By Pastor Anthony L. Scott
Preacher and author John Claypool tells the story of a little boy who once came down with a cold. In his childish mind he concocted the idea that if he could run real fast from room to room like his puppy he would be able to escape the germs. Eventually his mother noticed him dashing from room to room and stopped him to inquire as to what he was doing. When he gave his explanation, she said “son there is no special cure for colds, no matter how fast you run, the germs will be there. The sooner you quit trying to run away and start taking your medication, the quicker you will get well.”
This humorous story is an excellent illustration is how to handle life’s problems. Learning to cope with life’s difficulties is one of the most crucial lessons. In fact, patterns of handling difficulty are developed very early in life and for far too many, their coping mechanism is escapism. We would like to be able to run away from things as they are without facing them square on so we develop a strategy of escapism as a way of coping.
Jesus in John 6:5-6, offers us some very wise words on a troubling but unavoidable subject. How do we cope healthily with the difficulties of life? Further, is there a positive model that will enable us to face up to things as they are and not run away? In this lesson, we discover methods from Jesus in how to put it all together when it seems to be falling apart.
This event made such a deep impression on the disciples of Jesus that it is the only miracle that all four gospel writers record. Our Lord was up against a gigantic problem and His response is worthy of our careful attention. His way of managing problems involved three significant steps.
Upon first glance we see. He chose to reject the strategy of escapism and face the problem squarely and openly. The disciples wanted him to get rid of the people but for Jesus the way out of a situation is always the way through. For Jesus the solution was never off on some tangent. The solution was always on the other side of the difficulty.
The next lesson He teaches us is to realize or identify the resources that are inherent in the situation. It is paramount that we never lose sight of all that we have going for us in the midst of all that seems to be going against us. Five barley loaves and two fish may be all that we need to overcome our seemingly insurmountable obstacle.
Finally, simply begin to do something. Find a way to do the best with what you have. The problem became a possibility because of decisive action. He was not immobilized by the seeming disproportion between the need and the resources at hand. There will often be times when the demands of life appear to exceed our supply but we belong to a God who has more than enough to meet our need.
Life is a process of problem solving. Problem free zones do not exist. Trying to escape the inescapable or lamenting the way things are is not an option. From the life and lessons of Jesus we learn that resources are always providentially present in the problem situation. G. K. Chesterton was right in saying, “that a challenge is a difficulty rightly understood, while a difficulty is a challenge wrongly understood.”
With the help of God be motivated to face your problems head on and as Williams Watley often said, “see problems as windows into the face of God!”
