God Is Interested In Your Problems

"For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith." Mark 11:23 (KJV)

by Alexandra Copeland

Words are too inadequate to describe the extraordinary reality of being born again. How could anyone pass up this opportunity? It’s unbelievable to think that someone would not want to be saved and to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. To love God through His beloved Son is just an awesome way to live life! The light comes on in our inner beings, and the great thing about it is that we can remember what it was like to walk around in the darkness. We recognize the transformation on a very conscious level, and this is one of the reasons why, as Christians, we are so thankful to
Jesus Christ, because he turned the light on, and now we see!

Now that we have greater vision and the indwelling Holy Spirit as our guide and help, it doesn’t mean that we get a pass on all the junk that happens in life. As wonderful as it is, being born again doesn’t translate to a “no problems” way of life. It doesn’t mean that the situation we were dealing with the day before we got saved isn’t going to still be around the day after. The thing that changes should be the way that we see and approach the problem.

In Christ, things are not the same although they may appear to be. 2Corinthians 5:7 says that the Christian walks by faith and not by sight. This means that we are not moved by what our circumstances or conditions appear to be. The light bill may be due, and you only have ketchup in the refrigerator and bread in the cabinet, but this doesn’t mean that God will not provide. 2Corinthians 9:8 tells us, “And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” So we cannot allow what our eyes see to dictate what our faith in God will produce.

We must have faith that God loves us and that He will provide. God is interested in our problems; He is interested in every detail of our lives. God is concerned about us because we are His kids. In your mind you might think, “Well, if He is so concerned, why doesn’t He just make my problem disappear. Why doesn’t He prevent my problems from occurring?” We’re not living on Mars. We’re living on earth, and life on earth comes with problems. The enemy, the prince of the air, is evil and the earth is still his playground. One of his main objectives is to buffet, obstruct, and destroy God’s born-again children.

Jesus Christ told us in John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”  These are two vehemently opposed and opposite sides of the spectrum. The enemy, the thief, came to steal, kill, and destroy, and Jesus Christ came to make a more than abundant life available. So our Lord and Savior has told us very plainly that life on earth would come with some challenges, because we have an enemy who is out to get us, but through him, our Blessed Savior, we are saved and delivered.

1Peter 5:8 also tells us, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”  I remember when I was a lot younger and first read this verse, I was so afraid; but as a mature Christian, I recognize that God’s love will cast out fear. I don’t have to be afraid and have fear in my heart because of what Jesus Christ has accomplished on the cross. I’ve been redeemed from the curse; I’m free; so are you! And as free, blood-bought, born-again children of God, the Father wants us to walk in wisdom. This is why He gives us this warning in 1Peter 5:8. He tells us to always be on our Ps and Qs. To be vigilant, and man the post of our souls, so that we won’t be tricked into falling for one of the enemy’s temptations.

Problems can be tricks of the enemy. They are his way of getting us unfocused and off-balance. We become unfocused and off-balance by allowing our emotions to get away from us. Sometimes we panic under the stress of everyday pressures, and God doesn’t punish or get upset with us for doing so, but He does offer us a mirror to reflect our insecurity and doubt in certain areas. He shows us where we’re not trusting Him. Why do you suppose He does this? Why of course it is because He wants us to be strong in the areas where we lack sufficient faith.

Some of us are so overwhelmed by certain issues that we are on the verge of letting a blessing slip through our hands. It doesn’t have to be this way. We have to realize that it’s not our strength that solves the problem, but His. Our Blessed Lord is the way, the truth, and the life. It is in him that we have our being. Is there any weakness in him? NONE! So we can rely on his strength without fail.

As Christians, we are called upon to make prayer time a habit pattern. We should have specific times set aside for the Father to communicate and commune with Him daily. These can be the most beautiful and serene parts of our day, when we can really zone into the Father and hear from Him. Even with a solid prayer life, the bible also tells us that when we encounter a crisis we should be instant in prayer. In other words, prayer should be an automatic response to any problem that we encounter.

The Apostle Paul admonished us in Romans 12:12, “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.” Hope is an earnest expectation and desire for a future outcome. God wants us to rejoice in hope. This means that we can get happy about the resolution that God will provide, even though our circumstances may appear on the surface to be extreme. God also wants us to be patient. His Word tells us that patience is a virtue; it’s something that we should aspire to exercise as spiritual people. This is very important, because we live in a “me” society and everyone wants things on the double. They don’t want to wait, but as Christians we are to demonstrate the discipline of patience. His resolutions are not according to our timing, but based on His timing, because He always knows best.

Again, Romans 12:12 informs us that no matter the magnitude of the difficulty, our response ought to be one of continuing steadfastly or instantly in prayer. If we do not believe that God is interested in our problems, then we probably will not go to Him immediately. Perhaps we’ll call upon individuals closest to us first, but this isn’t what the Word tells us to do. Yes, our friends and loved ones are sometimes a tremendous support, but God holds our tomorrows and He knows our futures. He knew that we would encounter the situation before it even occurred. He’s a very present help, and He wants us to lean specifically on Him. If it is in our best interest for others to be involved, God will tell us so, but we need to be sure that our number one action when facing anything is to take it before the Father.

The bottom line reality is that God is greater than our problems. As we seek and lean on Him, they become smaller and the reality of who He is becomes greater. This is always the lesson in any obstacle, challenge, or tribulation that we face. The problem is not going to take you under. Psalms 55:22(NLT) give us assurance of this. It says, “Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.” We may stumble, but we will not fall. God holds us in the palm of His hands, and as we trust Him with our burdens, we’ll see that our faith in Him will grow and so will our gratitude for how deeply He loves us. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright ©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.