Ask God’s Spirit to Guide: Turn problems into solutions

by | Posted April 26th at 9:49pm

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (John 16:13)

You think “problems” are roadblocks to achieving what you want when in reality they are pathways. One of the wisest Roman Caesar’s, Marcus Aurelius ¹ — he was also a deeply insightful Stoic philosopher noted: “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

Facing a “problem” forces you think calmly, discern wisely, pray for guidance, to take action to resolve it. That action will inevitably lead you to continue to think differently, behave differently, and choose differently. The “problem” becomes a catalyst for you to actualize the life you always wanted. It pushes you from your comfort zone, that’s all. Facing a problem takes deliberate deep thinking, deep focus while praying trustfully for God’s direction.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. (Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT)

Write your problem down honestly. Get rest, pray and work on seeing the real obstacle, the bottlenecks, the restraints, the corroborating gaps that halt progress, that bind the problem to a fixed stalling point. Then disassemble the causative forces, one by one with all the attendant grace you can apply. Rest, meditate, maintain a sober clear mind, continue to face the problem until it disperses or is arrested to your mind under the Spirit’s control.

My child, listen to me and do as I say, and you will have a long, good life. I will teach you wisdom’s ways and lead you in straight paths. When you walk, you won’t be held back; when you run, you won’t stumble. Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life. (Proverbs 4: 10-13 NLT)

Jesus faced great challenges. Yet He said I must achieve my cause in the will of the Father. I must work while it is “Day”. “Night” is coming when no one can work. Problems can mean facing dark forces of temptation, stress-induced substance reliance, fears, political bullies, business worries, family troubles, marital discord, yet we must engage our heart and minds to overcome each problem we have, face them, and surmount them, or sidestep them.

Why bring Jesus into facing our problems? Because He said, “My Spirit will lead you into all truth”. Determining truth is conducive to all reason and good judgment; to all discerning judicial evaluation. Jesus also said very clearly, “without me you can do nothing” and “…the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things” (John 14:26 – Jesus teaching)

^{1 Marcus Aurelius was a man who was so open-minded he could see the power of God when Christian prayed for the rain to stop on his battlefield. He then exacted laws to protect Christians.}

Article posted by Glen R. Jackman, founder of GraceProclaimed.org

Glen has optimized his eldership role to teach the full scope of the New Covenant of Jesus Christ without boundaries.
You can read his testimony.