"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. Isaiah 55:8 (NIV)
Everyone faces problems, difficulties and obstacles in life. Circumstances that seem overwhelmingly impossible, problems that seems unsolvable, and obstacles that appear unmovable are a normal part of life. That is one thing we can do nothing about. However, how we deal with them is completely under our control.
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Herein lies the problem. When difficulty rears its ugly head in our lives, we tend to approach it from our own understanding, wisdom and ability. That is exactly what the devil wants you to do, and when you do that, he then comes along side you to convince you of things that aren't true.
First, he will try to convince you that you are fully capable of handling it yourself. He will say, "Come on, don't be a baby! Don't be weak! You've got this so don't sweat it! You don't need anyone's help!" As we begin to listen to this lie our perception gets distorted because we begin to see ourselves bigger than we really are and see the problem smaller than it really is.
Second, he will try to convince you that God is either incapable of helping you or is just unwilling. He will tell you things like, "If God is really all that powerful, then why did he allow this to happen in the first place? If God really loves you then why is he letting bad things happen to you?" This lie also distorts our vision, but in a different way. It causes us to believe that the problem is bigger than it really is and that God is smaller than he really is.
Here is a little advice on how to know if we are dealing with our problems in a healthy, biblical way. If we respond in a way that makes sense or that seems logical, that is a sign that we are headed for trouble. If it goes against our natural tendencies, ideas and human abilities, that is a sign that we are headed in the right direction. You see, when we let God handle the problem it won't make sense or seem logical to us because his thoughts are higher than our thoughts and his ways are higher than our ways. The key is to stop thinking and acting like us and start acting and thinking like God. When we do this, our perception gets clarified because we begin to see that God is really bigger than we are and see that our problems are smaller than we think they are.
Thinking God's thoughts and doing things God's way opens us up to begin dealing with life with his unlimited, supernatural power and wisdom rather than our own. Which would you rather choose?
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