Word puzzles, DIY around the house, arts and crafts… – the majority of people like to take on projects in which they are solving a problem and making an improvement. Not only can it make your life better, prettier or easier, but it fills you with the satisfaction of a good job well done.
Despite this being something that many people like to embrace and encourage, fewer people are committed to upgrading difficult situations in their own lives. The stakes are higher, but that just makes it more exciting!
The best way to remedy this is to remember that we reap what we sow.
Even if you can’t fathom an answer to a particular problem, you can certainly prepare the proverbial soil for a solution. This means an end to avoidance or anxiety when it comes to resolving an issue and a beginning to trust that the goodness of God will prevail. When it comes to goodness, practice makes perfect.
Graham talks about this extensively in the teaching series The Art Of Thinking Brilliantly. Check out this excerpt:
“In every situation there is only one challenge facing you. It is the challenge of God’s goodness to overcome everything in you and around you. You are only being challenged by the goodness of God. No matter how difficult, how hard, you are being challenged by the goodness of God. Don’t put the blame on somebody else. God is saying to you, “The way into that person’s life is My goodness. The way to overcome here is My goodness. The way to maintain who you are in the Spirit is through goodness.”
You are only being challenged by the goodness of God!
But here’s the thing: When you meet a difficult person, God is challenging you to bring a higher measure of good into their life than the difficulty they are bringing into yours. He is saying, “See that person? Their difficulty level rating is seven out of ten in your life. I want your goodness rating to be eight out of ten at least. I want you to submerge their difficulty in My goodness. I want you to be at least as good for them as they are bad for you.”
But that’s just a tie. That’s no good! We want to win the championship. You don’t win the championship through tying every game. You want all the points. Yeah? You are in a fight! You should be in it to win it!”
As with all things, from baking cakes to fixing cars to learning a new language, practice is the key. The more you focus on something and give it your time and energy, the more likely you’ll be able to master and excel at it. What could be more BRILLIANT than excelling at goodness?!
The goodness of God is always available, and He loves to see us take it for granted!
So take a look at the problems in your life, especially the ones you’ve been avoiding at all costs. How can goodness help YOU solve that problem? You’d be surprised how positive thinking and productivity could make all the difference, especially when dealing with difficult people or predicaments. Tell us your own stories and testimonies of overcoming through goodness – we can never hear enough of them!
