Jesus, Help Me with My Problems

Merciful Jesus,

I ask You to smooth out the tangled-up places in my life, including those in my mind and heart. I come to You just as I am — with all my knotty problems and loose ends. Many of my difficulties are complicated by other people’s problems. So it’s hard to sort out how much of the mess is mine and how much is theirs. I want to take responsibility for my mistakes and sins without feeling responsible for the sinful failures of others. Please help me untangle my complex circumstances and find the best way forward.

I’m realizing that Christian growth is all about transformation — a lifelong process. Some of the knots from my past are very hard to untie, especially those that involve people who continue to hurt me. Instead of obsessing about how to fix things, I need to keep turning toward You—seeking Your Face and Your will. As I wait with You, help me to relax and trust in Your timing for smoothing out my tangled-up places. Show me how to live with unresolved problems without letting them distract me from You. I rejoice that Your abiding Presence is my portion — and my boundless blessing!

In Your magnificent Name, Amen

2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV; 1 Chronicles 16:11 NASB; Lamentations 3:24 AMP

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Sovereign God,

Help me to make friends with the problems in my life. Many things seem wrong to me, but I need to remember that You’re in control of everything. Your Word assures me that all things work together and are fitting into a plan for good for those who love You and are called according to Your purpose. I can access this magnificent promise through trusting You.

Every problem can teach me something — transforming me little by little into the person You designed me to be. Yet the same problem can become a stumbling block if I react with distrust or defiance. I realize I’ll have to choose many times each day whether or not I will trust You.

I’ve discovered that the best way to make friends with my troubles is to thank You for them. This counterintuitive act opens my mind to the possibility of blessings emerging from my difficulties. Moreover, when I bring You my prayers with thanksgiving, my anxiety diminishes and Your Peace that transcends all understanding guards my heart and my mind.

In Your wonderful Name, Jesus, Amen.

James 1:2; Romans 8:28 AMPC; Philippians 4:6-7

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My Lord,

Help me to thank You for everything — including my problems. As soon as my mind gets snagged on a difficulty, I need to bring the matter to You with thanksgiving. Then I can ask You to show me Your way to handle the situation. The very act of thanking You frees my mind from its negative focus. As I turn my attention to You, my difficulty fades in significance and loses its power to trip me up. You guide me to deal with the problem in the most effective way — either facing it head-on or putting it aside for later consideration.

Most of the situations that entangle my mind are not today’s concerns: I’ve borrowed them from tomorrow, next week, next month, or even next year. When this is the case, please lift the problem from my thoughts and deposit it in the future — veiling it from my eyes. Then draw my attention back to Your Presence in the present, where I can enjoy Your Peace.

In Your perfect Name, Jesus, Amen

Ephesians 5:20 NLT; Philippians 4:6; Psalm 25:4-5 NKJV; John 14:27

Excerpted with permission from Jesus Listens by Sarah Young, copyright Sarah Young.

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Your Turn

What do you do with your problems? Are they plaguing you? Are they today's problems? Or are you wresting with tomorrow's, next week's, next year's, and beyond's? The Lord is with you and for you! Ask Him to settle you with His presence. Come share your thoughts with us. We want to hear from you. ~ Devotionals Daily