IS GOD TRYING TO GET YOUR ATTENTION?
1. God uses problems to DIRECT you.
Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving. Problems often
point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. Is God trying to
get
your attention?
"The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward
parts
of the belly." - Proverbs 20:30
Blows and wounds cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being.
~
Proverbs 20:30
2. God uses problems to INSPECT you.
People are like tea bags...if you want to know what's inside them, just
drop
them into very hot water! Has God tested your faith with a problem?
What
do problems reveal about you?
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. - James
1:2-3
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
~ James 1:2-3
3. God uses problems to CORRECT you.
Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure. It's likely that
as a
child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove. But you
probably
learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of
something...health, money, a relationship ... by losing it.
It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy
statutes.
- Psalm 119:71
It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.
~ Psalm 119:71
4. God uses problems to PROTECT you.
A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being
harmed
by something more serious. Last year a friend was fired for refusing
to do
something unethical that his boss had asked him to do. His unemployment
was
a problem -- but it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison
a year later
when management's actions were eventually discovered.
But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good...
- Genesis 50:20
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish
what is
now being done, the saving of many lives. ~ Genesis 50:20
5. God uses problems to PERFECT you.
Problems, when responded to correctly, are character builders. God
is far
more interested in your character than your comfort. Your relationship
to
God and your character are the only two things you're going to take
with you
into eternity.
"And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation
worketh
patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope
maketh not
ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the
Holy Ghost
which is given unto us. - Romans 5:3-5
Not only so, but let us also rejoice in our sufferings, because we
know that
suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character,
hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his
love
into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
~ Romans 5:3-5
Here's the point:
God is at work in your life,
even when you do not recognize it or understand it.
It is much easier and profitable when you cooperate with Him.
Author Unknown To me