Problems, Conflicts and How To Survive ...

Thursday, March 15, 2012. Life is not always a straight route. Life can be full of problems, conflicts and set-backs. Some people seem to have a straight path, but that is usually a big illusion - if you look closer, their life is as bumpy as that of others!

It is not always a smooth way …

This morning our little son was ill. He had belly ache already last night, and is was not much better this morning. So someone had to stay at home and since my wife also needed to go, we had to change the whole day planning … There are other people, who have some severe illness which messes up their whole life, job, family and friends. Yesterday 22 children died in a bus accident in Switzerland … from one minute to the next everything was different, for these life was terminated, for the others it will never be the same!

Life is full of conflicts, due to different interests, different viewpoints and also the fight for ressources. If several people want to lead, that will probably not be sorted out easily! Conflicts influence our day, our mood, our motivation. How do we survive with a peaceful mind in the middle of conflicts? How do we endure in conflicts?

Biblical Consolation …

The biblical consolation is given by God participating in our conflicts and our pain. “He is with you” is a sentence not only for the victious moments of our life, but for all of them, the conflicts as well, the painful moments, even the last minutes, when death is coming close. The Bible does not promise that all conflicts or all pain would vanish right now, but it promises that with the Lord we have someone who knows it all and who wants to be with us in every moment of our life.

You might say: that is easily said, and yes, it is a challenge. We might not feel God's presence right now. We might not see his help, when we feel the pain, when we don't know what to think and what to do. But the bible asks us to urge him in prayer, to endure, to persist, to continus and wait for him! It says that we will see his help, that he is reliable and will not let us down.

Without patience we will not see his help. Without endurance we will not experience his presence. He wants us to learn to go a straight way, even in the difficulties and challenges of our days. He wants us to be full of his spirit, in the good as well as the difficult times. (Roland Potthast) ... more texts