We all reach points of crisis in our lives. And in those moments, we have impulses that determine how we often handle these bombs based on past patterns of behavior. We fall back on our training. In this article, we will discuss how to go to God first, and why this is so important.
Why Should You Take Your Problems to God?
In short, because God tells us to.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Most people have deep wounds that are unhealed and unchecked. This is most people on the planet by the way. We are sinful people living in a broken world, and suffering is part of this experience.
For now. We are in this time of imperfection where we see in a mirror dimly and have yet to behold the glory of Jesus Christ's face when he comes back to establish his eternal kingdom. Then, he will wipe away all tears and death shall be no more, for the former order of things will pass away, and the new kingdom will be established forever!
In the meantime, the fallen state of this world means that experiencing trauma is just part of this experience. Our go-to reactions in responding to trauma, stressful situations, or crises, are developed over years of responses, which lead to habits, and then--BOOM!--there's that unconscious impulse that fires off during the exact moment the crisis bomb goes off (I know y'all feel me here). Sometimes those reactions aren't the prettiest. If you don't properly know how to take your problems to Christ, you might find that your impulses are:
counterproductive to your spiritual development in Christ
damaging to your relationships with yourself and others
opening doorways for the Enemy to launch attacks and gain footholds in your life
The proper answer when it comes to dealing with issues in our lives is to go to God with these problems. But not just that. We should take our problems to God FIRST.
Today we are going to cover 3 reasons that taking your problems to God FIRST actually improves your relationships.
1 - Taking your problems to God first deepens your relationship with Him.
Let's say that a stressful situation arises. Your impulse might be to call a close friend to share all of your fears and anxieties. I would say that this would be a pretty normal reaction.
So let's look deeper at this. You go through something stressful. You go immediately to your best friend. You are now looking to them for comfort first. The alleviation of your stress is based on what? Is it based on the dopamine hit you get when you emotionally dump on someone? Or perhaps it is based on your friend's ability to give you good advice? These are two things that don't actually unlock or provide guidance from Heaven.
Now let's shift the focus here. You go through something stressful. Instead of going to a friend, you go to God. You immediately stop, take a deep breath, find some alone time, and you pray. You say to God:
"Lord, I am anxious. I am scared. I am stressed. What do you have for me in this moment? I don't want anything but you in this moment. With my whole heart, I want your will for my life. I want your wisdom. I want to receive your peace which surpasses all understanding. Send your Holy Spirit into me right now, please, Father. Wash me in the Blood of Christ. I want nothing but your presence. I fear nothing but the loss of you. I know that this life is full of temporary suffering, but true suffering is to suffer the loss of you, whom I love above all things. Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me, a sinner. I let go of worldly cares and anxieties in this moment. Father, I ask that you set the path before me ablaze with your power and might. Protect me from attacks of the Enemy, Oh Lord. I surrender to your purpose and will for my life."
And then, you listen. You quiet your mind and you let God speak over you.
Pull out your Bible and go into time with the Lord in the Scriptures. Alternate between prayer and Holy Scripture reflection. The "fast and pray" method is a great thing to do too. Fasting helps you focus fully on hearing God's voice, and is a way to pray, "Lord, all I want is you!" And then you take it into an extended period of prayer. You can go to church and receive the Eucharist. You can go to Eucharistic adoration and spend time alone with Jesus Christ. There are many ways to take your anxieties to God first.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Something to note: I promise that the answers you will get from the God who created you and loves you above all things will far surpass anything you will find elsewhere.
God wants to pour his blessings out upon you. When you go to him FIRST, you are showing him that you love him above all things. You are walking the path of loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.
Going to God FIRST fixes your heart upon him and locks you into a pace of walking the Spirit. Your focus is removed from the cares of the world and instead you start to become sensitive to how you can actually bring the light of Christ into situations. Instead of feeling like a victim, tossed to and fro by the world, you anchor into your identity in Christ, knowing that this life is temporary and you have been called to His purpose, to stand in the gap, to protect others from darkness, and help lead others into the light.
This also starts to TRAIN you to go to the Lord with your problems FIRST. You will start to CRAVE going to the Lord with your problems. And this centers your life upon Christ. In effect, it takes your focus off others, which can eliminate distractions down shiny pathways that lead nowhere or traps that get you away from God. Going to God FIRST helps you remain firm on the path toward eternal life. Most importantly, it tethers you closer and closer to God, which IS sanctification, which IS the pathway to eternal life!
2 - Taking your problems to God first enables you to take the light of Christ into conversation with others.
When you go to God first, you will surely start to function differently. Once you are able to see the godly wisdom in a matter, you will naturally find that you are functioning from a place of peace and confidence in what the Lord is doing.
You will start to move slower. When your anxieties decrease, you aren't so frantic and fearful of what might happen next. The hypervigilance and paranoia subside. When you are walking in the Spirit, you start to bring the Lord's solutions into situations. You are actually part of the solution at that point. You are actually carrying the light of Christ into the situation.
"All of This is Data."
Instead of identifying uncomfortable things as problems, you might even try to switch the wording and the thinking. Call the factors of situations "data." This helps me contextualize issues and keeps me at a distance so that I can then call the Lord into it.
EXAMPLE: Let's say something really bad happens to you. Take a step away from the situation for a second, and look at it. Look at the circumstances that led up to the crisis bomb, all the things that preceded it, and all the things surrounding it. And say, "All of this is data." It's all a bunch of data points. It's okay.
Nothing that has happened, is happening, or will happen, is anything that is too much for Jesus Christ. Jesus bore the weight of every ounce of suffering on the cross. It's finished. You are covered in the Blood. You are okay. Take a deep breath and know that when you take problems to God, he will highlight supernatural solutions. And when you have faith and walk in the Spirit, he will place your steps.
The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step]. Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord grasps his hand in support and upholds him.
A Note on Relationship Idolatry
Ok so now let's go deeper here. Taking everything we've covered so far, consider this. You take this attitude into situations with others. Instead of taking anxieties and dumping them onto others, you are going to God and getting your answers from the Lord. You are walking the Spirit. You are walking by faith. You have a support system, yes, and it's good to have community, but the conversations with the people around you when you go to God first change. This is because you've had a chance to pray and gain godly perspective BEFORE going to the people you love.
Instead of dumping triggered impulsive emotions onto someone (yikes), you've gotten your anchoring to Christ, and you aren't focused on if a person is going to let you down or support you well enough. This is because you are being supported by the eternal vine of Christ. Also, people aren't God. They can't be expected to be your all. This is relationship idolatry. Conversely, you are keeping your eyes elevated to the coming of the kingdom of God and locked upon the Cross and Jesus Christ's resurrection power.
Becoming Part of the Solution
You will start to take this light into other people's situations. You will take these strategies to others too. So now, you can inspire and encourage others to also take their problems to the Lord FIRST and you've suddenly got a beautiful situation on your hands!
Surrounded by others who take their problems to God, learning and growing in faith, bearing each other's burdens, and walking in the Spirit together.
This life is full of suffering. Yes. But. We can learn how to walk gracefully and be filled with hope. Why? Because we know that each moment, each situation is data. And we've been given free will to respond in a way that builds up the kingdom. We only suffer for a little while. And then we will be glorified to live eternally with Christ. Hallelujah!
3- Taking your problems to God first sets a boundary against the Enemy and demonstrates whose you are.
The Enemy is a bully. He wants to tempt us to spread dissension, fear, panic, etc. But we take away his power to tempt us into this by leaning into the truth. Worldly anxiety is actually a lie.
He wants to keep you locked in the mental prison of hopelessness and despair. Which is a lie! You are God's own inheritance. You are an adopted child of God. You are HIS! You need to remind the enemy WHOSE you are!
When you take your problems to God FIRST, you are telling the Enemy exactly what he can do with his lying schemes and intrusive thoughts. Rebuke him!
When you are in the middle of crisis, use this prayer:
"Heavenly Father, I ask that you break the chains of the Enemy, break apart and destroy all strongholds of the Enemy in my life. With your help and power, empower me to stand against and refuse to listen to his lies and intrusive thoughts. Father, send your Holy Spirit into me, to push out the forces of darkness far from me. As far as the east is from the west, I am forgiven, I am washed in the Blood of Jesus. Nothing the Enemy says can reach me from behind the shield of faith that I hold up against his fiery arrows. I equip the full armor of God. It is Jesus who stands between me and Satan. All powers of darkness must bow to the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Father, protect my thoughts from the enemy's attacks. Help me to see your truth amidst the darkness. I rebuke all attacks of the enemy and send them to the foot of the cross for Jesus to do with as he will. I bind all interplay, interaction, and communication of evil spirits. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Closing Thoughts
Amidst all the"problems" of the world, amidst all the "data," rejoice in the Lord. For you are his. Your identity is not in the world, nor in anything that is perishing or spiritually dead. Your identity is in Christ. Your identity is held and protected by the God who created you and loves you more than you'll ever know. You have been CALLED out of the darkness and into the light. You have been grafted eternally into the vine of Christ. Walk in the Spirit and know with confidence that the Lord is in the process of bringing your soul into perfection. You are being sanctified and completed, by the power of the Holy Spirit working in you.
The same Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead works in you to perfect you and raise to life your mortal body. That's epic!
But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness [that He imputes to you]. And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, [then] He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you.
About The Author
Teresa Yanaros, a degreed journalist with a passion for Jesus, has dedicated her life to investigating media, exposing occult lies, and driving home the truth of Christ. Earlier in her career, Teresa was a successful author who gave speeches and practical workshops across America, after publishing a book that investigated the phenomenon of modern American online spiritualism and attempted to reconcile her Roman Catholic roots with new-age practices. She then had a radical deliverance experience from the occult and now coaches Christians who left the new age to follow Jesus. With over 1M views on her YouTube channel, Teresa has impacted viewers across the world who seek to look deeper at spiritual warfare and how Satan deceives through occult traps in media. After going #newagetoJesus she attended seminary classes and continues to research, investigate, and share information about the new age deception, occult deliverance, spiritual warfare, and Christian theology.
INTERESTED IN THE ACADEMY? If you are a Christian who left the new age, apply to join the CLARITY ACCELERATOR ACADEMY. The Academy takes the entire process from start to finish of getting oriented after leaving the new age, grounding into theology and spiritual warfare, deprogramming new age lies, renouncing Satan's influence, remaining delivered, and establishing a firm context for Christian living and spiritual formation, bible study, how to pray, how to share the gospel, how to build your testimony, how to share your testimony, and put it ALL into this academy. IT WORKS. People's lives are being transformed by this framework, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Jesus, for deliverance!
Teresa is the founder of Spirit Sanctified.
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