What Do You Do with Your Problems?
When you think back on your life there’s a lot of pain. Right? You could tell me some stories. Life hurts.
What do you do when life hurts?
There are options.
One option is to run from our problems. We take the pain and push it down, pretending it’s not there.
Running can take all kinds of forms.
· Some of us run away in our hearts. We just don’t care anymore.
· Others run away more literally. Maybe you run from the first sign that a person might hurt you.
· Others run away to alcohol, or drugs, or porn, or fantasy books, or Netflix. Anything that will allow them to feel like they’re escaping their reality for a little while.
Running away from our problems doesn’t help.
Here’s the better option I propose: Run with your problems, to Jesus. Pray. Talk to him about what happened and how you’re feeling.
There are all kinds of great promises from God in the Bible about what he does when we do this.
o Psalm 147:3, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
o Psalm 34:17:19, “When his people pray for help, he listens and rescues them from their troubles. The Lord is there to rescue all who are discouraged and have given up hope. The Lord’s people may suffer a lot, but he will always bring them safely through.”
He listens. He’ll heal your brokenness. He rescues you. He gives you peace – in your pain - that passes understanding. He provides hope.
It seems perfect, but there’s a problem. It’s that when things happen, when we’re in pain, we need to pray, but often the last thing we want to do is pray.
Why is that?
I think maybe it’s because we see God … we see Jesus … as the one who is sending all this garbage in our lives. We feel like, “Why are you doing this to me? And I don’t want to talk to you about it if you’re the one who’s doing this to me.”
My husband and I have a friend who’s been through a lot lately, and he texted, “Maybe God hates me.” The problem is when we think God’s the one doing these bad things to us.
God is not the one throwing all the garbage at you; he’s the one who went through all the garbage for you.
There’s something we don’t seem to realize. Jesus went through all the same painful things we do.
1. Growing up, did you ever feel like you didn’t fit in? Maybe you were bullied? Well, Jesus was God coming to earth and could have chosen an easy, pain-free life of luxury. But Jesus was born to a couple of poor, unmarried teenagers. So, he grew up in poverty, but also, because he lived in a small religious town, he was known as that “bastard boy” because his parents weren’t married.
2. Did you ever have someone you love die? Maybe die way too soon? We’re basically sure Jesus’ earthy father, Joseph, died when Jesus was still young. You can imagine the pain of it. Jesus, still a kid, having to become the man of the house.
3. Have you ever been betrayed? I have a couple times. I’m not sure if anything hurts worse. Jesus knows that hurt. He was betrayed by Judas, one of his best friends.
4. Have you felt the pressure of being broke? Of not having enough money to take care of your basic needs? Jesus walked in some of that too. In Matthew 8:20 Jesus said that he had nowhere to sleep.
Life is hard. It’s painful. It’s that way for everyone. God never promised to protect anyone from pain. But he did promise to be with you in it.
Jesus is not something to avoid – he is an empathetic source of strength. He’s been there, He’s done that (Hebrews 2:17-18). And so, we can approach him with confidence, because he understands. And he will give us mercy and grace in our time of need (Hebrews 4:15-16). So, run to him with your problems. And if you need some help figuring it out, we are here for you at the Renewing Life Center!
Jennifer Antonucci, M.A., LMFT, LCADC