Oak Hill Church of Christ 12-1-24 Message: "Bring Your Problems To Jesus"

Oak Hill Church of Christ preaching minister, Randy Sterling, delivers a message on the value of lifting up our problems to God.

"Physician, heal thyself," is an adage that Jesus himself quoted. Most parents would prefer their children to learn how to fend for themselves before adulthood. There's nothing wrong with being handy, being a problem-solver, or being competent.

However, there comes a time when competence, problem-solving, and skill ends, yet the trouble remains. When our own personal efforts fail, we often feel a sense of helplessness, frustration, and even anger.

God proposes a different solution for "that new smartphone that's nothing but trouble and definitely deserves to be thrown across the room, because, come on, it should know what you're trying to get it to do after what you paid for it."

God proposes that we turn to Him, instead. Through Jesus we can invite the creator of all things into the problem and ask Him for help. When we identify the problem, but leave God out of it, we're leaving behind so many options. Don't wait until the problem grows beyond your ability to solve it in order to invite God in.

Mary, mother of Jesus, brings a difficult problem to her son. "The wedding is about to run out of wine, and the party's still going on." Mary didn't tell her friends to go to find more wine. She didn't open a tab at the local vintner in the hopes that the master of the feast would reimburse her later. She didn't try to solve the problem on her own; she turned to Jesus and trusted him.

When you have a problem, bring Jesus in at the very beginning, and trust in him to help you.