It seems that there is always some type of crisis with which I am dealing. My wife recently told me that she did not see how I could deal with it all. Managing the burdens of life, can become a heavy load . . . That is, if I let it.
Therein lies the magical answer. As with most things, it is our attitude that makes a difficult situation more difficult.
I can sit around and whine “poor little old me”, and get agitated over my many problems to a point whereby I cannot be consoled, or I can face each challenge with the attitude that I can surmount it by simply staying calm and working my way through it. It does no good to focus on “problems”. We all have them, and will continue to have them right up until the day we die. Illness, changing jobs, spouses, houses, cars, churches, looks, weight, etc., we will never eliminate “problems”.
The Bible tells us that our days on this earth will be short and full of trouble. In other words we will continue to have problems right up to the day we die. What will accomplish some good is to focus on “solutions”. Accept the fact that we will always have problems of some sort and some of them will make us uncomfortable. We are not promised a life on earth filled with nothing but comfort. God promises us trials and tribulations and He tells us that we should be glad that we go through them. It is hard to understand why we need them, however we are not looking at things through His eyes. He created us and decided that we need this in our lives.
The Bible teaches that we gain patience and perseverance by going through trials and tribulations. It is a stretch to say that I have reached a point whereby I am “glad” that I have problems, but I have reached a point whereby I do not dwell on it and feel sorry for myself because something new just blew up in my life. If my Creator thinks I need to face some problems, then who am I to question His wisdom???
I have also reached the point where I “expect” problems, and when I encounter a new one, I just try to grin and bear it. I have enough gray hair now to understand that most problems eventually melt away, and usually in a week or so, we do not even remember the problem that was driving us crazy the week before. I know that I could not have this attitude without my strong faith in God. I know in my heart that one day He will remove me from the trials of this life. In the meantime He is right there with me, probably getting a laugh out of watching me flounder and muddle my way through all these “serious” situations that I think are so very important. Of course He knows they are just little stepping stones through life and He is always available to step in help when I really need it and I ask Him for it.
Next time you face a problem, (probably today), face it with a smile and possibly a sigh, but don’t get too worked up about it. In a hundred years you will not even remember it, and keep in mind that a thousand years is as a day to the Lord. If you are a child of God, that means that someday soon a thousand years will be as a day to you. Is your problem going to make a difference in a thousand years? That is just a day . . . Now chill out and watch your problems melt away!
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Psalms 37:7
Rest in the Lord and wait
patiently for Him . . .
December 21, 2015 – Click here to listen