How to deal with painful situations

In his book, “When Crisis Hits You,”  William B. Girao raised   these questions: "When things do not turn out the way  you expected them, what do you do? How do you cope up with a life-threatening sickness in the family? Or with the sudden loss  of everything you worked for? How do you deal with painful situations?”

Myriad of actuations and responses to painful situations can be expected. The reactions can be cynical, negative and  confusing. Like the case of  someone I know who recently  lost his job. He asked these questions: “Why me, Lord? What have I done?”

Rick Warren of 1.cbn.com declares, "Life is a series  of problem-solving opportunities. The problems  you face will either defeat  you or develop  you — depending  on how you respond to them. Unfortunately, most people fail to see how God wants to use problems for good in their lives. They react foolishly and resent their problems rather than pausing  to  consider what benefit they might bring.”

Warren believes that whatever painful situation we are facing, we have to ponder about it. He points out five ways on how God uses the problems in our lives to make us better persons.

God uses problems to direct us. Sometimes  God must light a fire under us to get moving. Problems often point us in a  new direction and motivate us to change. Sometimes  it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways.

God uses problem to inspect us. People are like teabags if you want to  know what’s inside them, just drop them into hot water. Has God ever tested your faith with a problem? What do problems reveal about you? James 12:3 NCV says, "When you have many  kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience.”

God uses problem to correct us. Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure. It’s likely that as a child our parents told us  not to touch a hot stove. But we probably learned that by being burned. Sometimes,  we only learn the   value of something — health, money,  a relationship — by losing it.

God uses problem to protect us. A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. Last year a friend of mine was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem – but it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when his boss actions were recovered.

God uses problem to perfect us. Problems when responded correctly, are character builders. God is far more interested in your character than your comfort. Your relationship to God and your character are the only two things to take with you into eternity. As Romans 5:3-4, LB  reminds, "We can rejoice when we run into problems: they help us learn to be patient. And patience  develops strength  of character in us and help us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady.”