Problems Are Not The Enemy

Problems don’t just test you, they reveal you. When stress spikes and people around you start to panic, your response can either amplify fear or bring calm, clarity, and hope. Today on Starting Right, we talk about problem solving and leadership from a faith-first angle, using wisdom from John Maxwell’s Developing the Leader Within You and grounding it in Scripture that meets real life. 

We walk through a simple but challenging mindset shift: everyone faces problems, so the real question is how we respond. I share why trials should not surprise us, how “iron sharpens iron” plays out in everyday pressure, and why problems often uncover what we truly trust. We also explore the link between problems and opportunities, because the next open door usually comes with obstacles and the obstacle in front of you may be pointing toward your next step of growth. 

We get practical about solutions too. Sometimes we stay stuck because we are hunting for the perfect answer, when the best move is choosing a workable option and moving forward with faith. Along the way, problems can introduce new people into your life, bringing allies, encouragement, and insight at exactly the right time. We close with a bold promise from Romans 8:37: we are more than conquerors in Christ, not because life is easy, but because God is faithful. 

Transcript

Welcome And Daily Rhythm

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Good morning and welcome to Starting Right. I am Danny Mack, and I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great start to your day. So grab your cup of coffee, sit back and relax for the next five minutes as I help you start your day by starting right.

John Maxwell On Problem Benefits

SPEAKER_00 0:34

John Maxwell is a former pastor who God led to start teaching and developing leaders, and he has become one of the very best in the world. One of his books is called Developing the Leader Within You. In that book, he devotes a chapter to problem solving and the benefits of problems in our lives. When we are faced with problems, whatever they may be, there is an opportunity for us to grow and become better, wiser, stronger, and greater people of influence. We can actually influence the panicking people around us if

Everyone Faces Trials And Pressure

SPEAKER_00 1:11

we can provide answers to how to deal with their stress and their worry and their fear. Once they see and know those answers are possible, we have the opportunity to influence them for Jesus Christ. And what greater benefit could there be in the middle of all of this than for people to begin to understand God's power and his love for them in their lives? In his book, John lists another of opportunities that come as a direct result of problems. The biggest problem is that we miss those opportunities because we're so wrapped up in the negative part of it. But when we change how we view things, we can become tremendous people of influence. So let's start with this basic understanding. Everybody is going to have problems. First Peter chapter four and verse twelve tells us, dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through as if something strange were happening to you. Everybody goes through problems, but all problems have within them some common elements, and how we respond to the elements of that problem will either cause fear and worry, or it can cause us to grow and become stronger and actually become people of influence. One of my favorite verses about this is Proverbs 27 17. It says, Iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another. We have the ability to sharpen up other people, he to give them insight and understanding and to give them hope.

What Problems Reveal About You

SPEAKER_00 2:42

Let's take a look at some of those similarities that all problems have. One of the things that's really important is that problems actually wind up introducing ourselves to ourselves. When we see how we respond to problems, we learn about who we're putting our faith in, who we're trusting, what we are hoping for, and where we're looking for our answers. We can learn a lot about ourselves through how we deal with problems. It's really easy to know very quickly if we view our problem bigger than our faith, or is our faith bigger than our problem? One of the other commonalities about problems is that problems and opportunities are joined together. If you're stepping into a new opportunity, there are problems along the way. If you're facing a problem, there are opportunities that will come about based upon how you decide to handle that problem. Problems and opportunities come together. And if we understand that within every problem we face, there are always opportunities to grow and to change and to create something new or new ideas or new steps of faith, then we face our problems differently. But if our problems overshadow everything that we do and have, and we simply close down and withdraw, we will not

Finding Answers Without Perfection

SPEAKER_00 3:57

be able to get through them without the fear, without the worry. Do you know that one of the common things of problems is that they are all solvable? There will always be an answer to the problems. Sometimes we get bogged down in a problem because we're looking for the perfect answer. But the perfect answer may not be one specific thing. It may be one of two or three or four things. And so we need to choose a way, just get beyond the problem, just find a way to get through it, just find a way to solve it.

Problems That Connect You To People

SPEAKER_00 4:27

And one of the other common things is that problems often introduce us to others. Sometimes it's because of the problems that we face that brand new people are introduced into our lives. People that wind up becoming our allies as we're struggling through or giving us insight and encouragement. Some people will be drawn closer to us in our time of need, and we'll be drawn closer to others in time of their need. But the end result is that there are people who are being influenced once again because of the problem.

Choose Growth And Live Victorious

SPEAKER_00 4:58

We need to stop looking at problems like they're our enemies. We need to see them for what they are. They're a part of living life here in this imperfect world, and God's told us we're going to face them, we're going to go through them. There is no choice about that. But we do have a choice about how we respond to them. Whether we will grow through them by putting our faith in God and stretching ourselves, and whether or not we will be able to influence others who are also having the same problems. And that's the promise that we have in Romans 8 37 that tells us that we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. We will win, we will get through, we will be victorious because we serve a God who always wins. Have a great day, my friends. We'll talk again tomorrow. Thank you for listening today. And I invite you to join me Monday to Friday right here on Starting Right with Danny Mack.