The Perfect Problem

I preached yesterday at Kings Noosa on the topic of "The Perfect Problem".

I think that we often tell ourselves that 'once I get through this stuff, then I'll really start progressing in God'. Little do we recognise that God has allowed the 'stuff' in our lives as the means by which we will progress. Problems aren't meant to pause our Christian growth, but instead are sent to perfect our growth. It is when the river is at it's fiercest that we progress most quickly upon it!

Here are four things we must remember in the face of problems:

1. God's Connection with My Reality

It's a trap to believe that our problems separate us from God. Hebrews 5 demonstrates that Jesus shared in all points of our human experience (except in sin). Therefore our problems don't separate us from God, but provide common ground upon which we relate. Jesus came as our 'High Priest'; fully human that He might have relativity with my situations, yet fully God that He might have authority to change my situations.

Jesus spent thirty years building relativity before embarking upon three years of ministry. The paintings of Jesus in which he is surrounded by mystical aura with blow dried locks and spotless skin are a lie! Jesus was so 'normal' that Judas had to kiss him to identify him to the Roman guards.

Because Jesus shared in the 'normality' of the human experience, I can confidently approach him in prayer knowing that he has felt what I feel.

2. God's Ability & His Sovereignty

Hebrews 5 alludes to Jesus' experience in Gethsemane. Mark 14:36 writes:

“Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Jesus believed in the Father's ability ("Everything is possible for you"), while continuing to trust in the Father's sovereignty ("Your will be done, not mine").

I will never stop asking God for miracles with faith in His supernatural power. And if my prayers go unanswered, I will trust in His goodness and sovereignty to do what is right. Our faith must be in both God's power and His nature.

3. God's Declaration Concerning Me

Jesus is God's son, yet he still faced life's problems.

My sonship before God does not remove me from the realities of life; the realities of life do not remove me from my sonship before God.

4. God's Desire to Develop Me

Contrary to what I would love to believe, God's greatest desire for me is not my comfort; it is my development. He loves me too much to leave me.

Hebrews 5:8 tells us that Jesus learned obedience by the things he suffered. The Greek word used for 'learned' means 'to learn by use and practice'. This is not an intellectual learning, but an experiential learning.

James 1:2-4 shows us that life's trials are productive. Muscle is developed by resistance, not ease.

You never learn that God is your rock until you go through uncertainty. You never learn that God is your joy until you go through some pain. You never learn that God is your comfort until you go through some discomfort. You never learn that God is the lifter of your head until it gets knocked down!

God uses all these problematic situations to perfect and complete us. If you've got problems, that's perfect!