Loving Your . . . Problems?

The bigger the problem, the better he liked it. . .

Norman Vincent Peale. I appreciate that he uses his full name the way I do. We sound so confident, and the truth is I just liked the way the acute accent in Renée looked on paper. I read something in his book, Enthusiasm Makes the Difference.

"The old man (Harlowe B. Andrews) had so much downright native wisdom, penetrating insight and sharp intuition, plus the ability to think creatively, that he became a constant source of guidance for me. And I never knew a man who enjoyed problems as he did. He actually became excited by them; the knottier the problem, the more it interested him. He even thought that the big social problems were positively wonderful. His explanation of enthusiasm for problems troubling the world was a stimulating one. ‘Always be glad when there is trouble on the earth,’ Brother Andrews explained, ‘for it means there is movement in heaven; and this indicates great things are really looking up for mankind.’”

It struck me when I read "he enjoyed problems." I don't enjoy problems. I set the book down and thought about it for a while. I have learned to appreciate the growth that comes out of the harder parts of my life. I tend to feel very close to God when I’m aware of how much I need Him and I’m watching Him for guidance and sometimes a miracle. But to enjoy the problem itself?

Problems = Challenges

For a time in my life, I made a point to refer to problems as “challenges.” This made them seem less scary and appealed to the part of me that enjoys the idea of going on a quest. But even so, when I’m in the midst of a very large problem, or a whirlwind of smaller, various problems when they seem to come from every angle, I feel a lot of things. Fear. Overwhelm. Anger. Discouragement.

Defiantly, not enjoyment.

Those Really Knotty Problems

The image though, of a man smiling when presented with a problem, literally studying it, unwinding it, observing it piece by piece, and then creating order clicked something in my head.

Problems are like puzzles. When you examine them instead of trying to avoid them, you can see how they fit together or what is needed to make them connect and work smoothly again. Figuring out what components are needed and where the gaps are between the problem and the solution. I do very much enjoy planning. And isn't that what most problems are? A series of events that need a plan to implement a solution. That’s not so scary. That’s even a little exciting.

Trouble on Earth and Movements in Heaven

Jesus warned us that we would have trouble on Earth. The lack of trouble doesn’t mean that you’ve suddenly gotten life figured out and God is blessing your perfect obedience. Just like the presence of trouble doesn’t mean that you’re being punished for something (though it could indicate places you can change what you’re doing to get a better result.) But the world is full of things that go wrong. Problems are just part of being alive.

I have lived through events that did not turn out in my favor. But I have also had times of sleepless nights worrying about something, praying, living through an senario that looked grim and hopeless and then God came through. People banned together, plans suddenly got altered, and sometimes God completely flipped the script and the experience I was dreading turned out to be something I truly enjoyed. Other times I had to work to change the outcome, but it did turn around.

The Seeds of Solution

Psalms 25: 2 says “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.” This verse has always made me think of God watching people discover things with a delighted grin on His. I think that discovery is a component that He designed our brains to be rewarded by. He put us on earth to care for the world, to create new things from the raw resources around us, to help each other, to find better ways to do things. We do have to contend with the fallen nature of man, but, (to quote the book again) "Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don't have any problems, you don't get any seeds."

This has changed the way I'm looking at my current life: everything from my schedule, to ironing out details of service for the Matagorda Connection website, to challenges affecting myself and people I love. When I write down the details, the problems don't seem as large, the solutions fall into place. And when they don't . . . why that requires creativity thinking and I happen to be an expert in creativity.

With God all things are possible. Every problem has a solution. Every solution needs a plan. And if there is one thing I am good at, it's making a plan. Has any of this given you an idea to untangle a problem in your life?

 

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