Problem Bigger Than The Answer?

 

By Reverend Paul N. Papas II

February 26, 2019

 

 

Temporary solutions to permanent problems are never temporary or a solution.

If you always do what you always did you will always get what you always got.  Just because you do not know the answer right now, it does not mean there isn’t one.

Ever had a time when mountain dropped right down right in front of you while the walls around you closed in? Did you immediately have a panic attack or work your way out?

Are you dealing with a broken marriage? Is your spouse filing for divorce? Do you want to save your marriage but right now feel helpless? I know the answer to your problem.

Have you been dealing with significant health problems? Have your problems negatively impacted your career, marriage, parenting, finances, and your desire to be active at church? I know the answer to your problem.

Have a child who is going astray?

Just lost your job?

Got cancer?

Struggling with depression?

Not sure what to do with your life?

Now what?

Will you curl up in a corner, snivel, and cower in fear?

How do you deal with STRESS?

There is no such thing as a stress-free job in  the  world.  Everyone in his/her work is  exposed  to  tension, frustration and anxiety as he/she gets through the duties assigned to him/her. In order to make our work experience and environment as pleasant as possible, it is better that we learn the technique of moderating  and  modulating  our  personal  stress  levels

Your reaction depends upon your view.

Are you like the ten spies who came back scared and afraid of the giants in the land or are you like Joshua and Caleb?

Remember what happened when the Israelites reached the Promised Land?

They had just been rescued out of 400 years of slavery. They had walked through the Red Sea and had watched the Egyptian army drown. They had been miraculously guided through the wilderness, and been promised a land flowing milk and honey.

Eleven days after God gave them His Law and His promises, the children of Israel arrived at the border of the Promised Land. Moses chose 12 men – the top leaders out of hundreds of thousands – to explore the land and see if God was telling the truth.

After 40 days they returned with evidence: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit” (Numbers 13:27).

Is there evidence in your life of God’s promises fulfilled? A job, education, home,  relationship, circle of friends? Maybe you should be divorced – and God healed your marriage. Maybe you should be in jail – and your case was thrown out. Maybe you should be dead – and you were healed.

Or on the other hand, maybe your life is proof that NOT believing God’s promises is fruitless. Maybe you’re still addicted, or angry, or sad and hopeless. Maybe you’ve forgotten God’s character and God’s promises and have accepted second best – which is just what the evil one wants us to do.

Joshua and Caleb saw the same scary things as the other ten spies. Joshua and Caleb trusted God, encouraged the Israelites to believe God’s promises: “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome” (v. 30).

The other 10 spies got scared by the scary things and doubted God (v. 31-33): “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” They said they saw giants “and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight …”

That lack of faith spread like an infection through the entire congregation of Israelites, who promptly forgot all the miracles they had seen and doubted the nature of God – plus had the nerve to try to stone Joshua and Caleb!

Throughout human history, God has communicated His promises to us over and over, but still we demand “proof.” It’s our fallen nature to doubt, to hold off from trusting until we see everything in place in a way that makes us feel comfortable. Of course, that’s not trusting. That’s saying, God, You aren’t who You say You are.

Today, if you’re more like the 10 spies than like Joshua and Caleb, you may feel like a “grasshopper” facing a giant. All you need to do is trust. It’s as simple as that.

Enter your promised land – your daily walk with God and wherever He takes you – and watch God bless you! Now you know the answer also.

 

Reverend Paul N. Papas II is a Pastoral Counselor with Narrow Path Ministries (MA and AZ) and Founder of the Family Renewal Center (AZ) www.narrowpathministries.org and www.familyrenewalcenteraz.org

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