Q:
People like you seem to think that if we'd just turn to God, all our personal problems will vanish. But isn't this simplistic? Turning to God might help some people, but most of the religious people I know have just as many problems as the rest of us.
A:
God hasn’t promised that all our problems will vanish if we turn to Christ and open our lives to Him. In fact, our problems may increase, because some people may not like it if we begin to take Jesus seriously. Jesus warned, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33).
But God has promised that two things will happen once we give our lives to Christ. First, He has promised that He will always be with us. Think of that for a moment: We are never alone when we know Christ! He comes to live within us by His Holy Spirit, and even in the midst of hard times He doesn’t abandon us but gives us strength to meet life’s challenges. The Apostle Paul declared, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13, NKJV).
But God also has promised to give us wisdom to deal with our problems, if we’ll only seek it. Sometimes it may come through the advice of other people; sometimes through prayer; sometimes through the Bible. The Bible says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God… and it will be given to him” (James 1:5, NKJV).
Don’t let your pride get in the way, and don’t try to face life’s problems alone. Instead, turn to Christ and commit your problems — and your whole life — into His hands. God is greater than your problems, and He loves you and wants to help you. Why not turn to Him today?