Your problem is not your problem!

We can look at that statement two ways, Firstly, if you are a Christian your problem belongs to Jesus. We are told to cast our cares onto Him because He cares for us. The other way of looking at it is that it isn't our problem that is our problem but our attitude to our problem!

What is your problem? Whatever your problem is, God is bigger! He tells us to give Him our problems. He wants to deal with our issues for us so that we will deal with His. What use are we to the work of the kingdom if all of our energies are focused onto just getting through life. Jesus promised us life in abundance. But if we act like the unsaved, like those with no faith, like those with no hope, by merely focusing on the issues of life as if to say that these are all there is, that these are what life is all about, then we are no use at all.

Jesus took our sins onto Himself so that we could take on His righteousness, If He can do that and we can believe that then why can't we believe that He can deal with our problems better than we can?

The other side of this is that God wants us to develop character. I meet so many would be Christian helpers. They are people who see someone in need and with twitching hands can't wait to do a great work of charity. However, the moment it becomes hard work, you should hear what ungodly, unchristian stuff comes out of their mouths. Unfogiveness, lack of mercy! "How dare they talk to me like that!", "After all I've done for them!" These are the spec removers of life!

When John the Baptist, the greatest prophet of the Old Testament, was in prison he doubted whether Jesus was the one (And we call Thomas the doubter!) On the other hand when Paul was in prison he praised God. Both had exactly the same problem, but they had completely different attitudes to the same problem. One lost his head (literally) the other was set free!

So, we should not focus on our problems. We should cast them onto the Lord and let Him deal with them. We should have forgiveness and mercy, because that is the work of the kingdom! Our focus should be on God, not our problems.