Problems and Taking Action

"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life" (Philippians 4:6-7 MSG).

After affirming this Bible verse, I realize it's better to pray and get busy solving problems than to worry and fret about problems. The former is positive and constructive, while the latter is negative and destructive.

Problems seem to be inevitable. Everywhere problems seem to be. Problems can be found on a global, national, communal, and individual level. Given this, problems probably serve a purpose.

I think the purpose of problems is to strengthen your problem-solving skills. Problem-solving skills consists thinking positive (e.g., praying, affirming, envisioning) and taking action (e.g., physically solving problems).

Some people downplay the importance of thinking positive, and claim that the only thing that matters is taking action. But where do you think taking action comes from? That's right. Taking action comes from thinking. You think first. Then you take action.

What you think is important. Thoughts have power. Thinking positive leads to positive action (e.g., physically solving problems). And thinking negative leads to negative action (e.g., helplessly curling up in a ball).