Learn how to find practical help for the problems of our lives.
We all need practical help for our lives, because we all have problems. All of us. Some of our problems are big, some are small. Some are quick to solve, others take years to resolve. But we all have problems. We all need and want to know how to handle any and every situation that we face from day to day.
Where do we get the practical help we need? What are some resources that we could use to find a solution to a problem?
I can think of at least 3.
++Experienced people. ++
We all have someone nearby that has more experience than us. At work, it might be our boss or a co-worker that is older or that simply has more years of experience on a given subject/problem. For example: investment questions/how to get a raise/how to make a career change.
At home, it may be our parents or an elderly neighbor. At church, it could be our pastor. These people could give us practical advice on how to improve our marriage or how to face any relational conflict or how to help our children face today’s complicated issues.
++Books++
Reading books that deal with family, finances, child-raising, worry, fear, anxiety or physical health issues can give us insight and step by step instructions (practical help) on how to overcome or confront many issues. Reading a book, or, in today’s tech world, listening to audio books or podcasts can not only give us advice but help us make good use of our driving time. Reading books from different perspectives on the same subject can help us to form a true summary of what resonates with who we are and how we choose to live.
++The Bible++
The Bible is a manual for life. For a Christian, the Bible IS our manual for life. If something is broken in our life, the Bible can fix it or teach us how to live with what’s broken. Every principle of life is dealt with in the Bible and it is written to help us work out the issues that we face every day.
But, we also need to remember that we are human. Sometimes we approach the Bible with a fixed mindset and we search the Bible for answers that match our mindset. That is why it’s important to go to others for their perspective on our problem. Their experience and objective perspective can keep us on track and assure us that our emotions and ideas and even our solutions are not slanted to our own advantage. If we truly want the best solution to our problem, we need to be open to what others have to say about it.
**Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read: ** Isaiah 34:16
Biblical counsel can help us with problems like:
How to love your neighbor when he/she is making you crazy. In reality, it has practical help for any relationship. See the Gospel of Luke Chapter 10
How to deal with your enemies, or practical help for when no reconciliation is possible. Book of Proverbs Chapter 15, Gospel of Matthew 5
How to deal with financial issues, like debt, our daily needs, and lending money. The Book of Proverbs
Health issues like stomach problems and mental health. First Timothy 1, Daniel 4, Gospel of John 14
Specific mental health issues like:
Stress. John 14, Psalm 55, 61, 77, 102
Worry. Philippians 4
Fear. Joshua 1
Personality. The Book of Proverbs
Heartache. Psalm 51
Loneliness. Psalm 86
I have given just a few places to look in the Bible for this list of problems, there are many more passages that can help. But the Bible offers practical help, as well as help for the heart, in any situation that life may bring us. Finding this practical help is easier today and more readily available than in the past. For those that are old-school learners, a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance can help us track down specific needs. For modern-techies, we can go to websites like www.BibleGateway.com or www.YouVersion. I am sure there are many others! Maybe you can share with us your favorite Bible search tool?
Life doesn’t have to be lived blindly. We can confront any issue in our life proactively, and with our eyes wide open, by using the resources we have available to us:
People. Books by experienced ‘experts’. The Bible.
We all need help finding practical help for our lives’ problems. If we use all three of these resources together, we can be confident that we have done all we can to find a solution to our problems and to have looked at it from all sides. If after asking advice, researching about our problem and seeking God’s perspective on it in the Bible, we do NOT find a solution, then we need to leave it in God’s hands and trust that He is doing something beyond our understanding.
We all need practical help for our lives and the problems that come up daily. We do not need to run from them. We can confront them with clarity and courage. We can use the resources available to us and know that we have done all that we could and we will be a little better prepared for tomorrow.