Is it Really My Problem?

"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake." (Psalm 23:1-3)

This morning I read a quote by Fred Smith which reads, "A problem is something I can do something about. If I can't do anything about it, it isn't my problem." In ministry we can tend to put everything on our shoulders. If the service doesn't go well we blame ourselves. If the kids seem to not be learning their Bible stories it's our fault. If 20% of the people are doing 80% of the work we tend to feel that we need to work harder. Many times we place the blame on ourselves and when the "problem" doesn't get fixed right away we can feel like a failure. But is it really my fault? Sometimes things happen in our lives that we have no control over. We need to recognize those things.

With God as our shepherd we won't be in want. Now remember, this is much different than need. God will provide all our needs and because our hearts are focused on Him we won't be in want. He gives us peace beyond imagination. Even when life seems to be going down the drain, when we are facing God His peace can still overwhelm us. And my favorite part of this passage, He will guide us throughout life for "his name's sake." We can't live our life for ourselves. We will never be fully satisfied. But when we live for God it's His name that is glorified.

When things come into our life that we cannot change we can't get stress out about them. If we can't change them they aren't our problem. But God can change them so let Him take care of them. He's better at it than us anyway.