"WHEN PROBLEMS COME CALLING!"
Written and preached by David P. Nolte




LAMENTATIONS 3:52-58

We are all familiar with that old commercial: "Ding-Dong! Avon Calling!" Of course it meant that someone was trying to sell some cosmetics and other beauty aids. Sometimes a friend drops by and you'll hear a cheery, "Knock-knock!" And the implication is they want to be invited in for a visit. Those are innocuous, and perhaps even welcome, calls. But there are those visits we don't welcome! We see that gabby Mrs. Blabberyak coming up the walk with her incessant, mindless chatter, or we see that grouchy Mr. Neversmile approaching and we think, "Oh, no! Where can I hide? He could put a damper on an optimists convention!" Trouble comes calling too, and we greet it with disdain and loathing. Trouble is always an unwelcome caller. But it is going to come calling. You can put up all the hedges, fences, moats and other blockades and it will come. You can install alarm systems, and sentry posts and it will come. Tragedy came to Israel. Jeremiah writes about that in his Lamentations. Due to their sinful idolatry, God had them carted off into captivity in Babylon. Jeremiah laments that lamentable fact. Bad stuff will happen to us too; and we will lament it but we won't escape it. Since that is true, it is certainly a wise thing to learn how to graciously accept the inevitable, and to profitably deal with the unpleasant and to capably handle the painful. We can waste precious time and energy in a futile attempt to avoid the visit of tragedy and suffering, or we can decide to deal with it in the best way possible. So, when problems come calling, let me suggest the following:
  1. KEEP YOUR PROBLEMS IN PERSPECTIVE:
    1. Not to minimize the trauma of being shanghaied and carted off by a bunch of barbarians, but note how Jeremiah exaggerates his lament: "My enemies have exterminated me! They have dumped me in a pit and buried me under a rock! I am completely engulfed and am cut off, I am destroyed!" Well, things were bad, but they had not killed him nor totally demolished him.
    2. Often when problems call, they loom larger in our minds than they really are. It's like holding a penny real close to your eye and then looking at the moon.  The penny eclipses the moon though it is much smaller; it appears large because we are focused on it.  I have no intention of minimizing your pain or calling your trouble a trifle. But I urge you to put things in proper perspective.
      1. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill. Don't let the little speed-bumps in the parking lot of life become a Mt. Everest!
      2. Don't make every upsetting event a crisis. If your goldfish dies, don't make it as consequential as open heart surgery! If you burn the lasagna, don't put it on a par with an amputation.
      3. Don't magnify every slight or insult or affront into a major catastrophe. Get over it! Deal with it! Move on! Be bigger than that!
    3. Let me share with you a few proper perspectives to adopt when problems come calling:
      1. Remember that no problem is as big as God!
        1. Hear God challenging hard things: "I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for Me?" Jeremiah 32:27 (NIV).
        2. Hear Gabriel's words to Mary, "For nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:37 (NIV).
      2. Remember that no problem is bigger than you are with Christ's help.
        1. Paul reminds us that, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV).
        2. Join Paul in saying, "I can do all things through Him Who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13 (NASB).
      3. Remember that problems are opportunities wrapped in black paper.
        1. Opportunities to grow and mature: James wrote, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4 (NIV).
        2. Opportunities to glorify God: Peter reminds us, "If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name." 1 Peter 4:15-16 (NIV).
        3. Opportunities to experience victory: John says, "This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith." 1 John 5:4 (NIV).
      4. Remember that no problem is permanent. No difficulty is the last word.
        1. Paul speaks of the temporality of suffering, "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NIV).
        2. Peter writes of the ultimate cessation of suffering: "And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast." 1 Peter 5:10 (NIV).
    4. We are probably familiar with that old bogey the "Wizard of Oz!" Remember how fearsome he seemed? All of Oz stood in awe and fear of the Wizard. They stood in awe, that is, until the little dog Toto pulled back a certain curtain to reveal a namby-pamby, washed out, lint-brained little professor type at the controls. Just so, pull back the curtain by faith and see problems as they really are! Problems, put into perspective, lose their awesome power to overwhelm us.
    5. So, when problems come calling, let's put them in perspective. Those nameless, faceless bogies that deprive us of appetite, sleep and joy can dwindle to mere inconveniences, tolerable trials and sufferable snags when put into the perspective of God and His promises.
  1. KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE SOURCE OF REAL HELP:
    1. See how Jeremiah was able to look beyond his trauma to his God: "Even from the pit I cried; You heard me; You drew near and told me not to be afraid!"
    2. Let me remind you of the source of help:
      1. The Psalmist declared it: "I lift up my eyes to the hills -- where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth." Psalms 121:1-2 (NIV).
      2. Peter points it out: "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV).
      3. When surrounded by hostile enemies, Jehoshaphat knew it: "For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You." 2 Chronicles 20:12 (NIV).
    3. Israel used to turn to Egypt or Assyria for help. But We don't need a political savior; the U.N. isn't our source of help. Military prowess isn't our source of help. But "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31 (NIV). And that means:
      1. No demon in hell can undo us.
      2. No earthly foe can conquer us.
      3. No situation can overwhelm us.
    4. When Jeremiah considered his plight and thought about God, he said, "This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. The LORD 's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness. 'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'Therefore I have hope in Him.' The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently For the salvation of the LORD." Lamentations 3:22-26 (NASB).
    5. We've all heard that old rhyme: "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall; Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the kings' horses and all the king's men could not put Humpty together again!" When hard times in life befall us, we sometimes feel like old Humpty Dumpty: we lose our balance, we fall, and we are broken.
      1. All the "king's horses," our own purely personal efforts, our seeking relief through various escapisms, our ranting and raving that God doesn't love us, and our seeking to eliminate all pain from our lives, simply will not help. But God can help.
      2. This is not to say that there is nothing we can do to help ourselves! We ought to do what we can do to alleviate our distresses and sufferings: take a pain killer, have a surgery, mend a relationship, break a harmful habit, turn from a sinful lifestyle. But remember that our own efforts alone are insufficient.
      3. All the "king's men," those to whom we turn for help and succor and counsel and deliverance, can offer but little and only temporary assistance. But God can help to the uttermost.
      4. This is not to say that others cannot help us; we need each other. But mere human resources alone are not adequate.
      5. Turn to God! Only He can take your shattered life and put it back together again! Turn to Him.

So, when problems come calling, and they surely will, put them in perspective: don't let them dominate you, don't let them be bigger than they are, don't let them be the center of your focus and concentration. God is greater than your problems; you are greater than your problems! Keep your eyes on the source of help: seek God's face, seek God's grace; seek God's strength; seek God's help! Be assured: no trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger can defeat the one who trusts God! "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." Neither death nor life, angels nor demons, the present nor the future, any powers, nor anything else nor anyone else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord! Believe that, be assured by that, and face your problems with that kind of faith! When problems come calling, bring them all to Jesus and He will turn your sorrow into joy!

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