Will God Solve My Problems?

Last updated on: November 29, 2015 at 11:26 am by Jack Wellman

Will God Solve My Problems? 2015-11-29T11:26:32-06:00 Jack Wellman

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Will God solve every problem in life or at least most of them? If not, why?

No Promises

Jesus once told His audience to “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28). He never said, “Come to me and I will solve every problem of you have.” No, God will use trials and tribulations (problems) for His glory and to draw us near to Him. Suffering is never wasted. God uses even the evil in our lives for our own good and for the good of others, just as He did Joseph (Gen 50:20). The Apostle Peter wrote “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed” (1st Pet 4:12-13) because the fact is “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1st Pet 4:14). Those who revile us and hate us actually bless us (Matt 5:10-12) so when, not if, you are persecuted for Jesus’ sake, remember this isn’t something strange because “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2nd Tim 3:11). Persecution is not an “if” but a “when” because if you’ve never suffered persecution for your faith you are either a false convert or you are a secret-agent, underground believer that’s living out the “great omission” rather than the Great Commission (Matt 28:19-20).

Suffering is never Wasted

God never wastes anything in our lives. Paul looked at everything in his life and concluded, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Phil 3:8) and having been “found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Phil 3:9). Paul’s purpose in all this was so that “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (Phil 3:10-11). Paul understood that “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28) so apparently suffering works out for God’s purposes and out ultimate best. The Apostle Peter’s conclusion is to “let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (1st Pet 4:19) so suffering is God’s will, particularly if it’s for our faith in Christ. Paul wrote that “as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too” (2nd Cor 1:5).

Hated for His Sake

Jesus told His followers what to expect for trusting in Him and for some “Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matt 10:22) and Luke adds “you will be hated by everyone because of My name” (Luke 21:17). Jesus expounds on this point by telling His disciples that “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me” (John 15:18-21). The world might direct their hatred toward us but it is really Jesus and the message they hate. It’s not the messenger so much as it is the message, although they will clearly hate us for bringing the message.

Conclusion

God uses problems to draw us closer to Him but we should remember that “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together” (1st Cor 12:26). The children of God will suffer. In fact, I would say that they must suffer, for if we are God’s “children, then [we are] heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Rom 8:17) but if we are silent, Jesus has a very serious warning; “whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:26) and “the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God” (Luke 12:9). Don’t let problems push you further away from God; use them to draw closer to Him for “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18) and “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19) because “the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil” (1st Pet 3:12).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

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