We often compound our own issues by thinking in terms of what we understand our problem to be. We see the capacity of our own efforts and those around us as amounting to very little in the face of some insurmountable obstacles in life. Why we feel the need to look inward and to conclude that we must somehow figure the problem out on our own is our greatest limiting factor as humans.
Many times our problems are exacerbated because we inflate the circumstances in our minds due to the fear of the possibility that we may fail or are helpless to change our course. We tend to conjure up a world of our own surrounding our problem and lose sight of the size of the issue that first beset. We unknowingly disguise our problems as more than they really are and elicit a false sense of alarm due to our misled perceptions. Mark Batterson sends an important message about facing problems in life with the right perception—one that includes a correct understanding of who God is:
When we see our problems like a mountain in front of us, we have forgotten about who God is. And it is easy enough to do when we fail to look upward and only look inward. We no longer retain the right “God picture” because all we see is ourselves. When we stop erasing God from the equation or diminishing him to the level of our problems and we begin to realize how great God truly is, we find that our mountain was nothing more than the slope of the ditch on the side of road of life.
If we fail to maintain in our minds the glory, power, and majesty of God, then we fail to know him for who he is. And if we fail to know God in this way, we fail to see him as the solution to our problem. God is only as much a part of solving our problem as we recognize he can be. When we accept the idea that we are not sufficiently able of ourselves to handle the challenges that rise before us in life, we acknowledge our inherent frailty and weakness. But, at the same time, we fill our hearts with wonder at the One who is greater than all and can deliver us from all our troubles. We begin to find a strength that has no limits, is bound by no barriers, can stand against the fiercest storm, can uphold the heaviest burden, and can triumph the strongest foe. Our “God picture” determines the extent to which we “let go and let God.” If we know who God really is and we understand his immense power and greatness, and if we allow him to occupy his rightful place of preeminence in our heart and soul, we will find nothing in this world we cannot overcome with him.
