Karl Menninger said, "Attitudes(interpretation) are much more important.One day I thought to myself, "If I can't avoid the problem, I
should welcome it and grow from it." Especially while I was studying miracles in the Bible, I realized that all miracles came from problems. When you read the Bible, there are miracles where there are problems. The miracles of the Red Sea being split and the bitter water of Marah becoming sweet are all followed by problems. The miracle of the Cana wedding feast, where water became wine, was followed by the problem of the wine being gone. If there is no problem, there is no miracle. The size of the problem determines the size of the miracle. than facts." The event itself is not the problem, but the outcome of the event depends on how we interpret it. What we consider to be the event is the problem we face. I once hated problems. If I had a problem, it became a big burden on my mind. Pastoring is indeed a series of problems. If one problem disappears, another problem appears. Problems cannot be avoided in pastoring.
A small problem brings a little miracle, and a big problem brings up a great miracle. God creates miracles by using problems as raw material. Problems are the raw material for creating miracles. If you bring your problems to God, God will turn it into a miracle.
He gives us wisdom to be better through problems (Jas 1:5). It is important to interpret the problem positively rather than negatively. Not all problems are bad. We become more awakened because of problems. We draw ourselves closer to God through problems and become wiser as we solve through the problems. If you solve the problem well, you will enjoy the blessing of having the solution that solves the problems of others. Since I have experienced miracles through problems, I have been boldly welcoming the problems when they come.
The reason is because miracles are hidden within the problem. As I positively interpreted a problem, I came to an idea of "pastoring as a continuation of miracles." The reaction to an incident is more important than the incident itself. The incident becomes a blessing when you interpret it positively and react to it wisely. When we study the characters in the Bible we can see that their lives are reversed by reacting well to tragic events. An incident is just an incident. Do not haste to make a conclusion about an event. Just make sure you react to it well.The Moabite lady Ruth became a widow at a young age. However, she experienced the reversal of her life by believing in the God of her mother-in-law. God helped Ruth to live a more blessed life than her life before by arranging a meeting with Boaz. In result, the name of Ruth is included into the genealogy of Jesus. Like Ruth, it is really important to survive in difficulty. There must be survival for a beautiful future. People who constantly survive in difficult situations are called "Super Survivors". People like Joseph and Daniel are "Super Survivors". As immigrants, they survived till the end. A characteristic of "Super Survivors" is that they adapt well to change.
Competence is the ability to adapt. A person who accepts change, enjoys change, and adapts well to change is a wise person. It is our goal to live well and enjoy the abundant life, but first of all, we must survive. To survive, you must discard and empty unnecessary things. In Acts 27, when Paul's companion encountered the storm called Euraquilo, they threw everything out to survive.
In order to survive, they abandoned the load off the ship - the furniture, the food, the lifeboat, and even the ship. Nothing is more important than survival during crisis. "Revival" is possible when there is "survival". It is important to react well, but you need to be able to create new changes instead of just reacting. The one who reacts only lives a negative and passive life. In order to live a little more positively and actively, we need to be able to create new changes. We need to know how to create a better, a more beautiful, and a more blessed future. In order to create new change, we must dream new dreams. We must set new goals.
We must make new attempts. We must challenge ourselves with new challenges. If you repeat the same things, you will get the same results. New attempts result in new results. New change starts from a small start. It starts from a small step. Our church is building the Vision Center to create a new history and is in the final stage. The construction of the Vision Center began with the first shovel. We are at the crossroads of new change. May you be Saints who create new changes at this crossroads.
Joshua Choon-min Kang from Pastorate
