Since I am an elementary school teacher, I get to hear
many, many children songs. One of the newest songs that all the children are obsessed
with is Baby Shark. However, they also enjoy classics like We're Going on a
Bear Hunt.
In the Bear Hunt song it talks about finding different obstacles, like a river. They can't go under it. They can't go around it. They'll just have to go through it. Then they get to the next obstacle and the same thing happens. Each time you have to go through the obstacle.
It occurred to me the other day as I was singing this song that it is a lot like life. Many times when we have problems that show our weaknesses we don't want to walk through them. We may try to get around them or sneak under them. We may even ask God to take the burden of the problem from us.
Problems are hard for everyone. Even Paul had problems as we find out in 2 Corinthians 7-8 "I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me." He asked God to take away this problem. We don't know what the problem was but it was bad enough that Paul wanted to be rid of it. He wanted to go around it, under it, or have it taken away.
Instead of taking away the problem, God told Paul: "My grace is sufficient enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor.12.9). God told Paul that he was having this problem for a reason. If Christians never had any problems a few things would happen. 1 We would seem holier than thou. We would not be able to relate to others. 2 We would not grow in God. When we have problems we lean on God because we realize we cannot do it on our own. 3 We would not be fulfilling our purpose on earth, which is to spread the Gospel. If we were not to spread the Gospel then God would have taken us away as soon as we accepted him. We are here because he wants us to be a part of his story.
Now, Paul could've whined and complained. "God I thought you do all things for my good. This isn't good, this is a big problem. I don't want this problem take it away from me." But, instead, Paul says "I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor.12.9-10). This seems counterintuitive but it's not in our faith. Our job is to spread the Gospel. Many times I have been able to help encourage others with stories of my problems. I would never have been able to do that if I didn't have problems.
One other thing we must remember is God walks with us in these problems of life. He walks with us when we go through the problem of the river. He is also patient with us if we choose to try to go around the river instead (think of Jonah). That's what I call a great Father. Always there for us, always working things together for our good, always patient, always loving, and always there to pick us up if we fall down. We just have to choose to see him there beside us as we go on our Bear Hunt in life.
So, what problems are you going through right now? Can you see that God is with you while you are going through these problems? How can you encourage someone who is going through a problem today?
In the Bear Hunt song it talks about finding different obstacles, like a river. They can't go under it. They can't go around it. They'll just have to go through it. Then they get to the next obstacle and the same thing happens. Each time you have to go through the obstacle.
It occurred to me the other day as I was singing this song that it is a lot like life. Many times when we have problems that show our weaknesses we don't want to walk through them. We may try to get around them or sneak under them. We may even ask God to take the burden of the problem from us.
Problems are hard for everyone. Even Paul had problems as we find out in 2 Corinthians 7-8 "I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me." He asked God to take away this problem. We don't know what the problem was but it was bad enough that Paul wanted to be rid of it. He wanted to go around it, under it, or have it taken away.
Instead of taking away the problem, God told Paul: "My grace is sufficient enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor.12.9). God told Paul that he was having this problem for a reason. If Christians never had any problems a few things would happen. 1 We would seem holier than thou. We would not be able to relate to others. 2 We would not grow in God. When we have problems we lean on God because we realize we cannot do it on our own. 3 We would not be fulfilling our purpose on earth, which is to spread the Gospel. If we were not to spread the Gospel then God would have taken us away as soon as we accepted him. We are here because he wants us to be a part of his story.
Now, Paul could've whined and complained. "God I thought you do all things for my good. This isn't good, this is a big problem. I don't want this problem take it away from me." But, instead, Paul says "I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor.12.9-10). This seems counterintuitive but it's not in our faith. Our job is to spread the Gospel. Many times I have been able to help encourage others with stories of my problems. I would never have been able to do that if I didn't have problems.
One other thing we must remember is God walks with us in these problems of life. He walks with us when we go through the problem of the river. He is also patient with us if we choose to try to go around the river instead (think of Jonah). That's what I call a great Father. Always there for us, always working things together for our good, always patient, always loving, and always there to pick us up if we fall down. We just have to choose to see him there beside us as we go on our Bear Hunt in life.
So, what problems are you going through right now? Can you see that God is with you while you are going through these problems? How can you encourage someone who is going through a problem today?
Image from here.
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