Why do you think we have so many problems in our lives? Could it be that instead of focusing on God, we focus on ourselves? It seems that the most important letter in the English language is “I.” Sometimes we focus too much on ourselves and not enough on God.

Some people believe that if you have problems, it is because you do not have enough faith. They say the stronger your faith, the less problems you will have. I do not believe that. Let me give you an example of why.

We each are given a measure of faith — not more or less than anyone else. It is our choice what we do with that faith. We can use it, exercise it and watch it grow, or we can ignore it and watch it wither. Perfect examples are the disciples of Jesus. Nobody had greater faith than they did once they received the Holy Spirit, yet every one of them suffered a lot of persecution in their lives.

Should we believe that the Apostle Paul had problems because his faith was not in order? I don’t think so! One reason we have troubles is that God uses trials to mold and change the willing believer into a stronger believer.

We don’t seem to be able to read God’s word and fully put it to use in our lives, so we need another way to learn how to be humble before God. And that is the reason we have trials in our lives — to teach us how to become more reliant upon God in all things. And if we learn to fully rely on him during the bad times, we will be able to do it in the good times, too.

We all have problems, but I have some great news for you: We can learn to put our trust in God, and he will get us through those problems with far less damage.

We must learn not only how to deal with our problems but how to react to our problems. They are only two ways you can deal with your problem. You can choose to act like a human and try to figure it out, or you can go to God and ask him for help.

I have heard many people question whether God loves us. If he did, they ask, how could he let us go through terrible times? God does love us. He loves us enough to teach us. We don’t learn as much from reading or listening, so we have to learn by experience.

Have you ever heard the expression, “Experience is the best teacher”? Whoever coined that phrase surely understood human nature. And, being humans, we tend to forget easily, so we have to keep repeating the same lessons! Each time, learning from the lesson and growing stronger than before.

Understand, though, that the Bible never says God will change our problems. What God will do, is change US, so we can handle the problems.

Randall Brown is the executive director and founder of Fusion Warehouse student center in Anderson.