Why Do I Keep Having All These Same Issues Over and Over and Over?

When Will God Give Me An Answer or Provide Relief?

Do you ever feel like some of your "stuff" is going to haunt you to the grave. That stuff could be physical problems, emotional issues, financial troubles, attitudes, interpersonal relationship problems, sexual hangups, and the list is endless. You get counsel, you pray, you read, and you take steps, but the weight is still there, the porn is still a problem, my anger is still destroying relationships, or the bank account is overdrawn again!

What is going on? What is God trying to teach me, assuming that the afflictions is being allowed by God to teach me something?

This is not a new issue, but one that God has addressed so clearly that it is a wonder that this headline even attracted any Christians to the posting. We need to go back to the begging of the old Testament to find the answer.

Adam, Eve, Cain all suffered affliction for the same reasons that we do today. Even though God has clearly laid out the things they were to do in order to live a blessed life, they just don't do those things.  The story is repeated over and over throughout the old Testament as God's people decided to do things their way in order to get what they wanted and get it now, or to take matters into their own hands rather than trust God's provision.

And nothing has changed in the Church age. I read and reread the Bible, go to church, lead a Bible study, pray, tithe, and more. Then when I'm confronted with some difficulty, my first inclination is to fix it myself. When I am dealing with the sin in my life, I am all too ready to rationalize the sin away. When it comes to trusting God or trusting myself, I generally win. In fact, even when it comes to trusting God or trusting man, I often lurch towards man.

What is your thorn in the side? What is your unresolved sin? Where do you fail to trust?

The Divine Magnet

The divine magnet…

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. The Lord works out everything for His own ends… Proverbs 16:3-4 NIV

A  five-hour commute gets old, but my husband did it every weekend for several months, burning a path to Cleveland, Ohio from West Michigan to see the family. We’d put our house up on the real estate market in the Buckeye state as my husband took a new job. Finally, after several months of no offers, I packed up the house, put the kids in the car, and drove to meet my husband in West Michigan. We were glad to be reunited but the stress of two mortgages grew burdensome

. Every night around the dinner table, our family would pray for the Cleveland house to sell. We knew we were up against serious economic factors as Cleveland slipped into a recession. Weeks went by with no offers

. One night we received a call from our realtor. Trying not to chuckle, he shared what had happened. “I showed your house to a client today. He is an elderly gentleman who wouldn’t seem to need a two-story home with four bedrooms in a neighborhood of young couples, but he insisted, so I took him to look at it. The client had just purchased a new Cadillac and wanted to test the garage to see if the car would fit. Unfortunately, he hit the side of the garage and damaged it.” “But,” our realtor stopped for a dramatic pause, “Fortunately for you, he felt so bad about banging up the garage that he’s made us an offer.” Loud cheers went up at our house.

Out of nowhere came a buyer. And that day, our family’s faith increased dramatically. Are you struggling with selling a house? He who has created the heavens and the earth has no problem drawing a buyer to your home. Even in a down market, there is always someone with money and a need for a house. I’ve seen it happen over and over. If there’s still a “for sale” sign in the yard, ask God to bring a buyer. He’s the great magnet. The interested client may not be the one you had in mind, but a buyer is a buyer. Commit the sale of your home to God and He will become the best real estate agent you’ve ever had.