Do you ever feel your life is full of unsolved problems?
Life is so much more than unfinished projects and unsolved problems. I learned this early on in my marriage. My wife and I decided I would be a full time stay-at-home dad. She had a great job and we wanted one of us to stay home with the kids.
It was a wonderful experience on so many levels, for about 10 years or so. One of the things I got interested in during that time was sewing. I took a sewing class and ended up sewing a lot of my wife’s maternity clothes.
But like a little kid in a candy shop whose eyes are bigger than his tummy, I often tended to buy more fabric than I could use and I’d think I was going to start and complete more sewing projects than I did. And, you guessed it, I still have fabric that I bought over 25 years ago and never did anything with.
Now, I’m not beating myself up because of all the unused fabric in the basement, and yes, there’s a lot still there. There are actually a few projects I plan to finish but some of them I will not. My tastes and interests have changed and I don’t have as much free time as I used to for this sort of thing. At least for now, I’m not adding to the collection of unused fabric. And I’ve already given some it away.
Unfinished projects as a metaphor for life
But I’m beginning to see this collection of un-started and unfinished sewing projects as a metaphor for life.
Do you ever feel your life is a collection of unfinished projects, unsolved problems, and unresolved situations? Do you keep adding more problems without solving the ones you already have?
When you see someone else do this, it seems so obvious, but when we do it ourselves, we’re usually not aware of it. All too often we think going on to something new will get rid of the problems we already have. But this is rarely, if ever, the case.
So I’ve been thinking about what the Bible might have to say about solving problems and not accumulating more problems as we go along through life.
The first thing in the Bible that comes to me is from Psalms
Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, Psalm 103:2-4 NIV
God deals with all your unsolved problems
It doesn’t say God will only forgive some of your sins and heal some of your problems, letting others accumulate for a later resolution date. It says we’ll be delivered from the pit, the pit of all these unsolved problems.
This is a strong spiritual foundation to build on, the fact that God is willing and able to heal and forgive you completely.
But if you don’t think you’re worthy, that you don’t deserve this kind of love, or you think God is too busy to take care of all your needs, then you may not experience this Bible promise.
I am more and more convinced that the real solution to dealing with unsolved problems is less about our problem solving abilities and has more to do with accepting God’s unconditional love for us and how we see and identify ourselves.
How do you see yourself?
If you see yourself, think of yourself, identify yourself as someone who has a bunch of unsolved problems, as a type of person who collects unsolved problems, incapable of finding solutions or not having time to deal with a problem, this will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
It reminds me of that proverb: As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. That actually comes from the Book of Proverbs:
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Proverbs 23:7 KJV
The way you see yourself, determines the way you act, the way you live your life. As long as you see yourself as the sum total of your past, your sins, and unsolved problems, you will act that way.
This may sound rather simplistic, but the first step to not being a collection of unsolved problems is to quit thinking of yourself in that way.
There’s always a solution
When my kids were little and would come to me with a problem they couldn’t find an answer to, whether it was how to start or finish a project, or some school work, or whatever, I would almost always say, “There’s always a solution.”
My goal was to instill in them the attitude that they could always find some way to do what needed to be done. And today, they are all very good problem solvers on so many levels.
The point is, they don’t identify as or with not being able to solve a problem. If you, for whatever reason, see yourself as someone who isn’t good at solving problems, this mindset has the effect of limiting what you think you’re capable of.
So, if you have a bunch of unresolved problems, quit repeating all the negative self-talk of: I can’t figure this out, I have so many problems I’ll never get things sorted out, or things keep getting worse and I don’t know how to solve the situation. Things keep piling up.
I’ll repeat this verse from Proverbs: As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.
Knowing who you are spiritually heals unsolved problems
It’s time instead to get a more spiritual perspective of who you are and what you’re capable of.
This is why I said in the introduction, it’s more about how you identify yourself. And I don’t mean just to see yourself as a more skillful, alert, problem solving human being.
I’m talking about getting a better sense of who you are spiritually as a child of God, made in God’s image and likeness.
If you’ve been listening to The Bible Speaks to You Podcast for very long, you’ve probably heard me talk often about the importance of seeing yourself in light of who and how God made you.
The clearer you are about who you are spiritually as a child of God, the more you’ll realize you’re not a collection of unsolved problems but a combination of spiritual qualities that come from God.
You reflect God’s qualities
For example, as the image and likeness of God, you reflect God’s wholeness and completeness, His intelligence and wisdom, His strength and creativity, just to name a few.
When you begin to identify yourself this way, it’s much easier to realize you can deal with problems as they arise instead of thinking you don’t know what to do or how to do it.
To the degree you see yourself as whole, intelligent, and creative, because that’s the way God made you, it will be easier to let go of that collection of unsolved problems without necessarily having to solve them all.
A friend of mine had a flood in his basement. There were all kinds of unfinished projects down there that were ruined. He ended up throwing almost everything away because of the water damage. He realized later he could have thrown all that stuff away even if his basement hadn’t been flooded.
And the lesson for him was he didn’t have to go back and finish those projects before he threw them out.
Sometimes you don’t have to solve every problem
Now you may be thinking: Hey James, I see how that could apply to a bunch of stuff that got wet in your friend’s basement, but I’ve got some accumulated health problems, not to mention some unsolved relationship issues. And I’m still trying not to be so judgmental of people, but I’m getting worse. I don’t see how I can just throw all that in the trash like your friend threw out the stuff in his basement.
I get it. It’s not like you can literally just throw your health and relationship problems in a dumpster and be done with them.
But this is where it comes back to seeing yourself as the image and likeness of God.
Your accumulated unsolved problems do not define who you are. God does. Only God defines you.
Jesus healed unsolved problems all at once
Think of the lame man Jesus healed at the pool of Bethesda. You can read that story in John, Chapter 5.
This man had not been able to walk for 38 years. And there were other problems that had accumulated because he was paralyzed. He couldn’t work, so he didn’t have money. Over many years, a feeling of helplessness and lack of self-worth kept accumulating. Add to that a growing sense of hopelessness, which came from his inability to get into the water, which he thought would heal him.
When Jesus found this man, he didn’t try to solve all his problems the way most people would have. He didn’t set up physical therapy sessions for him. He didn’t try to encourage him to be more hopeful. He didn’t help him into the water when the angel stirred it up.
Jesus didn’t try to solve this man’s problems the way he or anyone else thought would be the solution.
Jesus saw spiritual identity
Instead Jesus gave him a whole new view of who he was and what he was capable of as a child of God.
He simply commanded him
“Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” John 5:8 NIV
Jesus saw this man as a fully functioning and capable child of God. He saw him as God saw him, complete, whole, and strong.
When Jesus told the man to get up and walk, there was a sense of expectation of being able to walk which the fellow responded to. Jesus was giving this man a glimpse of who he was and what he was capable of as a child of God. In effect, Jesus was demanding that this man leave behind his old view of himself, and see himself in a whole new light which included his ability to walk.
How did Jesus heal unsolved problems?
Fortunately for you and me, Jesus revealed how he was able to see this man and others in this light when he said
Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. John 5:19 NIV
Jesus knew the kingdom of heaven was at hand. In God’s kingdom of heaven, there is no lameness, no paralysis, no discouragement or loss of hope, no inability of any kind. Jesus saw this man at the pool of Bethesda the way the Father saw him in the kingdom of heaven, capable, strong, and able to function fully.
Jesus’s clear vision of what God saw brought healing. In a way, you could say this healing solved all the accumulated problems this man had. But in another way, it didn’t so much solve them but simply disposed of them, the way my friend threw out all the stuff from his basement.
If Jesus has seen this man the way he saw himself, not to mention how everyone else saw him, he wouldn’t have been able to heal him. No one really thought there was a solution to this man’s problems, except for getting into the pool of Bethesda. But that had proved to be a dead end.
So how does this apply to you and me?
You are not a bunch of unsolved problems
When you see yourself as a collection of unsolved problems, when you see others this way, and when you see the world this way, you won’t be able to bring healing to a situation the way Jesus did.
But when you see yourself and others the way God sees you all in the kingdom of heaven – which Jesus knew was at hand, and therefore you can know this too – you’ll bring healing to all your activities and everyone you come in contact with.
Paul explains how to do this in his letter to the Ephesians.
Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Ephesians 4:21-24 NIV
Paul does not say we are supposed try real hard to solve all the problems the old self, the sinful nature, has accumulated. He says to get rid of that concept of who you are. In other words, quit identifying yourself with the old way your past, others, and the world define you. Renew your mind. Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Have a fresh look at who you are. Accept yourself as the image and likeness of God created in righteousness and holiness.
Don’t hold onto the mud, your unsolved problems
When you do this, it’s like standing in the shower after you fell in a giant mud puddle and were covered from head to toe with mud. The mud is washed away because it’s not part of you. You may have fallen in the mud, but you don’t become mud as a result. The mud is never part of you.
You may have sinned. You may have accumulated a bunch of unsolved problems. But those sins and problems, however serious or numerous, are never who you are or part of your identity.
Let me ask you something. How often do you wash your clothes? Are your clothes defined by all the dirt that has ever been on them? Of course not. It’s washed away every time you do the laundry. You don’t keep a record of all the dirt and stains that were ever on your clothes. You don’t remind others of how dirty your clothes have been in the past.
And that dirt does not keep accumulating. It’s washed away. The dirt is not part of the clothes.
Just so, your sins and problems, however much they seem to be accumulated, are not part of you, not part of your life.
Don’t hold onto unsolved problems
So, is there some way to get ourselves in the “spiritual washing machine,” so to speak?
First, you have to be willing to see yourself in this new light of how God made you in His image and likeness. I know you’ve heard this idea before, probably hundreds of times, that you are God’s likeness. But it’s another thing altogether to really know and experience the truth of this statement.
You cannot take a negative, material concept of yourself with you into this new view of yourself created in true righteousness, in the image and likeness of God.
Jesus tells Nicodemus, and it applies to you and me as well,
I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God. John 3:3 NLT
The original Greek can also be translated, unless you are born from above.
Nicodemus doesn’t really get the spiritual meaning of what Jesus is demanding of him. He can only imagine entering a second time into his mother’s womb. This idea of rebirth just was kind of confusing to him.
So Jesus re-emphasizes this idea
I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. John 3:5 NLT
We’re talking about spiritual purity here.
Your spiritual origin and identity
Jesus is also saying we need to get a spiritual sense of our origin and identity.
We have to leave behind the material view of ourselves as an accumulation of sins and unsolved problems. As I said, you cannot take this negative way of seeing yourself with you into the born-again you Jesus is talking about, any more than sin, disease, and disability can get into heaven.
I love the example of Peter and John healing the lame man at the Beautiful gate of the Temple in Acts, Chapter 3.
Circumstances and time had made this man not just lame, but reduced him to poverty and complete dependence on others, with no hope of recovery, not too unlike the lame man Jesus healed at the pool of Bethesda.
Here again was a lifetime accumulation of unsolved problems.
But Peter and John didn’t see him the way he saw himself. They saw him through the lens of the light of Christ. They saw his new self, his born-of-the-Spirit self. They didn’t see him as an accumulation of problems over time. They saw him as created whole and strong, on God’s image and likeness.
Healing accumulated problems
Peter commanded the man
“In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. Acts 3:6-8 NIV
This same healing precept is true for you. You are not an accumulation of sins and unsolved problems however big or small, however many or few. Christ makes you whole, strong, and sets you free from all accumulated problems.
Letting go of what is past
Paul makes this clear in his letter to the church in Philippi.
…forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13, 14 KJV
He says basically the same thing to the church in Corinth.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
We don’t hold onto the old. We let it go.
To be “in Christ” means to be aware of your spiritual identity as the image and likeness of God. It means to be born again, born of the Spirit, to put on your new spiritual nature, “created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”
Sometimes we get so used to a problem, we begin to accept it as part of who we are. But that is never true, however much it may seem so. Whenever you catch yourself accepting a problem as part of who you are and feel like past mistakes and unsolved problems are starting to accumulate, the best solution is always to remember who you are as a child of God, made in His image and likeness.
The more clearly you see, accept, and embrace your true spiritual identity, the image and likeness of God, the more quickly and completely that accumulation of unsolved problems will be washed away and you will be free.
Photo credit: stockcake.com
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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and church mentor. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life. Contact him here.
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Bible References
Psalm 103:2-4 NIV
2 Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
Proverbs 23:7 KJV
7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:
John 5:8 NIV
8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”
John 5:19 NIV
19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
Ephesians 4:21-24 NIV
21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him,
22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.
23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.
24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
John 3:3 NLT
3 I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.
John 3:5 NLT
5 I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.
Acts 3:6-8 NIV
6 In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.
7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.
8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
Philippians 3:13, 14 KJV
13 forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
