tried to show what they and their faith are made of.  Jesus was tested and tried too and He overcame and so can we if we rely on Him.  

Many times we act like Peter in the garden trying to solve the problem when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus in John 18:10, “Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus.”  Peter thought he was protecting Jesus but Jesus didn’t need him to protect Him, He could have called on multitudes of angels if He wanted but that would have defeated the purpose of why He came.  

Many times we react just like Peter trying to solve our problems in the flesh when we should be relying on the Lord to handle our problems.  When Peter cut this man’s ear off he could have been tried and even killed for what he had done if it had not been for Jesus intervening on Peter’s behalf.  When we try to handle some of our problems on our own, many times we just make things worse.  So regardless of how insignificant it may seem, take it to the Lord, then with His help you can take on the problem and get it solved and save yourself a lot of stress and turmoil.  God bless and have a great day!!