Seeing God's Purpose in my Problems — Part 2

Hello, everyone. You are listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and we are so excited to have you here with us today. Rick is bringing a brand new series called Seeing Through God's Eyes to a Close. In this series, Rick Warren dives into the Bible to help us discover how God sees us and how we can start seeing life from his perspective. Alright, let's get right to Rick as he gives the final part of a message called Seeing God's Purpose and My Problems.

The Bible says God teaches people through suffering and uses distress to open their eyes. Circle the word teaches that says problems are educational, that God uses them to educate us. Life is a school and problems are the curriculum. And God says, I want to educate you through problems. Some of you are very educated. You've had a lot of problems in your life. In fact, I want everybody to turn to everybody else right now and say, I'm very educated. Go ahead, say that. Turn to somebody. Say, I'm very educated.

All right.

And look at the next verse the Bible says in Psalm 119:71, David said, It was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws. You wanna know why this crisis comes in your life? The one you just went through this week or last week or whenever, a long time ago, it was a wake up call that says, I wanna teach you something. It was the best thing that could have happened to me. I could bring you stacks and stacks and stacks and stacks, hundreds of letters from people who'd say, you know, Rick, that illness I went through was the best thing that could have ever happened to me because I learned all this. You know, that separation I went through, it was the best thing that ever happened to me because I learned all of this. You know, that problem when I lost my job or when I went bankrupt, it was the best thing that ever happened to me because I learned this. That trial, that difficulty, that storm, that, that stress, that conflict, whatever. It was the best thing that happened to me. Why? It forced some issues to the front about me and I learned to grow. You see, God may wanna teach you about you. An area of weakness, a blind spot, an area that needs to be worked on. Because guess what? We've all got blind spots. Some of us have bald spots, but all of us have blind spots. And God may want to teach you about him, to teach you about his love, his care, his justice, his faithfulness, the fact that he keeps his promises. You don't know God is all you need until God's all you got. And when you lose everything else all you got, less of God you're going to learn. That's enough. And so God wants to teach you and some lessons we only only learn through failure. When I was a kid, my parents, I'm sure, told me, don't stick your hands in the egg beaters. But I did. It was too cool. The electric beaters. I actually stuck my fingers in egg beaters. They said, don't touch the hot stove.

But it's glowing.

Ow.

I learned by being burned. Some things you learn only by. Some things you learn the value of. Only by losing them, you learn the value of money. By losing money, you know what? You take your health for granted. Believe me, if you lost it, you'd learn how valuable it is. If you lost your health, you take your legs for granted. If you lost them, you'd understand how important your legs are. If you lost your sight, you'd understand how important your sight is. Some people only learn the value of a relationship after they've lost it. That's sad. So when problems arise, don't ask why. Why is this happening to me? Ask what? What do you want me to learn?

Lord?

Here's the question asked, what is this problem teaching me? Because God uses problems to direct us, inspect us, and. And correct us. What is this problem teaching me?

Now, there's a fourth way that God uses problems. By this time, you're all glad you have problems, right? Isn't that we hate problems. But that doesn't mean that God doesn't use the problems that we don't like having in our lives. And so a fourth way is God uses problems to protect us. Sometimes the pain of a problem can protect you from something worse. Sometimes it prevents a greater harm from happening in your life. It can actually be a blessing in disguise sometimes. Psalm 91, verse 3 says, God will save you from hidden traps. Circle the word hidden. That's the point. They're hidden. We can't see them. And because we can't see them, God has to put something in the way that keeps us from falling into that trap. I remember years ago now, our family was going on a vacation to Washington, D.C. and on the way there, our oldest, Ryan, got the stomach flu. This was very inconvenient for us. This was a problem. In the middle of our vacation, we had our plans. We had decided how we wanted the vacation to go. But we landed and his pain, stomach pain, was getting worse and worse and worse. Finally it got so bad, he was groaning so much, we decided we better take him by the hospital took him in, they did some tests and found out he had a burst appendix. Now, if he didn't have the pain, we had our plans. We would have just gone on with our plans. But the pain alerted us to the bigger problem. The pain prevented a bigger problem from happening in his life. And often God will allow problems in our lives. In the Middle east, shepherds who have a sheep who is constantly wandering into danger, or it might get attacked by wild animals or fall off a cliff, if they can't control that little lamb, they will eventually sometimes break the leg of that lamb in order to protect it from greater harm. And sometimes God does that in our lives. Not literally breaks our legs, but lets us go through problems and protect us from a greater harm in our lives. It's taken me a long time in life to learn that disappointments are often his appointments. Guys, a lot of times when we go through a problem, what do we want to do? We want to solve it at any cost. Sometimes, though, you don't need to solve the problem. You need to realize God has allowed this disappointment to prevent a greater harm in my life. And I just need to see the warning sign in the problem. Job, chapter 36, verse 15 says this. God has led you away from danger, giving you freedom. Sometimes problems do that. I gotta be honest with you about problems and why they come into our lives, even these problems that protect us sometimes, honestly, sometimes you will face problems in your life not because you did the wrong thing, but because you did the right thing. You made the right choice. You decided to have integrity in a circumstance and that caused the problem to come into your life. Like a man I know at Saddleback who decided in his work that some things were happening that challenged his integrity. And he felt like, I've got to stand up for this. He did stand up for it. You know what happened? He got fired. He got fired. You know what that meant? That later when that company got sued for their lack of integrity, he wasn't there anymore. That's how God protected him. When you face problems because of making the right choice, here's what the Bible has to say in first Peter, chapter three, verse 17. Would you read this with me? It is better to suffer for doing good than for doing what is wrong. I guess the most familiar story about this in the Bible is the story of Joseph in the Old Testament. Remember that story? He's in Potiphar's house as a servant, and Potiphar's wife is continually trying to seduce him. And he continually says no to the Extent that eventually she accuses him of rape and he gets thrown into prison because he did the right thing, because he had integrity. Years later, Joseph looked back on what had happened, and instead of blaming others for the problem, he here's what he had to say. The Bible says in Genesis 50, verse 20, you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good. Listen, I know that this last week in some of your lives, somebody did something and they intended to harm you. They said something, they intended to harm you. They did something, they intended to harm you. But I want to let you know that God can use it for good. Whatever they intended it for, God can use it for good. He can use it to protect and to direct lives. One of the points that you learn from Joseph's life is that problems often prepare us for success. The problems that he went through in jail eventually prepared him to become the second leading ruler of Egypt. The problems he went through in his life prepared him for the success that God wanted to work in his life. And when you and I are going through a problem, it really all boils down to this. Will you trust God in the midst of the problem, realizing that there's no problem that's greater than he is? The Bible says this in Proverbs 20, verse 24. Would you read this verse with me? Since the Lord is directing our steps, why try to understand everything that happens along the way. You are not going to understand why all the problems that come into your life come into your life. But you do not have to understand why all the problems that come into your life come into your life in order for God to use them. You, you can drive yourself crazy trying to figure out, why did this happen? Why did this happen? You don't have to figure that out. Even though we don't always understand it, God can always use it. He can use problems to protect us. And so when you face a problem, would you ask this? Write this down. Ask the question, how is this problem protecting me? What is this problem preventing from happening in my life?

God uses problems to direct us, push us in a new direction, inspect us, see what's really inside of us, correct us, get us on the right path. God uses problems to protect us, keep us from falling into something, something far more harmful. Sometimes he gives us a handicap as a governor on our lives to keep us from overextending ourselves. And number five, God uses problems to perfect us, to perfect us, to make us into his image, to help us to grow up spiritually and become like Jesus Christ in character. There's A book called Grace Grows Best in Winter. And that's true. Your greatest spiritual growth will not come on the mountaintop, but in the valley. Your greatest spiritual growth does not happen on the sunny summer days when everything is gravy and cool and wonderful and happening in your life. Your greatest spiritual growth will be in the dark days when things are not going good in your life and you turn to God for dependence. And so God will use those days in your life for good, if you'll let him. At the end of the first year, this church. Most of you know that Kay and I started this church in our home in 1980 with seven people. And at the end of the first year, we had about 150 people. And we were both working ourselves to death. I was working about 18 hours a day and loving every minute of it. But I just wore myself out physically, emotionally, mentally. And on the Last Sunday of 1980, as I was standing up speaking, I collapsed. As I was speaking, just totally collapsed because I was fatigued and I had my burnout. You know, some guys have their midlife crisis at 45. I had mine at 25. Got it over early so I could help you after that experience. I went through an entire year of depression in the year 1981. My goal was not, oh, God, build a great, great church. My goal was, God, get me through Sunday. Can I put one foot in front of the other? And during the year of 1981, I was under a cloud of depression the entire year. And in those dark days, I have to honestly say, it was no fun. It was quite painful. But I learned some spiritual lessons, and I got some connections with God that would prepare me to pastor a church of the size it is today. And if I had not gone through that year of struggle and depression, I doubt Saddleback Church would even be here today. Because the lessons I learned in the dark prepared me for what he wanted to do in my life and in your life and in this church. God was perfecting me. Things had to change in me before he could start working through me. Painful? Yes. Helpful? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Yes. Would it be painful again? Yes. Am I glad it happened? Absolutely. And God takes us through time. Would you write this down? Pain is the high cost of growth. Pain is the high cost of growth. You see, we want the product without the process. We want the growth without the pain. We want to grow up without growing pains. But it's impossible. You're gonna have growing pains, but growing up. Now, listen to me. The very thing that discourages you most Right now is the thing God wants to use to develop you. What discourages you, God wants to use to develop you. Mike was a professional race car driver. Drove five times in Indianapolis 500. He's a member of Saddleback Church. I want you to hear his story of what he's learned through problems. Would you give him a warm welcome?

I'd like to tell you how Jesus Christ has helped me and my family walk through our life's most difficult situations and problems. When my wife, Connie and I were married in 1977, I thought I had it all. I had a wonderful wife, the girl of my dreams, and had just ended a successful career as a professional race car driver. I'd gone to the top driving at the Indianapolis 500. I'd driven for some of the premier race teams at that time and had started on the front row of the 1974 race. Soon after, I became a vice president of a rapidly growing computer parts manufacturer. Both Connie and I had accepted the Lord and we attended church regularly. And we were co leaders of our small group. We were breezing along through the green pastures that God had provided for us. We had a good marriage, two beautiful children, a nice home and a good income. But as Pastor Rick says, no one sails through life without problems because this is not a perfect world. Suddenly, I found myself facing a series of major problems that shook my world. I won't go into all of them, but the company I was working for faltered and I lost my job. Then finally, difficulties caused us to almost lose our home, and we lost a lot of what I'd worked for. But I eventually landed another good job. Then, just as it looked like things were going well again, I lost that job. The second loss set us back even further as we struggled financially to hold onto our home. We didn't blame God for these problems, but we knew that God would bring good out of them. So we asked for the Lord to direct us and we prayed. Lord, what would you want us to do? What new direction do you want us to take? Please lead us and guide us. And it was a lesson in learning to trust in God's leading. Then in November 1989, I noticed a lump forming under my chin, which I thought probably was just a swollen gland. The doctor did a biopsy and told us that I had lymphoma, a form of cancer, and it was the dreaded C word. By this time, we were used to trusting God to direct us through our circumstances. But this problem was different from all the other problems we had faced with our previous problems we always knew that no matter what happened, we would still have each other and our children. But this problem could change even that. Now I was facing what Psalm 23 calls the valley of the shadow of death. My wife Connie faced the very real possibility of having to bring up our children without their father and without her husband. And probably the hardest thing I had to face was my lack of faith. I was doing things my way. And even though I was a Christian, I was used to trying to control things and make things happen. I needed to learn to relax and trust God and learn to depend on him in a deeper level. It took a while, but I finally figured out that God had a much better plan than I could ever come up with. I believe wholeheartedly that God uses problems to test us. I believe that he is constantly asking the question, do you trust me? Do you really trust me? Do you really believe that I will take care of your needs? Do you really believe, Mike, that I care about you and your family? And it was the biggest test of my faith to date. On my next CAT scan, we noticed my situation had improved. The large tumors that had been very visible a month before were mostly gone. We were stunned by this. God was clearly at work here. The next major problem was to receive a bone marrow transplant at Stanford University. That would not be fun. Although the treatment was very difficult, I knew that Jesus was walking through this problem with me and the transplant was a success. One of the ways that God confirmed that he was with me was when our pastor called and said that God had given him a Bible verse to encourage me. It was Philippians 2:26 which says indeed he was ill and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but also on me to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. It was just what I needed to hear. And I was totally overcome with this encouraging word of God's healing presence. I don't think I've ever felt closer to God than in that moment when God gave me hope that I would make it through that problem. And as I've looked back and considered why God allowed me to be healed when so many others have died from cancer, all I know is that God's purpose for my life was not finished. I certainly wasn't worthy of it. And this has been very humbling for me. God did not heal me to live a selfish, self centered life. Instead, he has a ministry for me to do. We've all heard Pastor Rick say that our greatest ministry comes out of our deepest hurt. And it's true in 2 Corinthians chapter one. It tells us that one reason God allows us to go through trials and tribulations and problems is so that we'll be able to comfort and help others who go through the same circumstances. For this reason, I've been involved in our church's cancer support group for years. Because so many families find themselves in the valley of cancer, this group was started to provide help and care for those who are hurting. One of the effects following my bone marrow transplant has been constant back pain. Though the cancer is gone, the chemo and radiation weakened my hips and eyesight. So in the past 10 years I've had three hip surgeries and one eye surgery. These haven't been easy, but they have been reminders to keep depending on God. I know that God is more concerned about growing my character than making my life easy. So I can see how God has been protecting me from returning to my old self centered ways. Okay, so we've had about five career restarts, cancer, four major surgeries. We've seen our retirement savings and investments all spent to cover medical expenses, and we've downsized twice. So what? Things are not what life is all about. Life is about learning to trust God, growing in character and help others. Connie and I would never have learned that if there hadn't been bumps in the journey. Every obstacle is an opportunity to grow. And through it all, I'm not the same man I used to be. I'm living to make a difference and to serve. I'm living for eternal rewards now, not earthly rewards. It's not about me. It's about God and helping others. And that's why I accepted a position to be a director at the Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles. I never would have thought in my wildest dreams that I would get up at 4am for a two hour commute by train each way every day to go and help needy people on skid row in Los Angeles. But now I know that my life is making a difference for eternity. Of all the things I've done, this is by far the most rewarding, satisfying and fulfilling job I've ever had. God has been there and helped us through every problem that we've ever had. Big ones and small ones. I've seen both sides of life. From driving cars that went 240 miles an hour, I'm now driving cars that have almost 240,000 miles on them. But I'm happier than I've ever been before. You know, I raced in the Indianapolis 500 five times. But as odd as this may sound, to you. I'm so thankful that I never won it. God was protecting me. I now know myself well enough to know that if I had won the Indianapolis 500, my pride would have taken over and I would never have felt the need to know and trust God. I would have missed God's purpose for my life. Then I would have regretted that mistake for the rest of eternity. Life is not about my accomplishments and fame. It's about getting to know God and getting ready to be with him forever. Thank you.

I love that last line where Mike says life is not about things, but it's about getting to know God and preparing to live with him forever. Now, I don't know what problems you're going through, but I can guarantee you in a crowd this size, there are a lot of problems here. And I will tell you this. They're not an accident. And God wants to use them in your life. And if you will respond to them correctly, you're going to be rewarded in eternity with the rewards that will last forever and ever and ever and ever and ever. So it is vital that you learn how to handle your problems correctly. Let's look at the last three Bible verses there on the outline. First Peter 5, 10 says this after you have suffered a little while, for a little while. By the way, let's say you suffered your entire life and that would still be a little while compared to all of eternity. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who calls you to share his eternal glory, that's what you're going to do. In union with Christ will Himself perfect you. God uses problems to perfect us and give you firmness, strength and a sure foundation. The next verse the Bible says these hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. So what is our response? Let's read the last verse aloud. Together. We can rejoice when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us. They help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it. Your problem is not your problem. Your problem is how you respond to the problems of life. That's the bigger problem. When does your problem become a real problem? When you respond in the wrong way? When you lose God's perspective on it? When you start blaming other people for the problems in your life? When you become bitter, angry and resentful? When you lose your sense of humor? When you throw away your values? When you refuse to forgive? When you Open up and you look at your problems and so focus on them. You're not focusing on God. The problem is when you don't respond correctly to to the problems that come into your life. What should you do? You should say, God, I know that nothing comes into my life by accident. And so I want you to use this circumstance, this situation to direct me, to inspect me, to correct me, to protect me, and to perfect me. Bow our heads. I'd like to close with a little self evaluation. I want you to ask God these five questions. Lord, are you using this problem to direct me? If so, what do you want me to change? Where do you want me to go? What new direction do you want me to take? Lord, are you using this problem to inspect me? If so, what does it reveal about my life? A weakness? An insecurity? A misplaced priority? A sin? An unforgiveness? A compromise? Lord, are you using this problem to correct me? If so, what do you want me to learn? I'm not going to ask why it's happened. I want to ask what you want me to learn from it.

4.

Lord, are you using this problem to protect me? Have you brought this into my life to keep me from getting hurt in a worse way? If so, tell God that you're going to trust him because he knows best. It's not my plan, God, but I trust you. Lord, are you using this problem to perfect me, to make me more like you? Now, I don't care what your religious background is. You may be Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Mormon, Muslim. No. No religion. Maybe you've gone to church all your life or you've never gone to church. God wants you to have a relationship with him, not a religion. And did you know that God is at work in your life even when you don't recognize it? And did you know that God is at work in your life even when you you don't understand it? But he brought you here today so you could know Him. So pray a simple prayer like this. God, if you're real, I want to get to know you, Jesus, as much as I know how I open up my life to you. I ask you to come into my life and make yourself real to me. Help me to understand it more. Help me to learn to know you and to trust you. In your name I pray.

Amen.

You know, if you just prayed that prayer for the very first time or you just recommitted your life to Jesus again today, would you let me know about it? There's something real about sharing your commitment. So write me rickastorrick.com and say, Rick, I prayed that prayer of commitment. I gave my life to Christ and I'll send you some material that'll help you on your journey with Jesus. And I'll also pray for you. God bless you.

What a great message from Pastor Rick today. There's something I always take away from his message. Here's Rick to tell you how you can help support this ministry.

Jesus told his disciples that they should live their lives according to five specific purposes. He said, you've got to love God with all your heart. That's worship and love your neighbor as yourself. That's ministry. That's called the Great Commandment. And then Jesus said, go make disciples. That's evangelism. Baptize them into the family of God. That's fellowship, a sign of fellowship. And then he said, teach them. Obey everything I've taught you. That's discipleship. And we call that the Great Commission.

We believe at Daily Hope that a.

Great commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission will produce a great Christian, a great church, a great company, a great community. You know, I started Daily Hope so I could spread the good news about Jesus not just across America, but all around the world. And we want people to know that God's word is filled with hope and truth and the power that we need to follow him every day is available.

To every single one.

You know as well as I do that the Word of God changes lives. It's alive, it's active, and it breathes new life and new love into all of our lives. So wherever you listen to this, whether you listen on the website, whether you listen on a radio station, or whether you listen through a podcast, you're a part of the Daily Hope family and I need your help. We could not do this without your support. Now, you know I don't take any funds from this broadcast. We don't have any giant million dollar donor who's giving big gifts to this. It comes from daily donations from listeners like you. We're 100% listener funded. Would you continue to pray for this broadcast? And would you continue to support us and write to me?

Let me hear from you.

I absolutely love reading the stories that are sent to me. So write me, pray for me and support this ministry. And God will bless it. And God will bless you. And we'll get to heaven and we'll thank God for all the people gonna be in heaven because you cared.

Hey, if you'd like to support Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, just go to pastorrick.com again, that's pastorrick.com and really, from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you so much for your support. Your gift to Daily Hope helps us share the hope of Christ with people everywhere. This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and your generous financial support.