When a Problem Comes Along...

How do you deal with problems in life? I can remember bringing home math homework from school, opening up the book, and seeing problems that I had no clue how to begin working. I remember my usual reaction: frustration that led to irritation, then the irritation would turn to anger at the teacher for "not teaching us this." I would often spend between 10-15 minutes being angry about the predicament I was in...then, I'd finally give up and go over the lesson in the book. After spending some time, I would have it figured out and be on my way to finishing my homework...but I was still a little 'wound up' from getting angry and frustrated.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4: 6

Problems in every day life are usually a little different. There's no lesson a few pages before that can help you solve the problem you're facing, and there are no answers to the odd questions in the back of the book! So, how do we deal with problems in real life?

Usually our problems in real life are people-related. Most of our lives involve some kind of interaction with people, and every person is unique-this is what causes problems-differences in opinion. Here's a quick list of Do's and Dont's for dealing with problems:

Don't react the way I used to with my math homework. Stay calm. Getting angry will not help solve the problem- it usually just makes it worse.
Do give yourself time to think and consult others.
Don't leave God out of the situation.
Do go straight to the source (in a calm manner of course). Talking to the person improves communication and results in a better understanding of how the problem came to be.

Problems are dangerous things because they can easily create anger and resentment. Anger and resentment can tear down the lines of communication and cause divisions.
So how do you deal with problems? Do you "freak out" or stir up trouble? Here's a link to my friend Russell Martin's blog where he posts a video about "When things go wrong."