Let's fix this problem for good!

Problems have a potential to destroy those who don't get up time and time again with a renewed determination to face them, deal with them, and be finished with them!  We can get pretty down if all we do is focus on the problem.  When we get our focus outside the problem, into the arena of considering the solutions, we have a chance to actually deal with the issues and get it fixed for good.  Yesterday, we looked at the ways we perceive our problems as influencing what we do with them.  When we see them as opportunities for our growth rather than challenges to do us in, we face them differently, don't we?  I heard a friend once say, "Problems have to be handled on a different level than they were created."  That stuck with me all these years - there is more truth in those words than some may think.  As long as we remain firmly rooted in the problem, we have no chance to get free of its hold.  We find the solutions to the problem on a different "level" than they were created.  Maybe this is why God reminds us repeatedly of the need to keep our focus on him - even in the midst of the worst of our problems.

So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.  (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 MSG)

Our number one principle for dealing with problems is our focus.  If we focus on the face of God - we maintain balance and perspective.  When do our "solutions" to our problems get us in the most trouble, giving us more headache or heartache than the original problem?  Isn't it when we get out of balance or lose sight of the issue?  We exert all our energies on this one "fix" which may only "fix" the one side of the issue, but remember - - - all issues have two sides!  Balance is important - and it is best obtained when we allow God to define the "sides" of the problem.  Truth be told, God often leads us into ways of "fixing" the problem which are completely contrary to the ways we would have perceived the problem being fixed.  We need to know it is not so much the "fix" as it is the "right fix" which bring us the relief we so desperately are seeking.

In the midst of our problems, we have a tendency to allow something most of us call "depression" to creep in on us.  It may not meet the clinical definition of depression, but we just get into a real "funk" over the issue.  It gets us "down" and we just don't want to exert the effort any longer to see it fixed. It seems to be getting the "upper hand" in our lives.  So, we fall prey to this idea of "giving up".  We need to be on guard when these feelings of "just giving up" creep in.  These feelings are a powerful tool when we allow them to be paired with any of our other less reliable emotions such as our fear, frustration, or shame.  This feeling of "depression" should be a clear warning sign for us - because it means we either have our focus on the problem, not the solution; or we have our focus on self or other and not on the one capable of solving the problem.  We only move "toward" a solution when our focus is right - we have to deal with this desire to "give up" if we are to ever move beyond the problem.  When the problem begins to take center-stage, it is time to refocus.

Most of the struggle comes when we see the problem as something capable of defeating us.  If you will begin to lay hold of this one truth, it may just help you change your perspective on the problem.  The truth:  God is an all-powerful God, standing ON BEHALF of his children.  As long as I see the truth of God standing ON MY BEHALF, I will face the problem differently.  When I begin to believe the lie that God has abandoned me, or doesn't care about me in the midst of my present trouble, I begin to be eaten alive by the problem! If we'd just realize how much God looks for the opportunities to show himself strong on our behalf, we'd stop trying to invent our own "fixes" for the problems we face!  Even when God has to carry us for a while, he still loves that he can intervene in the midst of our need in this way.  

Some may think I am saying we deny the existence of the gravity or depth of the problem.  Oh, quite the contrary is true.  We don't deny its existence, nor its depth.  But...we need to remember when we focus on its depth, we get deeper into its darkest place!  You cannot get sucked into the depths of the problem and not be a little overwhelmed by all the "darkness" surrounding you in the midst of it!  There are problems which just bring us a huge sense of "darkness" or "clouded" perception.  In the midst of this tough place, we most desperately need to focus on just how close God is to us - for darkness is best faced when someone has the ability to bring light into the darkest place!

Some things I will leave you with today:
- We need to be committed to walking on the right path.  If we are, the problems we face are defined for our growth.  If we aren't, chance are we are making the problems and we will need to do an about-face to find the way out of them!
- In the midst of the problems which are designed for our growth, we need to remain focused on the goodness and greatness of the God we serve.  When we remember he is in control, standing on our behalf, it makes it possible to see the problems differently.
- Problems don't "melt away" - they are worked through.  As we are "working through" those problems, the best place to be is close to the heart of Jesus. As we drawn near to him, he draws nearer to us.  In turn, we sense him more than we sense the problem.  The "fix" is often discovered in the closeness we maintain to the one who "owns the fix" - Jesus.  Just sayin!

You stuck in the maze?

Have you ever heard the saying, “I was going the wrong direction, but I sure was making good time”?  In life, we have a lot of different directions – only one really produces the best outcome - - - all the rest are a poor substitute or just plain wrong.  If you have ever seen a corn maze, you know there are a lot of tall corn stalks growing in the field – some have been removed to make a series of paths for you to traverse through.  In the midst of the tall green stalks, you might get a little twisted around and end up back where you started.  If you have ever seen the “birds-eye” view from a helicopter above, you can see plainly the design of the maze.  You know which turns will end in dead-ends and those which will just loop you around to the same spot you started.  The maze is designed to confound you a little.  Guess what?   Life is designed to confound you a bit at times, too!  There are turns which will dead-end us, sometimes after a whole lot of effort getting there.  There are others which just get us right back to square zero again, wondering how we keep finding our way back to the same things over and over again.

Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have! (Matthew 6:22-23 MSG)

Having the wrong perspective just gives us more darkness to deal with.  Sometimes getting a change in perspective leads to light and light dispels darkness.  Proverbs 4:23 reminds us:  Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts.  The heart is where life starts and often ends.  Get right perspective in your heart and the journey will likely be filled with light.  Keep a wrong perspective and we get all twisted up in life’s maze.  Today, I wanted to spend just a little time looking at how we perceive things.  It may come as a surprise to you, but if we think we are going to go through life problem-free, we are a little deceived.  Somehow, we have bought into some fantasy – a lie.  We cannot escape problems – they have a way of finding us!  A life without problems is indeed a dull life.  Now, if you have had your share of them lately, you are probably going to tell me you’d like a little “dullness” right about now, but hear me out.  Problems are a way for us to grow.  They change our course – alter our thinking, affect our heart, get us deeper into Christ.  Without those problems, you might just wander never learn the lessons of the maze.  You won’t learn to keep perspective – you’ll allow the maze to define your perspective.  If you have ever been deep inside the maze, you can simply look up, find some focal point such as the direction of the sun and navigate from there.  In looking up, you change your perspective!

Scripture tells us if we are faithful with the small stuff, we can get into the thick of the bigger stuff.  This is why our problems may seem to “magnify” a little as we grow up in Christ.  We already have figured out the smaller ones with God’s help and now we are ready for some larger ones.  The little ones prepared us for the bigger ones.  The bigger ones are necessary, because the expand us.  Just as our shoe will eventually expand to the form of our foot, so we become “comfortable” in dealing with some types of problems over and over again.  When we get a new pair of shoes, they may rub, seem a little tight, and even cause us a little discomfort.  We forgot how the “old pair” got to be so comfortable – it was in the wearing they conformed to the shape we became accustomed to and actually felt at ease within.  Our problems rub us the wrong way at first, seem to box us into tight fits we don’t think we can escape, but in time, we begin to see ourselves becoming more comfortable in them.  We don’t give up the new pair of shoes because of the first blister – we put a bandaid on the blister and persevere.  Why?  We know this will become a useful pair of shoes for us in a short matter of time!

In the midst of the problem, we might not really see the solution.  The solution is often a matter of perspective.  When you step back, stopping long enough to just take in the circumstance, you often begin to see there is something you did not notice before.  Why?  It takes a little longer for us to “see” when we are moving and caught up in the “trying” than it does when we just stop long enough to gain a new perspective.  One thing I want to leave you with today – no problem you experience today is ever solved exactly like the problem you faced last week. Each problem is unique – no matter how close it appears to the last.  You can buy two pair of shoes on exactly the same day, exactly the same brand and style – but one pair fits a little different from the other.  Why?  Try as they might, human beings are making these shoes, so they will all be just a little different.  The same is true with our life’s problems – humans are involved, so don’t expect the same issues to be exactly the same!  Just sayin!

Totally Okay to Complain!

'Come near to God. He's heard your complaints.'

(Exodus 16:9 The Message)

Yesterday, we began to look at the fact that we can turn our complaints from a negative thing into a positive thing - simply by choosing how we choose to use the opportunity of complaining to examine our motivation.  Today, I'd like us to continue in that thought and expand upon it a little.  The people of Israel have been complaining because they are just about out of food - they are hungry!  Truth be told, I complain a little more when I am hungry, too!  There are two lessons I'd like us to see today from this passage.  First, WHO we take our complaints to really does matter.  Second, hunger is a strong motivator.

Moses is faithful to take the concerns of the people to God.  He makes a beeline to the one and only one that he knows will be able to handle the complaint of the people.  Israel has just began to experience the tremendous power of their God (having seen the plagues of Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea).  Now, they will see yet another miracle that will sustain them through their nearly 40 years of wandering through the wilderness.

As he takes their complaints to Lord of Lords, he finds that there is indeed an answer forthcoming.  It would not be something they had seen before.  Their experience would be altered by what God would do for them in providing for their need for food.  Here's the crux of what we usually discover when we take our complaints to God:  Yesterday's known solutions are seldom today's needed solutions.  

We often go about life expecting that what we counted on yesterday will be the exact thing that will bring us through today's fresh challenges.  The fact is, the solution of yesterday MAY work "okay", but it may not be the answer that we need in the here and now!  God has new solutions in mind for his children - when we bring our needs afresh to him, he is able to point out his plans for us that we'd never have considered by relaying on the past solutions.

The second thing is the value of hunger.  Hunger is a strong motivating factor for seeking a new answer from God.  When our hunger is significant enough to look outside of the known solution to a problem, we are open to seeing the greatness of our God on our behalf.  Today's problem is rarely the same as yesterday's - there is usually a different "twist" to it that we may not see apart from the revealing power of God.  Sometimes we are ineffective in overcoming the challenges of today because we don't ask God to show us the way.

Who listens to your complaints?  Is it the right one for the solution that is needed?  There is value in recognizing that our complaints find their greatest opportunity for solution when we bring them to the one who is best equipped to deal with the need behind the complaint!  Let your hunger drive you to find God's newness - don't rely on the old crusts of bread from yesterday when you have the freshness of Manna from Heaven for today!

Quick is not always better

^20-23 Good friend, follow your father's good advice; don't wander off from your mother's teachings.  Wrap yourself in them from head to foot; wear them like a scarf around your neck.  Wherever you walk, they'll guide you; whenever you rest, they'll guard you; when you wake up, they'll tell you what's next.  For sound advice is a beacon, good teaching is a light, moral discipline is a life path. 

(Proverbs 6:20-23)

The correction of discipline is not usually viewed as pleasant by most of us - yet, it is the way to life.  God uses discipline to correct our path - not to punish us or get even with us for some wayward behavior.  It is also not intended to break our desire - it is used to purify our desire.

One of the greatest issues in life is the struggle we experience in embracing wisdom at its fullest.  We have so much wisdom available to us - knowing what to embrace, when it is the right time to embrace it, and how much is enough for the moment is often difficult.  We face challenges on every hand, attempting to walk through many of them simply guided by our own interpretation of them and what our past experiences have been in similar situations.  We often find that we don't quite measure up to the present challenge when we are not focusing on using the wisdom available to us.  

Many things in life can be "figured out" or "reasoned away", but God wants us to come to a place of reliance on him for the wisdom he wants to impart to us in that situation.  That wisdom usually exceeds natural understanding.  Whenever we stop short of what he is aiming us toward learning, we short ourselves of the ability to fully know, learn, and appropriate what we can in the situation.  Life offers many choices - our challenge comes in selecting well that which will benefit us the most.

We often want God to present the "easy" choices - the ones that are the clearest, easiest to grasp, and the quickest solution to the issue.  The "quick fix" is not always the best.  If we have a flat tire, there are cans of that stuff that you can spray inside the tire that will "fix the flat" for a period of time.  In time, those things don't work well.  They are good for the moment, but actually don't hold for the long term.  The solution was quick, easy, and obvious - finding the service station that still fixes flat tires was more difficult!

We will do well to remember that God is all about being "super-natural".  That means that when we limit ourselves to what we can figure out in the natural, we may be limiting what can be "super" in the solution to our problem.  I don't know about you, but I would rather have a "super" solution instead of one that "just gets me by".