Solving Problems

 

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart I have overcome the world” – John 16: 33

In this world we face lots of problems; some are a result of our own mistakes, while others are from other sources. In the Old Testament, we see a lady called Hannah in sorrow. She was not having a child and she had to go through embarrassment and shame. But she got an answer to her problem when she submitted it in the hands of God. Same way, when problems come against us we need to take it to the Lord.

At the same time, we need to analyse how this problem came. Problems come to us through different sources.

Result of a Sin

In the book of Genesis we see problems because of the sin of Adam and Eve. God gave them the power to choose to obey and serve Him. Satan influenced them and they sinned against God. This was the beginning of pain, suffering, hardships, disasters and hard work. Curse came upon the earth as a result of sin – Genesis 3

We are given the power to choose to obey God or not to obey Him. When we sin, it is a matter of personal choice and we are personally responsible for our sin (Romans 6: 23).

The way we respond to problems can sometimes create additional problems. A bad attitude or complaining spirit responses to our circumstances. David did adultery and then to cover up that he did murder.

Jesus Christ is the only answer to this problem. You have to come to Him and receive forgiveness through confession and belief. You also need to maintain your relationship to Him as your Lord and Saviour through obedience.

Confession is willing to admit that we are sinners, being sorry for our sins and agreeing that we will stop sinning. It is also an acknowledgement that we want Christ to be the Lord and Master of our lives. While confession, you need to believe that Christ became the covering for our sin (1 Corinthians 15: 17, 21-22). We must show our love to Him by living a life of obedience to Him and His word.

Sometimes we may fall into problems because of our own bad choices

Since we do not have perfect wisdom, we are bound to make mistakes from time to time. Careless or unwise choices can result in problems. We do learn from our mistakes to pay more attentions, to exercise greater care in the choices we make. This is part of our maturing process. 

Another way to solve problem is to keep Bible as your guide and look solutions for the problem. Solutions contrary to scripture must be rejected. As Bible is God’s operation manual for us, we should obey and listen to the work. A wonderful way to check is through Ten Commandments (Exodus 20: 1-7) and the Sermon on the Mount (Mathew 5-7)

You need to check all the commandments, study and meditate upon it to get answers to the problems.

As an example, Mr X’s friend stole a test and gave a copy to Mr X so he would know the answers before he took the test in his class. Now, the result of this action will be the sin will be discovered and everyone will know what they have done, they might even get expelled from the school. When you see the commandments, they have not obeyed the 8^th one – You shall not steal.

Second example is Mr C has been attracted to a married woman he works with, and has been unfaithful to his wife. The problem here is guilt feelings, unhappiness of his wife, unsatisfied family life etc. When you check the commandments, he did not obey 7^th and 10^th one – You shall not commit adultery, and You shall not convent your neighbour’s house, wife, man servant, ox, donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.

God gave commandments to us because He knew that obeying them would help us to avoid many problems and have happy, fulfilled lives. 

Problems may come as a result of outside influences. These problems we don’t have any control. They are natural disasters. Root cause of these is also because of the result of the sin of Adam and Eve

Another way to problem is the action of other people. There are small and large problems which come our way as a result of decisions or actions of others which are entirely outside of our control.

Sometimes we make choices which we know are good, even though we know they cause problems. In Daniel 3, we see 3 young men who refused to bow down and worship the golden image. In Acts 14: 19 we see Apostle Paul preaching even though he knew it will bring persecution

Dealing with these problems, the only way is Prayer and the guidance of Holy Spirit. Establish a habit of communication often with God. He will either show you the solution so that you understand what you must do, or He will work in circumstances so that the problem is solved in other ways.

Always count on the Holy Spirit to direct your daily path (John 16: 13). He will direct you according to biblical principles. Answered prayers and obedience go hand in hand.

Another way to solve problems is usage of common sense and reason. For most of the ordinary situations of life, common sense and our ability to reason are important problem solving tools. Examples are: studying carefully for exams, resting after working hard, asking forgiveness when we have offended someone, staying away from people who have a bad influence on us, etc.

Always keep your conscience sensitive by paying attention to inner warning voice. Thoughts are the root of spoken words and outward acts. Your thoughts are in your direct control. You can refuse to dwell on thoughts that will lead to trouble (Mathew 5: 21-30) 

Finally we have to understand that Problems can purify us and prove our faith in God. Try to face the trials with joy. It will develop perseverance, which leads to spiritual maturity. (James 1: 2-4, 12-27)

Always keep in mind that God will not allow us to be tested beyond our power to remain firm (1 Corinthians 10: 13). He will give us strength to endure and will provide a way to escape. So if we approach the problems with the right attitude, God will use them for our good, to develop in us the characteristics of Christ.

The presence of evil in the world is the root of our problems. So we can turn our problems into victories by allowing God to work good for us through them, perfecting us into the image of Christ and making us more useful servants of God.

Perfect Timing

When the first man sinned, God promised him a saviour who will come to the world and will take the punishment for their sins and save them to be a child of God (Genesis 3: 15). When Adam and Eve heard this promise they would have thought, might be end of that day the saviour will come and do everything which was promised and would have waited for his arrival. But Lord Jesus came to this world as human 4000 years after God promised his arrival.

Man thinks things to be done at a certain time, but God decides to do everything at His perfect time. “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD” – Proverbs 21: 31.

Throughout the Bible we see God’s perfect timings against man’s wish.

In Genesis 37, we see Joseph getting sold by his brothers and being punished by Potiphar, even when he was innocent. But God made a perfect timing for him after 13 years and made him the prime minister of Egypt (Genesis 41).

In Exodus 6, we see when God wanted to rescue Israelites from the torture of Pharaoh, he brought plagues in Egypt. He could have made Pharaoh to let the Israelites go to Canaan. But He made Pharaoh’s heart hard to show His power and glory to the world and in His time he rescued Israel miraculously through the Red sea.

When the wicked Haman was plotting and planning to destroy Israel, God made Esther the queen and in His time destroyed Haman (Esther 7)

Even in New Testament opening, we see the priest Zechariah who was praying for a child for long years. He and his wife were old. But God did not give them a child. Why? Because God was planning to bring Jesus into the world and he wanted John, the Baptist to be born just before Jesus birth. (Luke 1).

There are people who are disappointed and depressed that they are childless, or not married, or unemployed. Some are depressed because of physical, financial or emotional stress/problems. The people we see throughout Bible were also very sad and discouraged when problems came in their life. But one think they did. They prayed and kept hope that God can make a way in any situation. Same way God showed them their miracle at His perfect time.

You need to read the Bible, accept the verse as it is, pray and meditate upon it and claim your miracle accordingly. Always have Jesus Christ as your personal saviour, accepting your sins and confessing it before God and believing and accepting the fact that Christ paid the price for your sins and you’re free from sin once you accept Christ. So you are saved not to go back to your sins, but to live a holy life, to do good works.

May The Lord help you to accept salvation, live a holy life and claim all the blessed promises this end of the year with faith and hope, to get miracles and blessings from God in His and your Prefect Time of life.

Rebuilding the Temple – Ezra

As the book opens (Ezra 1:1-6), we find Cyrus, king of Persia, making a proclamation throughout his kingdom permitting the Jews who were captives in his kingdom to return to Jerusalem. 200 years before, God had prophesied that he would do this.

At Cyrus’s first call in 537 B C (Ezra 1:1-4), no more than 50000 Jews availed themselves of the opportunity of returning to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel. Cyrus gave back to Zerubbabel the golden vessels Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:5-11). They started back over 700 miles of barren desert from Babylon to Jerusalem. Everything was taken care by God who is in charge. Not only money for rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem, but also travelling expenses and all other needs were provided by God at Cyrus’s direction (Ezra 1:4,6).

The names of those who returned are given in chapter 2. They laid the foundation of the Temple. It is interesting to notice that before they built homes for themselves they first thought of a house for The Lord. They did not build the Temple first, but the alter (Ezra 3:2). Read about the hindrances to all the work (Ezra 4:1-22). The opposition disheartened them. Haggai and Zechariah, the prophets, encouraged the people from within the ranks (Ezra 4:23 – 5:17), and within 4 years the Temple was completed and dedicated (Ezra 6).

Ezra appears in the 7th chapter. 60 years after the Jews had first returned to Jerusalem, he led a second expedition from Babylon to reinforce the struggling colonists in Judah. We can find in Ezra 7:25, how impressed the king was with Ezra’s love of God’s word. Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel (Ezra 7:10). Under Ezra we see a great revival.

Ezra and Nehemiah tell the history of the return of God’s chosen people after the exile. They give the record of one of the most important events in Jewish history – the return from exile in Babylon. The purpose of God may sometimes seem delayed, but they are never abandoned. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell us how God remembered and how He brought back his people from exile. If you trust in God and live accordingly, the blessings and promises God provides to you may delayed. It may be because of your disobedience or even God’s plan. But when you call upon Him and plead your submission, He will hear and answer all your desires according to His riches and glory in Jesus Christ.

In Ezra, we see the first thing what they did was to build an alter to offer sacrifices for their sins. The place where sin must be dealt with must come first in every life. The heart must be right if God is to bless. The alter was the center of the Jewish people, the Cross the center of the Christian faith. If you are urging for a miracle in life, first thing is to repent your sins before God and accept the salvation.

May the Spirit of Lord guide you in repentance and salvation, to grow in Christ and live a holy life.

Perplexed but Not in Despair

When God created Adam and Eve, He gave them two options – obey or disobey God. They fell into the temptations of Satan and failed the test. Through them sin entered the world. Satan still influences people to disobey God. Because of sin, even though they were separated from God, in mercy, God promised One who would redeem everyone from sin (Genesis 3:15). The offspring of the woman (the virgin born Jesus) would come to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).

If the Lord keeps record of the sins of any one, nobody will be able to stand before him (Psalm 130). So God gave another option to escape from sin - Accept Christ and get saved. When we accept Christ, there is forgiveness for our sins as he carried all our sins on the cross and took punishment for our sake (1 Peter 2:24).

Christ redeems all our sins when we accept him as our personal saviour. The moment you receive him as your saviour, the Spirit of God will guide you in living a life pleasing to God. In Bible there is only one sin which is mentioned, will not be forgiven – it is against this Holy Spirit. We see in Mark 3:20 -35, Jesus telling the lawyers who ever blasphemes against Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. Same is written about the Holy Spirit in all the four Gospels.

Christ nowhere promises that a Christian will be free from suffering or sorrow. Rather do we hear “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). Christ allows us to get into trouble that he may deliver us. He allowed Daniel to be put into the den of lions that he might pull him out. He allowed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to go into the fiery furnace that he might deliver them. He allowed Paul to be shipwrecked that he might save him. Our God is able to deliver.

We see Apostle Paul telling about his tribulations in 2 Corinthians 4. When he was converted, the Lord said, “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name” – Acts 9:16. Paul was optimistic because he knew that affliction’s here would increase glory beyond (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). He could sing as he suffered for he knew the wonderful grace of God. He was always conscious of the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. He knew that greater the suffering in this present world, the greater the glory of eternity (2 Corinthians 4: 8-18). He lived with his eye on the future.

Apostle Paul finds his comfort through all his troubles in the fact of the resurrection that Christ promised. He lived under the inspiration of the fact that one day he was to have a changed, glorified body. Our suffering bodies will soon be exchanged for painless glorified bodies. Whether we live or die, we must keep this reward in view (2 Corinthians 5:10). As persecution is increasing in this world against the believers, life of Apostle Paul should motivate everyone to carry the cross and live a faithful life.

May God strengthen you to go ahead in life and live for Jesus and glorify him in the midst of trials and tribulations, so that one day when you leave this world, you will be welcomed gloriously in Heaven.