Problems: Who Wants Them?
By Everett Wayne Baum
Problems. Who wants them? I sure don't.
Are you facing a particular situation right now and wondering why? Why did this happen to me? If we look at the situation in the light of Scripture, we will find our answer.
The Scripture says, "count it all joy" (James 1:2). Joy? How can I find joy in the middle of what I'm facing? In another place the Lord said, "It is impossible but that offences will come" (Luke 17:1). In other words, they are coming.
But you know how we begin to think. Now that I am a Christian, I will be above a lot of what life deals out. No. It is just the opposite. When we became Christians, we stepped right into the arena of that terrible word: problems.
Jesus never hid this from us. He said, "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Peter wrote, "think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you" (1 Peter 4:12). Trouble is not a sign that God has left us. It is part of the road.
The Everyday Problems
There are many kinds of problems. Some I will call routine, the situations that come up in ordinary life. Others are more serious, the kind that can change a life. Let's start with the everyday ones, because it seems they come almost daily.
We deal with other people, and in that back-and-forth people can say the cruelest things. But stop for a minute and understand what is really happening. Here it is: our faith is being tried.
That moment decides whether we let the flesh take control or let the Spirit of God guide us. Paul described this tug-of-war: "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other" (Galatians 5:17). His answer is simple to say and hard to do: "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).
Words are easy. But when we are standing in that situation, it is very hard to respond, speak, and feel the way Scripture says we should. The flesh, our carnal side, wants to strike back right now. And to be honest, sometimes we fall into that trap.
When we do, look at what happens. The other person said one hurtful thing. We said two. Now there are two people who have sinned instead of one, and the problem is bigger than when it started.
How Should We Answer?
We are required to give a response that pleases God. More often than not, the best response is to say nothing at all.
Scripture backs this up again and again:
"Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath" (James 1:19).
"A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger" (Proverbs 15:1).
"Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise" (Proverbs 17:28).
"Recompense to no man evil for evil... Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:17, 21).
And we have the Lord's own example. When He was reviled, He "reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously" (1 Peter 2:23).
But here is something we have to be honest about. Silence is not always the answer. When the officer struck Jesus at His trial, He did speak, calmly: "If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me?" (John 18:23). And when a brother wrongs us, Jesus told us to go to him and "tell him his fault between thee and him alone" (Matthew 18:15). We are to speak "the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15).
So the question is not only should I speak? The question is who is speaking, the flesh or the Spirit? If the words are coming from hurt pride and a desire to win, hold them. If they come calmly, in love, to make peace or set something right, the Spirit may be leading you to say them. Sometimes the wisest thing is to wait until the heat has passed and ask the Lord before you answer.
When We Find We Brought It On
Now let's be honest with ourselves. Sometimes, when we look back at the situation, we find that our own response was the root of it. We said the sharp word first, or we answered back and turned a small thing into a big one. What do we do now?
Own it. The first thing the flesh wants to do is explain why it wasn't really our fault. That is as old as the garden: "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree" (Genesis 3:12). Stop the excuses and admit it to God. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins" (1 John 1:9).
Go and make it right, and don't wait. Jesus said that if you come to the altar and remember your brother has something against you, leave your gift there, "first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift" (Matthew 5:23–24). Notice that Jesus puts making it right ahead of worship. "Confess your faults one to another" (James 5:16).
Apologize for your part, and only your part. You can't control how the other person responds. Paul says, "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men" (Romans 12:18). As much as lies in you. Do your part and leave theirs to God.
Accept that some things may not be undone right away. Forgiveness from God is complete, but words can leave a mark on others that takes time to heal. Be patient, and let your changed behavior speak over time.
Ask God to guard your mouth next time. "Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips" (Psalm 141:3). James reminds us that if any man doesn't offend in word, "the same is a perfect man" (James 3:2). None of us is there yet, so we ask for help.
Don't stay under the guilt. Once you have confessed and made it right, let it go. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). Peter denied the Lord three times, and Jesus still restored him and gave him work to do (John 21:15–17).
Admitting we were wrong is hard. Pride fights it every step of the way. But "he that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy" (Proverbs 28:13).
The Serious Problems
Then there are the problems that don't pass by evening. The doctor's report. The phone call in the night. A marriage falling apart. A child who has walked away. A job lost late in life. These are the ones that can change everything.
In these, the "why" gets louder. Why me? Why now? Why didn't God stop it?
Before we go further, one honest word. Not every problem is a trial sent to test us. Some we bring on ourselves. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7). When that is the case, the first step is not to ask why but to confess and turn. God forgives, though we may still live with some of the harvest.
But many serious problems come through no fault of our own. Job lost his children, his wealth and his health, and Scripture says plainly he was a righteous man (Job 1:1). He never learned in this life why. What he did learn was who God is.
For these deep waters, God gives us promises to stand on:
"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee" (Isaiah 43:2). Notice it says through, not around.
"God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).
"All things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28). Not that all things are good, but that God works them together for good.
Our affliction, Paul says, "is but for a moment" and "worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17).
And there is one more purpose we often miss. God "comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble" (2 Corinthians 1:4). What you are walking through now may be what qualifies you to help someone else walk through it later.
So What Is "Count It All Joy"?
Now we come back to the question we started with. How can anyone count a problem as joy?
Read James a little further, and he tells us why: "Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing" (James 1:3–4).
James is not telling us to be happy about the problem. Nobody enjoys the cruel word or the bad report. He is telling us to look past the problem to what God is building with it. A faith that has never been tried has never been proven. Every trial, the small daily ones and the life-changing ones, is a chance for our faith to grow stronger, steadier and more like Christ.
So the next time someone says something cruel, or the next time the bigger storm comes, remember what is really happening. Your faith is being tried. You get to choose who answers, the flesh or the Spirit.
Problems. Who wants them? Not me. But I would not trade what God has built in me through them.
Questions to Consider
What problem am I facing right now, and have I looked at it in the light of Scripture?
In my last hard conversation, who answered: my flesh or the Spirit?
Is there a problem I brought on myself that I need to confess?
Who could I comfort with the comfort God has given me?