Understanding the Problem

For more than 20 years, Professor Edwin R. Keedy of the University of Pennsylvania Law School used to start his first class by putting two figures on the board, “4” & “2”. Then he would ask, “What’s the solution?” One student would call out, “Six.” Another would say, “Two.” Then several would shout out, “Eight!” The teacher would just shake his head “no”. Then Professor Keedy would point out their collective error. “All of you failed to ask the key question: ‘What is the problem?’ Ladies and gentlemen, unless you know what the problem is, you cannot possibly find the answer.”

A young couple wanted to buy a home, but felt it to be too expensive for them. They told God, “If you want us to buy it, 1) have the contractor accept only 1/2 of what he's asking for the down payment, and 2) have the bank approve our loan.” Both events happened and they bought the home. They soon began to go into debt. Is this what God directed them to do? How do you know? What is the real problem here?

If we get real honest with ourselves, we all know we live this way. We try to tackle the situations we are called to face through our own human wisdom, and sometimes even do it in the name of seeking God’s will. After all, living in a world with a limited perspective means I must make decisions based upon what I do “know” or else I would never move one direction or another. And who is to say that in the situation of the young couple mentioned above, God didn’t lead them into this in order to teach them some valuable lesson for later in life. Or, He wasn’t concerned with what this young couple would go through because He was trying to use the results of this situation to accomplish something else in His kingdom. (Stop it—my head is starting to hurt!)

Can you see the dilemma here? If so, then you are ready to study the material we are going to look at this morning during our sermon concerning the life of Abram. You see, Abram had some choices presented before him and from what the Scriptures say and don’t say, he set himself and his wife up for some real heartache (not to mention the strife we still have in our world today as a result of his choices!) A simple series of decisions that really lead back to ONE primary decision set a course that has influenced billions of lives since the time he made his decision!
What decision could be so crucial? Well, I will give you a couple hints: It is found in Genesis 12 and it deals with the second part of our development of faith quest—learning to surrender our present to God! Last week we saw the importance of surrendering our past and how debilitating it can be to carry those burdens with us. This morning we will see the necessity of giving God our present. Will we try to solve life’s problems without stopping to ask God what the real issue is? If so, we may find ourselves in the predicament of Abram!

To listen to sermon, click Developing Faith: Surrendering Your Present.