AS A FOLLOWER OF JESUS, HOW DO I HANDLE PROBLEMS IN MY OWN
LIFE, AND HOW DO I RESPOND TO PROBLEMS IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS?
BIBLE PASSAGE:
“Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by
Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You.”
(Jeremiah 32:17)
MEDITATION:
Are you guilty of deciding that you will handle the ‘little things’
on your own without asking for the Lord’s guidance and help?
Why would we do that? Maybe we thought it would be better
if we didn’t ‘bother’ God with the ‘little stuff’ so He could stay
focused on ‘bigger things’?
Or maybe we didn’t want to steal time from our Heavenly
Father who is busy piercing the hearts of the lost so they
will receive salvation. It’s ludicrous for us to think God
needs our help or time management, isn’t it?
Clearly, God wants us to serve Him in the way He has chosen
for each of us, but since God created the universe and all that’s
in it, He doesn’t need our assistance for anything. That might
raise the question in our minds,
“Why does He want us to serve, if He doesn’t need our help?”
Since He doesn’t need us, then serving Him would have to
be for our benefit, wouldn’t it? God has His master plan,
and when we receive salvation from Him, we become an
important and integral part of His plans.
Serving and tithing are two opportunities for us to express our love
and appreciation to Him for our salvation. We are also blessed with
the knowledge that we are obeying Him when we fulfill the plans He
has for our lives.
Imagine for a minute that we have been given the spiritual gift of mercy.
That means we have a propensity to be understanding, compassionate
and encouraging to others. We don’t just ‘hear’ about their issues, but
we ‘feel’ their pain and have a desire to comfort them in any way we can.
Now, imagine that we have been actively using our gift of mercy for a long
time with someone who barely acknowledged our efforts. But one day, we
hear them express to us just how much they appreciated our concern and
our presence when they really needed someone to ‘be there’ for them.
We could experience an exhilarating feeling like we have never felt before,
because we know that our efforts were needed, and the things we said and
did were more powerful, more important, and more appreciated by them
than we could have ever imagined.
All of us probably know someone who is loving and seems to have a natural
gift of being merciful, but God also blesses some of the strong and powerful
with the gift of mercy. I believe it’s to show that no matter who we are, or
how strong and independent we appear to be, we can still have a soft side
created by God that is loving and caring toward others.
I could be wrong, but I think of Paul as that kind of person. He was
powerfully and effectively persecuting the followers of Jesus, until
the Lord gained control of him and his heart. After Jesus became
active in his life, Paul became passionate in his love for others and
his desire to see them know the Lord the way he knows Him.
The first words of Jeremiah’s prayer acknowledged the power of God.
In fact, his entire prayer was about the majestic power of our Creator.
(Jeremiah 32:17-25).
The first part of God’s response to Jeremiah was,
“I am the LORD, the God of all
mankind. Is anything too hard for Me?”
(Jeremiah 32:27)
You might be thinking, “Really? Is nothing too difficult for God?”
What about a natural disaster, cancer, or the loss of a job? Does
this include divorce, a wayward child, or a corrupt government?
Trouble, crisis, and difficulties often arise when we least expect
them. If we aren’t grounded firmly in the Truth of God’s Word,
the waves of turmoil will crash down and drown us in their wake.
Just as God spoke through Jeremiah to the Israelites, He uses these
same verses to speak to us today. When we find ourselves deep in
the water of turmoil, we must maintain our faith that God will send
us a lifeline through scripture, prayer, a support group, friends (or
even a stranger), a family member, or any other venue of His choosing.
The Lord provides encouragement when there seems to be none
available. He loves us too much to let us sink under the weight
of any burden we face. He may not remove the storm we are in,
but He has promised to be with us during it. He tells us that we
should be content with what He provides, and promises us that
He will not leave us to suffer alone.
Keep your lives free from the love of money and
be content with what you have, because God has
said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
(Hebrews 13:5)
And the beauty of God is, His power is not limited by anything or
anyone. We know that life can be filled with many problems and
burdens. But when they hit us and it sometimes feels like we are
in a boxing match with a heavyweight champion who is pounding
us with one ‘gut punch’ after another, we must remember to hold
fast to this truth:
“God’s power is infinite and nothing’s too hard for Him”.
ACTION:
When we are suffering some physical or emotional struggle, we need
to realize that some people may never encourage us, and sometimes,
even the ones we thought would be there for us, are absent. When that
happens, Satan will start trying to create a martyr mentality in our minds.
He wants to convince us that we are alone in our suffering and nobody
else cares. He wants us to observe how others are continuing to enjoy
their lives, so we will feel even more isolated from everyone, including
God.
Satan’s goal is to ultimately create separation from us and our loving
Heavenly Father so we will feel abandoned and lose all hope and trust
in the One we know we can depend on; the One who will walk with us
and help us to navigate and cope with whatever overwhelms us.
Questions to consider:
– Am I having physical or emotional issues right now?
– Do I know that I could suddenly be overwhelmed in some way?
– If I have had struggles in the past, did they feel insurmountable
because I didn’t call on God for help?
(God wants us to be dependent on Him;
not independent and relying on ourselves and our capabilities)
– When problems have arisen in my life, did I feel like I lacked
encouragement and prayers from others? If so, did it create
a martyr-like mentality in me?
– What action plan do I have for future problems that might arise?
Will I call on the Lord, or ignore the One who has promised to
never leave or forsake me?
As followers of Jesus, we need to be sensitive to the needs of others.
Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united
with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing
in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy
complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in
spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain
conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not
looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of
the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same
mindset as Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 2:1-5)
We live in a world of increasing problems and as followers of Jesus
we need to discover the spiritual gift God has given us and actively
use it in serving Him and pointing others to His Son, Jesus. We can
choose to be a ‘lazy Christian’, or we can choose to embrace the way
God wants us to serve Him with the same mindset as Jesus.
Those who refused God’s merciful gift of salvation will be judged when
Jesus returns. However, followers of Jesus will also face an examination
of how they have lived out their faith, used God’s gifts, and served others.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things
done while in the body, whether good or bad.
(2 Corinthians 6:10)
You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why
do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before
God’s judgment seat. It is written:
“As surely as I live,” says the Lord,
“every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.”
So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
(Romans 14:10-12)
The gift of mercy may not be the prominent spiritual gift we
have been given, but all followers of Jesus should be merciful
in the same manner of Jesus….
“have the mindset of Christ Jesus”
Some have created their own standards and guidelines for
living the Christian life, but what do the scriptures tell us?
“have the mindset of Christ Jesus”
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, forgive me for having an inadequate faith
in You and Your power. Forgive me if I have decided to bring
only ‘big things’ to You and tried to handle what I consider as
‘smaller things’ myself. Like Jeremiah, I realize that nothing
is too difficult for You. From this day forward, help me to bring
any problem to You, no matter how small they may seem to me.
Convict me that I am guilty of striving to be independent when
I try to handle things on my own. Teach me to be aware that You
want my exclusive dependence on You as my Heavenly Father. I
thank You that no matter what heartache or excruciating pain
I might have, You can help me with my burdens when I lay them
at Your feet. Thank You for always being there for me. You are
the God I love and want to prove it through my actions.”
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