Worry

 

 Last time I preached, I covered two of the methods to triumph over life's problems.  How maintaining a positive attitude and living one day at a time will help us find happiness amongst our trials.

This morning, we will discuss some more ways that God uses problems in our lives for good. Sometimes it is within God's will that we have problems.  I cannot think of a single godly person described in the Bible who did not have at least some difficulties in life. You see to triumph over our problems we must find the value in them.

First, problems can give us direction. God often uses problems to point us in a new direction. 

Proverbs 20:30 says blows that hurt cleanse away evil, as do stripes the inner depths of the heart. 

Another way to phrase this is: sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our hearts.

When a Texas boy was ten years old, he felt that he was the world's best rock thrower.

One day, while playing in the front yard, he picked up a rock and threw it at a moving car.  His aim was so good that the rock floated over the roof and cracked the windshield.  It was a perfect Troy Aikman pass. After realizing that he had hit the bull's eye, he did what any red-blooded American kid would do.  He ran for cover.  He hid in the barn.

Meanwhile the driver of the car, stopped, made a U-turn, pulled into the driveway, and found the boy hiding in the barn.  The driver immediately took the boy to his parents, told them what happened, and like most of us would have, the boy got a spanking.

That painful experience caused him to change his ways, after that he only threw his rocks at birds.  Which is a story for another sermon.

Saul decided that he was so wrong that he changed his name.  This story is a summary of Acts 7-9.

Saul of Tarsus was a Jew who hated Christians.  His number one mission in life was to crush Christianity.  To make things worse, he was convinced he was doing God's will.  One day he headed north, from Jerusalem, toward Damascus, with warrants for the arrests of some Christians who had fled there.  During his journey, suddenly, out of nowhere, a bright light flashed in the sky and he was rebuked by Christ and blinded.  He had to be led by the hand into the city of Damascus.  He was blind for three days, perhaps wondering if would ever see again.  If you know the story, you know that God restored his sight and he became a champion for the Christian cause, the great Apostle Paul who wrote two-thirds of the New Testament.

God had to turn Saul around and He did it by giving him a serious problem.  Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways.  Sometimes God must wake us up because we are cruising down the highway of life headed in the wrong direction.  Sometimes God must light a fire under us to get our attention.

The next time you experience a problem, some good questions to ask yourself is, "Is God trying to tell me something?"  "Does He want me to change the direction I am heading in?"

This morning’s next point is it is possible for some problems to protect us.

Sometimes a problem is a blessing in disguise.  Like the case of a certain man who had been asked to do some unethical business practice for the company he worked for.  He was a Christian, so he told them he could not do it.  He was fired on the spot!  He did the right thing, and now was suffering for it.  Is that fair?  Before you answer that, you need to hear the rest of the story.  Two weeks later all the top management of that company were on the front page of the national newspaper and were sent to prison.  Sometimes God uses a problem to protect us from a bigger problem.  If you are one of His, He does that for you whether you understand it or not.

The classic example in the Bible is Joseph.  This story starts in Genesis 37 and continues to chapter 45.

Joseph’s eleven brothers hated him.  His dad favored him somewhat and that made them hate him even more.  One day they ganged up on him and sold him into slavery.  Then they went home and told their dad that a wild animal had devoured him.  But that was not the end of the problem for Joseph.

He was resold in Egypt to an owner whose wife tried to seduce him.  When he refused to sleep with the married woman, she accused him of rape.  As a result, he was thrown in jail for two years for a crime he did not commit.  From his perspective, it must have looked bleak.  Who would have blamed him for giving up on God?

Many of you know the story, God was positioning Joseph to be raised up as second in command of Egypt.  He would be put in charge of gathering grain for a coming famine that would force his brothers to bring their whole family to Egypt so they could survive. 

Listen to what Joseph's perspective was on his problem filled life when he met his brothers. 

Turn with me to Genesis 50:20 – But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive 

Through all of Joseph's problems, God was protecting him and his family from destruction.  It is possible that when we experience a problem God is protecting us from something we do not see.  Only time will tell.  Problems can sometimes protect us. 

Our third point is that problems can test us.

It has been said that people are like tea bags. You do not know how good they are until they are dropped into hot water.

The Bible tells us that God repeatedly tested the Jewish people.  Turn with me to Deuteronomy 8:2 here Moses tells his people: 

And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.

It takes about two weeks to march from Egypt to Israel, yet it took Israel forty years to make that trip.  God was testing them.  Time and time again God tested them to see if they were ready to go into the Promised Land.  Every time they failed the test, He turned them back.  They spent forty years in the wilderness because they never passed the test.  Has God ever used a problem to test you?  Surely, He has!  He may be doing it right now.  God sometimes uses problems to inspect us. If you are having problems right now, what are they revealing about you?  Are you trusting God?  That He knows best, or are you complaining and murmuring to God? God will not lead you to where He wants you to go until you start trusting in Him.  Try to not wander in the wilderness of life, instead trust in God, and let him move you forward. I am reminded of the joke that stems from a bumper sticker it says, “God is my co-pilot.”  The joke says well if that is the case get out and let him drive.

The fourth point is that problems can help us grow.

Last time I used the verse Romans 5:3-4 was to remind us that problems are easier to overcome when we approach them with the correct mindset.  Today we are going back to Romans 5:3-4 which says

and not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 

Because our problems can help us grow. As is demonstrated in this verse.  Ken Taylor paraphrases this in this way in the Living Bible "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us--they help us learn to be patient.  And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady."

God can use our problems to develop character in our lives.  Just like a potter shapes the clay so too does God shapes our lives sometimes he uses the problems in our lives in the process.  One of my favorite verses tells us this.  Turn with me to Isaiah 64:8,

but now, O Lord, you are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand.

God has one purpose for our lives - He wants us to be like Jesus Christ.  He is preparing us to be good witnesses here and a good citizen for eternity.  He is far more concerned for our character development than He is about our momentary comfort.  Here we see in Hebrews 2:10 which says,

For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation (Jesus) perfect through sufferings.

If even Christ was made perfect through his suffering, and we are we are to be like Christ “why do we think that we who died to live would be spared suffering”, to steal some song lyrics.  That very suffering is what is being used to shape us into the people that he needs.

 

Before we get to today’s final point let me do a VERY quick review of these two sermons.  to overcome, to triumph over our problems we must:

            First and foremost, we need to maintain our positive attitude.  As with most things in life if we can find a way to accentuate the positive it is easier to find triumph.

Secondly, we must live one day at a time.  Christ says it best in Matthew 6:34

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Another good quote comes from Mother Teresa, “Yesterday is gone, Tomorrow may never come, today is all we have so let us begin…”

The third thing is that there can be value in our problems… 

Problems can give us direction; they can protect us; they test us; they shape us, helping us grow. 

Now our final point of the day is that to triumph over all of life’s problems we have to keep going and never give up.  There is a saying so pervasive it was even made into a country song, “If you are going through hell, don’t stop.” 

Here is a frightening statistic nearly 13 people in the US per hour will give up the fight with their problems and commit suicide.  That means in the time we have spent here today worshipping God 13 people will have gotten so worn down by their problems that they gave up on their life.

Shannon was a mother of three, the wife of a prominent real estate broker and church elder.  Like her husband, Shannon was very involved in church.

Her church friends viewed her as a "supermom" who had it all together.  Only a few of her closest friends from church knew Shannon's secret: she struggled with deep bouts of depression and had unsuccessfully attempted suicide three times, using prescription drug overdoses.

One day, Shannon's husband, Lyle, came home early from the office -- as he often did when Shannon was undergoing one of her "blue spells."  Every time she had attempted suicide before, he had gotten a feeling that he should stop by the house and check on her.  Each time, he had arrived in time to get help for her. 

This time, however, when Lyle arrived home, there was no cry for help.  The house was eerily silent as he made his way from room to room, finally arriving at the bedroom, where he found his wife.  This time Shannon hung herself from one of the rafters of their vaulted bedroom ceiling.  This church elder's wife killed herself.  Suicide takes many victims, even Christians.

This is such a sad fact.  And while I do not know the magic words to help people struggling with this problem… I do know that there are six suicide cases recorded in the Bible and God approves none of them. 

I would like to put in words of encouragement here, or verses of strength and encouragement; but they can sound so hollow to someone in this particular fight.  So, I will simply tell you if you are indeed undergoing a trial that has caused you to consider this, please find someone, anyone you trust and confide in them.  A burden is lighter when carried by two.

Even when it feels our lives are in shambles.  When we have been blinded, tested, tried, and broken.  Remember our God is greater than our struggles.  And hope is as close as tomorrow.

Hopefully, I have helped you find strength to triumph over your problems.  I will end with one final verse; it is one of my wife’s favorites. 

“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” 

That is in Philippians 4:13 for those of you who do not have it memorized.

If you need the prayers of the church for any reason or today is the day you have decided to put on Christ in baptism. Come as we stand and sing.

 

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