Magnify The Problem Solver

As most of you, I have struggled with all of the negativity and hurt in our world. The other day I wanted to post a picture of a beautiful sunset over the water but I felt I should not post anything happy. But that is wrong! We can have joy among negative circumstances. Our joy comes from knowing Who is in charge and always will be in charge! When you listen to the news and social media more than the Bible, of course, you are going to find yourself down and depressed! I have had to up my time with God and His Word!

As I was feeling down I received this devotional from someone I highly respect. This part spoke to me: “Maybe we should magnify the problem-solver. Many scriptures speak to this problem but for today's purpose, let's use Isaiah 26:3-4 NKJV, 'Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.' God tells us that He will keep us in perfect peace when our mind is stayed (focused) on Him and we trust in Him forever. We can have peace as we trust God throughout this process, then, may we be willing to be used as He directs us. Trust in the Lord forever, THERE is everlasting strength.”

In another devotion, "Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room" by Nancy Guthrie, she explained how to magnify God. "We magnify God not by making Him bigger than He truly is, but by making Him greater in our thoughts, in our affections, in our memories, and in our expectations. We magnify Him by having higher, larger, and truer thoughts of Him. We magnify Him by praising Him and telling others about His greatness so they can have bigger thoughts about Him, too." God does not need for us to magnify Him. We need to magnify Him because we tend to magnify the distractions of this world, our needs, our weaknesses. That brings us down and discourages us. When we magnify God we are reminded of how great He is and as He is magnified our problems get smaller.

We have heard the saying, don't tell God how big your problem is, tell your problem how BIG your God is! So often, I get that messed up. The good news is that even when we get so distracted and forget about God, He never forgets about us. Proverbs 21: 21, "Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor." When we magnify God the other things fall into place. We find ourselves handling situations better.

When someone tries our patience we should pray for them. The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5: 17, "...pray continually..." The Lord is patient with all of humanity. He has the right to destroy us for our sin, but He patiently waits on us to come to Him. God's Kindness is seen in this patience. He is willing to bless us far above what we deserve. He wants us to show kindness in our relationships. We must be patient with others and overlook minor faults with the love that Peter talks about. 1 Peter 4: 8, "Above all, love each other deeply,because love covers over a multitude of sins."