You Have a Problem; So What?

Not too long ago a friend of mine read something in our morning devotion that kind of baffled me for days. She said; “make friends with the problems in your life”. Ok - I’ll pause here so you can laugh out loud too. Sounds kind of ridiculous, doesn’t it? This next advice might come across even the more ludicrous to some of us. She continued to tell us that the “the best way to befriend your problem is to thank God for them”.
It’s as though one is being told to praise God for the trials, the enemies, the misfortunes, the worries, the heartaches, the pains, and the brokenness. How can we possibly be thankful for that?
You might not need a few days to digest it, as I did, but if you really think about, they do make sense. I for one thought about the level of patience I now have. How do you think I got it? Yep – problems. When I think about my inner strength, determination, and commitment, I credit it all to my problems. Now that I think on it a little more, I can safely say that some of my greatest testimonies exist because of the problems I encountered. 
So yea! I do agree; we have to make friends with the problems in our lives. I am not saying you should go hunting for problems, nor should you become content and accepting of them. However, if they come, you should not allow them to get you worked up, depressed, and stressed, wondering "why me?" It's you because you're a rose growing beautifully with the right amount of thorns to help with the preservation of your life. It is you, so that you might become stronger, more patient, and determined. One of my favorite bible texts says, "...But we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4And patience, experience; and experience, hope (Romans 5:4)". Boom! It doesn't get clearer than that. 
 Not only will your friended “foes” transform you daily, but they will help you to become stronger in your faith in God. If I am to be honest to myself, it has always been my problems that led me to lean in a little closer to the bosom of God. They helped me to experience faith. How would I know for myself that Jesus is a master healer, if I have never been sick, or that He is a provider, if I never lack anything?
So today, I am encouraging you to smile at the problems in your lives, make friends with them, and sit down with them. Get to know them and allow them to reveal to you things about yourselves, which you probably never realized. Allow them to force you into a place of prayer and petitioning.
Cue music 
          "Here's a little song I wrote           You might want to sing it note for note,           Don't worry, be happy           In every life we have some trouble          But when you worry you make it double           Don't worry, be happy Don't worry, be happy now"
          (Song by Bobby McFerrin)
 Merry Melodies Melodies