Repost: What Is God Telling You With The Problems He Blesses You With?

Took this from my old blog Woventhoughts.

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What Is God Telling You With The Problems He Blesses You With?

Note: I got this from my inbox. This tells us that problem should be seen in a different light.

The problems you face will either defeat you or develop you - depending on
how you respond to them. Unfortunately most people fail to see how God
wants to use problems for good in their lives. They react foolishly and
resent their problems rather than pausing to consider what benefit they
might bring.

Here are five ways God wants to use the problems in your life:

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?

"Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways." -
Proverbs 20:30 (GN)


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 hot water! Has God ever tested your faith with a problem?
What do problems reveal about you?

"When you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy,because
you know that these troubles test your faith, and this willwill give you
patience." - James 1:2-3 (NCV)


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 was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me
to pay attention to your laws." - Psalm 119:71-72 (LB)


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.

"What Man intended to harm me, God intended it for good..." - Genesis 50:20
(NIV)


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 that you're going to take
with you into eternity.

"We can rejoice when we run into problems... they help us learn to be
patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us
trust God more each time." - Romans 5:3-4 (LB)


Here's the point: God is at work in your life - even when you do not
recognize it or understand it. But it's much easier and profitable when you
cooperate with Him.