Due to computer malfunction, my original essay for "Jerusalem's Daughters" this week was lost to cyberspace. With time constraints a factor, I first thought I may not have anything to send, but then I came across the following thoughts in the book that I'm currently reading. It was encouraging to me -- a wonderful reminder of a couple of verses I memorized when still in high school (Philippians 4:13 and 1 Peter 5:7) -- and I decided to send this in place of the original essay. Although it's a little "patchy", I hope it finds a home in some heart, and "opens a window" with a view to a solution in whatever difficulty you are facing at the moment.

Grace and Peace to all,
Elaine

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Consider these verses . . .

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Phil 4:13 )

"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." (1 Pet 5:7)

In his book, "Color Outside the Lines", author Howard G. Hendricks writes:

"We ought never to minimize or underestimate the nature of the problems that confront us. On the other hand, we ought never to minimize or underestimate our ability [through Christ] to solve them.

Indeed, sometimes we can't afford not to solve them. A professor in a college ethics class presented his students with a problem. He said, "A man has syphilis and his wife has tuberculosis. They have had four children; one has died, the other three have what is considered a terminal illness. The mother is pregnant. What do you recommend?" After a spirited discussion the majority of the class voted that she abort the child. "Fine," said the professor, "you have just killed Beethoven."

God has written down for us what to do in the face of failure and its twin, discouragement, amid the seemingly irreversible trend toward banal weariness in our world. God never created an entity--whether an individual, a marriage, or a group--that was doomed to failure. All His enterprises are destined for some form of prosperity, invested with His power and fully funded with His riches. From the Creator Himself, look at the biblical disentanglements, the rules for repair of damage. These principles apply to individuals, to groups in our Christian churches and organizations, to any bracket of people where things have gone wrong.

Remember that creative behavior marked by captivating, delightful surprises does not arise from problem-imprisoned people. . . . ultimately there are no insolubles."

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Address the Root Problem at Hand

Reaching a decision without really deciding has become a modern art form. Today we conduct public opinion polls and let the polls settle our decisions. We employ the Kinsey method of statistical morality: If enough people do it, it's all right. Even we in the church are guilty of this approach. . . .

. . . We have a dire need to address root problems, not surface issues. Failure to do so can lead to disaster. A 1904 fire aboard the "unsinkable" General Slocum, a Royal Mail river steamer, illustrates vividly the necessity of finding out what is really wrong. "The paddlewheeler left Third Street pier on Manhattan's Lower East Side bound for North Brother Island near the Bronx. Working-class people--1,358 of them--were aboard for a gala church outing. Approximately a half hour before the scheduled docking, a fire broke out. Even though the boat was close to shore and people were shouting, urging it to land, the captain kept his course steady into the wind. No one knows why he did not alter his course toward the land or stop at another small island where help was available. Some think the captain did not appreciate the gravity of the situation; others hold that he believed the crew could contain the fire. Whatever the reason, this disaster...cost more than one thousand lives. Later investigation discovered that the crew was unskilled and untrained and that inspectors has been bribed. Fire buckets had been stuffed with garbage; life vests were filled with rotted cork, and even the lifeboats had been tethered with bailing wire.

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The estrangement of our first parents, whatever their rationale, left God "holding the bag," so to speak. What did He do? He addressed the problem. Note that He did not turn His back; instead, He initiated reconciliation, searching for His children. Then He spoke to them honestly, spelling out the consequences for their actions. But His father's heart announced that the harsh realism of the debacle did not prevent His loving them back to life and fruitfulness. Through His spokesman, God clearly defined the problem and wrote it down to remind all succeeding generations: 'Your iniquities have separated you from your God . . . hidden His face from you' (Isaiah 59:2). 'All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:23). 'If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us' (1 John 1:8). There is no substitute for reality checks, for confronting sin."

With the onset of stunted growth and decay in human experience, there comes inevitably an erosion of relationships . . . Paul addressed this very issue in Philippians, his mental-health manual. Two women in that assembly were at odds with each other, women who had formerly teamed up with Paul in his ministry there. To them he simply urged an end to it all. Then he shared a five-part recipe for conflict resolution:

(1) 'Rejoice in the Lord,' that is, get beyond yourselves and look to the Lord.
(2) 'Let your gentleness be evident to all.' In other words speak with kindness to each other.
(3) 'Do not be anxious.' Relax, and give it all to God.
(4) 'Be thankful.' The simple act of expressing gratitude for our blessings takes the heat out of the infection.
(5) Present your requests to God. Prayer realigns us and restores peace (Phil 4:1-7).

Return to Your Assigned Task

David clearly explained that God has no unassigned places in His human family (Ps. 139). Each of us in His royal household has received spiritual gifts and an inheritance of untold resources. We are responsible to develop them and invest accordingly.

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[Diagnosing Root Problems]

Suppose I visit my physician with a splitting headache. He'll ask me a host of probing questions. "Look, Doc,' I'll say, 'all I want is to get rid of my headache." "Well, then, let me write a prescription and you'll never have another headache." Two weeks later, I'm dead. Has he solved my problem? Permanently! But no good physician treats only symptoms. He addresses the underlying disease. In his examination he may discover that I have a brain tumor, but in treating the real problem, my headache, backache, and all other subproblems disappear. This difficult process of diagnosing root problems often leads to fuzzy thinking. Something is wrong, but you don't know precisely what. A definition of the problem is required, and you must search for it. Many issues are tied up with subproblems. Like a careful diagnostician, you must not stop with attacking symptoms. If the core problem is cured, the symptoms will disappear. If you solve only a subproblem, a symptom, you may continue to be plagued with the real disease--which may be terminal. Recall the wise words of Charles Kettering, engineer-inventor: "A problem well-defined is a problem half solved."' Take time to describe the problem as presented. Time is never wasted in pinpointing the underlying issue, the basic difficulty. All too often we concentrate on the quick fix, taking pride in coming up with solutions immediately after discovering the problem. But research continues to support the thesis that the time taken to plan at the front end is inversely proportional to the time required for execution of the solution. The new formulation of a problem is often far more essential than the solution. . . .

This need to reframe our problems is a common, everyday experience. Have you ever complained, "There just isn't enough time to do everything"? This way of stating things blames time, which is not likely to cooperate in improving the dilemma. A better approach is to ask, "In what ways can I rearrange my priorities to give me more time? Now we're making progress! There are three crippling tendencies in forming a problem-statement: overgeneralization, blaming someone else, and inadequate data. All three fail to address root causes. . . .

Nowhere is prayer more essential than in the problem-solving process. Listen to Eugene Peterson's trenchant analysis: "Civilization is littered with unsolved problems, baffling impasses. The best minds of the world are at the end of their tether. The most knowledgeable observers of our condition are badly frightened. The most relevant contribution that Christians make at these points of impasse is the act of prayer -- determined, repeated, leisurely meetings with a personal and living God . . . "

You can always do more after you have prayed, but you cannot do more until you have prayed. Prayer needs to permeate the decision-making process."

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. . . Jesus reminded His disciples, "Apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5) When we look at thorny issues from Christ's perspective, the right solutions begin to emerge."