"But in their distress, they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them" (NLT) 2 Chronicles 15:4

Whatever happens in life is as significant as how we see and respond to it. Human beings see life and understand it differently from God’s perspective. This is because we stand on different grounds and our expectations are not the same. To please our ears, we are attracted to prosperity and problem-free life sermons that have crowded the Christian media. Beloved, we have to understand that challenges are part of life and they play very critical roles in both our physical and spiritual wellbeing.

For example, our physical muscles grow bigger and stronger when subjected to stress through exercise. If you don’t exercise, your muscles reduce in strength and function. Spiritually, challenges strengthen our faith. Without it, our faith will not and cannot grow. Remember the saying: “No pain, no gain and no cross, no crown”.

We must develop eyes to see God’s hand in everything. We must believe (not necessarily understand) what Scripture says about the purpose of problems. For they are effective tools in the hands of our God, tools that are intended both for His glory and our good (Ref. 1).

God uses stress and challenges to get our attention (Ref. 1). God created our bodies. He designed them to send us messages. “Pain is God’s megaphone.” Some of us are hearing God and moving away from him. We ignore physical, mental, and spiritual warning signs. God wants us to tune our ears to the messages He sends us through our minds and bodies” (C.S. Lewis).

Where are you now? Can you recognize or perceive God’s hand in your life? If not then, God is calling for your attention now. The response should be immediate as apostle Paul said in Acts 22:16. There is a divine purpose for challenges you are experiencing now or you will experience in future. Never let problems de-motivate you but rather use it as a stimulus to recognize and turn to God. Amen.

[1] http://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/how-god-uses-stress-for-our-good-and-his-glory.html

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