craigmanderson

The Answer No. 4

How many times in life have you been faced with a problem and thought, “Why am I the one who has to fix this? I could just walk away.” However, you believe that you are the one that must take responsibility for this one and so you begin the journey of discovering what the answer is.

Have you ever been in the situation of making plans and later finding conditions have changed? What you thought would be easy is now not happening. You’ve got a problem.

Sometimes life makes a U turn right in front of you and there was no indicator!

Like a friend of mine who who’s brother took a drug overdose and ended up a quadriplegic. His parents were not well enough to take care of him so my friend took ten years out of his life to become a carer for him. That’s a 24 hours a day life change.

How do you get through a problem like that?

Like the time we decided to move from Brisbane to Melbourne to plant a new church and the week we left, the sale on our house in Brisbane fell through, the market went flat and we ended up paying rent in Melbourne and a mortgage in Brisbane with no income.  How do you fix a problem like that?

When life hands you a problem; Jesus is the answer.

There are only two reasons life hands you a problem. The first is so you can find Jesus and the second one is so you can get to know Him better; that is, grow your faith.

It’s all about faith. God wants you to learn faith; that is the constantly abiding trust that God is in control and He has taken care of everything.

I didn’t say there would be no pain, but there will be answers and growth and joy.

Let’s look at the day Jesus handed a problem to His disciples.

Mat 14:13  Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.

Mat 14:14  When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Mat 14:15  Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

Mat 14:16  But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”

Mat 14:17  They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.”

Mat 14:18  And he said, “Bring them here to me.”

Mat 14:19  Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

Mat 14:20  And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over.

Mat 14:21  And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. (ESV)

Circumstances of life are constantly changing. A great friend of mine has a saying that I think is true: “Constant change is here to stay” Life just presents problems all the time. You can complain, but it won’t change anything. You can grow and that makes you a bigger person to handle the next challenge or problem. When you were a small child you handled it without stress; every time you fell over when trying to learn to walk you just got right back up and tried again. Every time you fell off that bike you had a bit of a cry, dusted yourself off and hopped right back on again and had another go. Now you’re older and wiser, when things go pear shaped, you whinge and complain and blame the government, your spouse and the economy and give yourself an excuse to stop trying.

I want you to notice something about this story. The crowd has been listening to Jesus all day…. That’s a long sermon. Wow, these people were hungry for spiritual truth. How hungry are you? But that’s not what I’m asking you to notice. The disciples are the ones who say to Jesus “Hey these people are hungry we need to send them to the shop for a burger. They were well trained in the Workplace Health and Safety requirements to ensure good practice!

So Jesus hands the problem back to them. “No, you feed them” Jesus hands them the problem knowing full well that He is the answer to their problem. He doesn’t just say to His disciples. “Hey let’s feed these people, go find anything you can and I’ll make it multiply. Watch this!”  If He did that people would be impressed but they wouldn’t learn what He wants them to learn. And that is: dependence on Jesus. In the same story told in the book of John it says as much.

Joh 6:5  Jesus looked up then, and seeing that a vast multitude was coming toward Him, He said to Philip, Where are we to buy bread, so that all these people may eat?

Joh 6:6  But He said this to prove (test) him, for He well knew what He was about to do.

Joh 6:7  Philip answered Him, Two hundred pennies’ (forty dollars) worth of bread is not enough that everyone may receive even a little (AMP)

When a problem comes your way in life, it’s opportunity. The problem isn’t from God, the answer is from God. In this story Jesus didn’t create the problem. The situation arose through people wanting more of Truth. Then the disciples recognised – we have a problem. However, Jesus plans through every problem to make you grow and find Him in a deeper way. What He wants you to learn is to trust Him for the answer, and don’t slide into blame, complain and despair.

In this story the disciples recognise the need. These people need food. Jesus throws the responsibility for the problem right back on them. “You feed them.” Now they discover resources are not adequate. In life resources will never be adequate. When the problem comes, it’s a problem because the resources aren’t adequate. So the process Jesus wants you to learn is this.

1. Take responsibility for the answer
2. Take stock of what resources you have
3. Give those meagre resources to Him
4. Trust Him for the complete answer.

Simple right? When King David of Israel faced this issue in 1 Samuel 30:1-6 He learned that even his most faithful supporters turned against him in his moment of greatest need. When the problem – make that challenge – comes your way; it’s often the case that all your normal leaning posts will fall over. Everything you could look to for support and strength seems to disappear. Why is that? God wants you to come to the place where He, and He alone, is your answer.

In the midst of your reality, that is the reality of your problem, you need to remind yourself that He is with you. Isa 43:1  But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

Isa 43:2  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. (ESV)

If you are facing mountains too high for you – Jesus is the answer. Each challenge is an amazing opportunity to find a new level of trust and faith in Jesus and see the answers come through. Why did Jesus say? :Mat 17:20  He said to them, Because of the littleness of your faith [that is, your lack of firmly relying trust]. For truly I say to you, if you have faith [that is living] like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to yonder place, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

Surely the most impossible task for any person would be to move a mountain. Yet twice Jesus says to His disciples speak to the mountain, and expect it to move. No matter how big your problem is the only question is will you trust Jesus for the answer?

Jesus is the Answer for everything you face in life. Learn to totally trust in Him and rely on Him.