Problems have made you what you are. It is a warning sign that something is not right, it should force you to act.
“Life is a series of problems. Every time you solve one, another is waiting to take it’s place. Not all of them are big, but all are significant in God’s growth process for you.” (Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren)
1 Peter 4:12 (GNB) “My dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful test you are suffering, as though something unusual were happening to you.”
1Pet 1:7 (GNB) “Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure.”
Psalm 66:10 (GNB) “You have put us to the test, God; as silver is purified by fire, so you have tested us.”
Job 36:15 (NLT) “He takes those who suffer out of their suffering. He speaks to them in times of trouble.”
In acting, we must take some time to hear God’s voice. How do I hear God’s voice?
Mark 4:23 says “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. 24 And he said to them, Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
There are three major principles in these verses.
- We need the ability to hear God’s voice: ‘’If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
- We must hear the right things: ‘’Pay attention to what you hear”
- We see the results of hearing incorrectly: “and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away”
The more we listen to negativity, the more we become separated from the provision of God. Are you careful to reject words you hear that will bring destruction to your faith? You should be, for God wants you to hear only good things.
Romans 10:17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Allow your ears to hear God’s promises repeatedly. When you hear the words of the Lord, you must learn to believe in them.
Psalm 18:30 “As for God, his way is completely good; the word of the Lord is tested; he is a breastplate for all those who put their faith in him.”
Remember, your future is just as bright as the promises of God! Every problem is preceded by a promise from God. God is the ultimate promise keeper. The greater the problem, the greater the promise. With God on your side, the victory is yours.
In hard times choose to focus on God and depend on Him instead of yourself. “You’ll never know that God is all you need, until God is all you’ve got” (R. Warren).