If you take a Bible concordance and try to find the word ‘problem’ in it, the search will yield nothing. Problems do not exist in the Bible. Yet they exist in my life, and there can be very many of them—even more than I would like. They have always existed, but in the past they were called ‘cares.’
Problems also existed in the time of Christ. People always faced the question of how to resolve these difficulties and what to do with them. Those who found the right way out were called wise men, thinkers, or teachers. People went to them for advice.
The Lord Jesus also gave counsel and used vivid examples to show how problems should be resolved. Everywhere He points to Himself as the One Who can deal with them very quickly in my life. If I try to avoid this way of resolving my cares and seek other methods, I am given freedom of choice—and the consequences of that choice become mine as well.
Carrying cares is not considered dangerous to the soul, as long as they are not my sins. Yet it is a rather heavy burden, and at times an unbearable one. It is very difficult—and sometimes impossible—to be happy while under the crushing weight of cares. When something hurts or troubles my soul, it is very difficult to think about happiness or plan anything joyful.
A problem in itself is neutral, but my response to it determines how I will live with it.
Jesus once gave an interesting illustration in Matthew 17:20: ‘...for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.’ Let us picture it this way. Faith the size of a tiny seed can move mountains. But if I place that little seed on a table and try, by faith, to move it even one centimeter, what will happen? Nothing. The seed will remain where it is. Therefore, if I do not have enough faith to move a seed, there is no point in dreaming about mountains. But when I seek to understand what the mountain symbolizes in this illustration, I see a deeper meaning in Jesus’ words.
A problem may be a small pile, a mound, or a mountain of cares. It may even grow into mountain ranges that surround my life in an endless chain and rest upon my shoulders. Is it easy to remove a pile of trash? Yes. A mound? That is harder. A mountain? Impossible. Yet Jesus teaches that this is entirely possible. All that is needed is a little faith. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. I also need to understand what this word means and why it was spoken.
Happiness must be built with an understanding of what you are building and Who stands behind it. God is deeply interested in my happiness and takes an active part in its construction, opening my mind to understand what to do and how to do it.
I can simply tell the problem, ‘Go on, get out of here.’ But what will change? Nothing. Everything will remain firmly where it is. The problem is not merely nearby—it is lying on top of me. That is the trouble with a problem. It presses down on me and squeezes every ounce of vitality from my soul. All my energy is directed toward resolving it, but the mountain is greater than everything I use in trying to move it. Many people cannot withstand such pressure and begin building other, lighter mountains so that they can rest beneath them. Then life turns into one unbroken nightmare. Some cannot bear it; some seek a solution in alcohol; some turn to pills.
When a problem has a spiritual dimension, I may allow an evil spirit into my life along with it. That spirit never stops tormenting me, and through me it also makes the lives of those close to me unbearably difficult. This continues for years, and only my death resolves everything quickly. Have you ever met people who are possessed? Yes, they exist, and there are many of them. It is no joy when such a person is a member of your family, and it is even worse if you yourself are possessed. To defeat such an enemy, you need Someone stronger than he is. Jesus humbly offers Himself. We read in John 8:36: ‘If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.’ Does this statement also apply to freedom from problems? It seems to be speaking of freedom from sin. Yes—but problems are included as well.
Cares are not always sinful. They do not kill the soul, but they can be very heavy. For example, my home has not been cleaned, or someone close to me has died. Both are problems. The first can be resolved quickly, and I can rejoice in the cleanliness; the second is beyond my control. It simply presses down on me and kills my happiness. But I remember the promise in 1 Peter 5:7 and cast this problem upon Christ, for He cares for me. What happens then? The Lord resolves the difficulty by freeing my heart from the weight of this care, but He does not deprive me of my feelings or remove the concern from my memory. I feel better, but this does not bring my loved one back to life. The problem leaves my heart while remaining in my life. It is like getting into a car, taking a heavy backpack off my shoulders, and setting it beside me. Does that make things easier for the car? No. But I feel relief in my body, even though the backpack’s weight has not changed.
In the spiritual realm, the following takes place. In response to my request and faith, Jesus drives the demon of problems out of my house. He Himself desires to enter and live within me, so He stands there and asks permission to come in. I feel better and rejoice. But if I let Jesus in, I will have to give up many pleasant indulgences that I do not want to remove from my life, so I do nothing. The demon wanders through the wilderness and then returns. It finds my heart unoccupied and calls companions more wicked than itself. Such guests may leave a person worse off than before.
Jesus, however, offers to cleanse my heart and fill my little house with love, friendship, happiness, and light. When such residents settle in the heart, there will be no room there for demons.
And I pray: ‘Jesus, according to Your word, I surrender this problem to You. Please take it and carry it Yourself.’ All Heaven begins to listen to my prayer. It is very important to add to this request the ‘mustard seed’ of my faith: ‘I BELIEVE that You, Lord, have taken this care and that it is Yours now!’ The words ‘I believe’ are the most important element of this prayer. They are the key to Heaven. They are a kind of command to act. I cannot give orders to God, but in a case like this, my faith releases God’s hands, which my own choice has bound, and God’s grace carries the heavy cares out of my heart in swift-flowing streams, making it clean and free for love and happiness. Whether I will fill my life with these things, however, depends on me and on the words with which I make this decision.
I have experienced this myself, and I know how it works in me. Many times I have offered this way of resolving problems to people weighed down with cares, and they have been set free. But not everyone believes it, and not everyone wants Christ. Some have gone so far that they no longer want to change anything. Everything is in their hands.
When I talk with people and enter into their problems, I feel as though I am being placed under a press. I immediately surrender it all to Jesus in a silent prayer, and so I can calmly continue listening without suffering at all beneath that burden. But we should not deliberately go to the information dump of the world’s cares and load this garbage onto ourselves. It destroys the walls of my house, and I risk being left without the Deliverer. Everything is within my power.
I choose love, happiness, and friendship.
I open God’s plan, study God’s will, and continue building according to the biblical blueprint.
Bible verses for this chapter:
Matthew 17:20; 12:43–45; Luke 17:6; 11:21–27; 12:22–32; Hebrews 11:6; 12:1–4; Isaiah 49:24–25; Psalm 22:5–6; 32:10–11; 91:1–2; 62:9; Isaiah 49:15–16; 1 Corinthians 13:2; Hebrews 4:16; John 8:36