What is God Telling You? 

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.  God is getting your attention.  He is tapping you on the shoulder.


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

 
God uses problems to INSPECT you.  People are just like tea bags...if you want to know what they are really like, drop them in hot water.  Has God ever tested your faith with a problem? 

What do problems reveal about you?  (James 1:2-3)


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, etc.) by losing it. 
(Psalms 119:71-72)


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. 

A man was once fired because he refused to do something unethical that his boss had aksed 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.  (Genesis 50:20)


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 you're going to take with you into eternity.  But neither will come to fruition if you quit!
(Philippians 3:12-14)


We can and we should 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 we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady (Romans 5:3-4)

God is at work in our lives even when we don't recognize it or understand it.  But it's much easier and profitable when we cooperate with Him.