What Is Your Problem?
Good Morning Friends,
Life is supposed to be fun and joyous. We are designed to rejoice and be glad in each day. But to do that we have to have the proper perspective. Proper perspective sees problems as possibilities. Here we are to see the glass half full and to view people in relation to their potential. We are to be thankful for the problems of each day but not be caught up in the worry of tomorrow’s problems. Here we are to see the present in relation to God’s promise. Here we begin to discover the God-given, Spirit-empowered ability to understand and apply truth to our lives in ways that bring glory to God. As always, the heart of the problem is a problem of the heart, but we cannot leave it at that. The problem is not just an inadequacy of proper emotional focus or even the lack of relevant knowledge, but also an inadequacy of an encounter with God. Ultimately the problem is not money. The problem is not education. The problem is not too little entertainment. The problem is not even the government. The problem is that we do not know God and as a result we become slaves to sin and the dictates of the world. Honestly, look in the mirror and ask yourself today’s question. What Is Your Problem?
Scripture: But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city. The Lord God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” Then the Lord said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”
Jonah 4:1-11 (NRSV)
There is no assuaging your hurt, your wound is mortal. All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you. For who has ever escaped your endless cruelty?
Nahum 3:19 (NRSV)
I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
John 10:9 (NIV)
Message: Got a problem? We have options. We have choices. We can turn to family, teachers, friends, doctors, ministers…the options are endless. But when it comes to a spiritual question we need to ask God. But be prepared for God might ask a question of us too. In today’s scripture we have some questions that are asked. And they kind of place us on the horns of a dilemma. In fact God basically asks Jonah today’s title question, “What is Your Problem?” God asks this because Jonah is questioning God. Jonah decides he would rather die than to watch God show mercy and grace to his enemy. Jonah decides he would rather die than to change his attitude. Sound familiar? But God turns the tables. Let’s look a little closer at the scripture. The Book of Jonah and the Book of Nahum are interestingly the only two Books in the Bible that end with a question. The Book of Jonah is dedicated to the salvation of Nineveh and the Book of Nahum is dedicated to the destruction of Nineveh. The Book of Jonah is a testimony to God’s mercy and grace and the Book of Nahum is a testimony to God’s judgment. Both are an invitation to repent and admit we have a problem. Friends, God is bigger than the problem. So today we explore how big God really is and judge for ourselves just how wide the door of salvation really is. And here me might just see how God uses problems to point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. Here the nature of our problem reveals something about us. And if we are blessed it leads us to Jesus for we really have nowhere else to turn. The problem is that we really do not believe that Jesus is the door for our lives. We want Him to enter our door and stop there instead of us entering His. Friends, God will be God so get used to that reality. And then learn to trust for there is really no other way.
Pray that our attitudes are right. Pray we look past our problems. Pray we realize that every problem has a purpose.
Pray we find a joy in Jesus that is greater than all our problems. Pray that the promises of God speak to our hearts. Pray that God gives us proper perspective on His Kingdom and His church. Pray that we rejoice in the fact that the Lord is our spiritual strength. Pray that we remember the promises of the Lord and His commands so that His joy might be in us. Pray that we remind ourselves of the unlimited resources in Christ. Pray we find a joy in Jesus that is greater than all our problems. Pray we commit our way to the Lord and trust in Him. Pray we refuse to worry. Pray that the joy in us be used as a witness. Pray we overcome evil with good. Pray we rejoice in all things. Pray we realize that there are enough problems for today so we do not have to worry about the problems of tomorrow.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 