“Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”

Solutions for problems to be solved can come in many forms.  Is it a “Quick and Dirty” solution?  These are the easy fixes that just take an intentional amount of time and energy and we can put the problem behind us.  But, there is danger here if we misread the situation and go quick and dirty and that only band-aids the problem, not solving it for good, leaving the problem to arise again.  And then there are the problems that demand “Lengthy and Thorough” work.  This is typically work that takes resources and time that must be prioritized away from others.  It’s exciting when the work is done and we feel the accomplishment, knowing that we have cemented in a long-term fix.  The watch out here is that we can, because of that deep feeling of accomplishment and a familiar routine we can fall into, begin to apply lengthy and thorough to more than we really need.  So, there is a place and time for both solutions, but it’s important that we do the diligence to recognize the difference. Once we get good at this discernment, it will feel like we are getting way more done than we thought capable.

I think there are times in our faith journey that we can get mixed up with how God wants to work through us.  There have been times in my like that I looked for the “quick” solution, when what God really wanted me to do was to dig in and give Him a lengthy and thorough amount of work on me.  And, conversely, there have been times when I have become paralyzed not wanting to do the long work, when He was actually just calling me to action now and to realize that what I was facing was not that big of a deal after all.  In either case, He will direct us if we listen closely to what He is trying to say to us. And, either way, if we do surrender and engage with Him today, He will make it clear to us what we really need.

Reference: Psalm 50:15 (New Living Translation)