The Problem

Many years ago, after a woman had expressed to me her frustrations regarding her children, I had written her a letter that basically sermonized about what the Bible said about children and raising them. I have long since recognized the error of my ways, but the Lord wanted to show me something, so yesterday I reaped a bit of what I had sown, and another woman did it to me.

I needed to forgive myself for what I had done all those years ago (which I'm not so sure I'd ever managed before) and I had to forgive her for what she did to me yesterday. As I did, the Lord showed me something in a clearer way than I'd seen it before.

For the mother frustrated with her children, the children weren't really the problem. Likewise, my frustrations with my business aren't really about my business.

Let's take, as a more comprehensible example, a 2-year-old. We've all heard of the terrible twos. You know what? If you just wait a year, you'll be out of them. You can get through them. But the terrible twos are caused by inherent weaknesses in the child's nature. If those weaknesses that show up in the 2-year-old aren't dealt with at that level, they will rear their ugly head in an even bigger way a year from now, ten years from now, or twenty or even fifty years from now. The little temper tantrums aren't the real problem. What's inside the child is the problem.

Unfortunately, even if you deal with the 2-year-old, there will be other things that show up later. Each one of those, if not dealt with at the time, will show up in a greater way, later. If dealt with at the time, what shows up later will get weaker and weaker.

The same is true of our adult "problems." The problem isn't the problem. Eventually the kid problems will go away-or at least change. Eventually my business problems will go away-or at least change. But if I have not changed, there will be something else, later. If the mother of those children doesn't change, there will be something else, later.

So the answer to our problems isn't to have an answer to the problem. The answer is, seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you.

If I'm not going to do what I need to do when I'm "too busy," who's to say I'll do it when I'm not too busy? Fact is, I won't do it when I've plenty of time. I know that. I've been there. And if that mother can't rest and relax when she's got kid troubles, when will she ever rest and relax? She won't. I've heard it said that if you can't obey and trust God in the wilderness, you won't obey or trust Him in the promised land, either.

When you hear someone telling you about their problems, remember that.

The problem isn't really the problem.

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