Problem

I do not like problem solving.  In terms of math problems anyway...I go into instant panic mode when asked to solve any kind of math problem.   I think that there are people who do get some kind of sick fulfillment over math problems...I don’t get those people...I admire those people, but I definitely don’t get them.  Nope, math problems are not for me.   Trying to do it on paper with pencil just makes my head hurt and my anxiety rise.  It doesn’t have to be complex math...any math problem tends to give me hives.  Give me a calculator to solve a simple math problem though and I am good to go, problem solved, life goes on.  Thank the Lord for the invention of calculators!

I don’t like people problems either.  Messy relationships, misunderstood communication, hard feelings, resentment, bitterness, hurt and destructive behavior.  Problems that keep me up at night, cause anxiety to overwhelm and disturb my peace.  It doesn’t have to be my own personal problems.  Any person who is close to me & faces a problem I will take on myself and believe that it’s my responsibility to figure it out, find a solution, discover the right equation that will lead to the right answer.  I’m working on this part of my character; because although there is nothing wrong with loving others and having empathy and being there for them when they need me, I have come to realize that I am not the “Great Problem Solver”...in math or in people!  Only God is able to see all of the ins and outs of what problems people face, what got them there to begin with, why they might be stuck in it, and how their problems will ultimately be solved.  I’m not God.  I don’t have His perspective.  I don’t have His power.  I can be used as a tool to extend grace and mercy and wisdom and understanding; but at the end of the day He alone is able to solve the problems that we all face.  You might say that He is the Great Calculator!  

And what burdens that relieves!  To know that I am not responsible for fixing other people’s problems, and I can take my own problems and give them to Him to solve rather than trying to take control and do it myself.  I usually only end up making more of a mess and a bigger problem when I try and problem solve on my own.  But with God, He gives peace and understanding that brings compassion and grace.  And so I can confidently say “Come on World...bring it on!”  There is no problem too big or messy or complicated or seemingly unending that God is not aware of and working on.  And I firmly believe that God has our problems solved before we even realize that we have a problem to be solved.   “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”  Philippians 4:6.  If we choose to make the Lord our ultimate problem solver, we can rest in Him to do the hard work!