Word Problems

Ya know? I get it. Generally speaking, people really don’t like math. Furthermore, unless you’re part of that elite group that has no problem with statistical derivatives, I would surmise that you probably don’t miss the days of math in school.
(btw, I know there are statistics and I know there are derivatives…not quite sure about the combination though…jus sayin.)

For some, the simpler equations and formulas were sorta “fun” to learn such as A=1/2(b x h) for triangle area, but I’m sure that I can’t remember a single person who embraced those dreaded “word problems”. Remember those? Well here’s an example: Sally, Anna and Richard have a lemonade stand. They paid $5.23 for ingredients and $6.45 for supplies. They sell 4.62 cups of lemonade per hour at .75 cents per cup. How long does it take to start turning a profit? And how much does each of them get paid if the stand stays open for a week from 11:30 am til 6 o’clock? (I figured I’d make it a real problem for those who absolutely love math and simply can’t contain themselves) But WOW! For the rest of us, we see these problems and we immediately start praying for death!

But is there an answer? Yes! There is. There’s ALWAYS an answer. Now if word problems are the very worst thing that math can throw at you AND you know that there's always an answer, then it’s surely time well spent for us to figure out how to overcome the anxiety? The fear floodgates in our minds burst forth with thoughts of failure, or being perceived as incompetent, or outright panic for a multitude of reasons. The enemy loves to push us to panic and unsettle us from the idea that there IS an answer worth pursuing. But it doesn’t have to stay that way.

The fact of the matter is, these teachers KNEW they were giving us a problem that would initially be seen as overwhelming but they would always help us by saying the same thing; “Remember what you know. Break it down and solve it in small steps.” It’s the same thing with life. We get an overwhelming situation and we react in panic. Although now that we’re older and it’s not as permissible to show that fear, we respond with anger or a feigned competency instead of being honest. We have knee-jerk reactions that cause more harm than good to ourselves and those around us. It doesn’t have to stay this way.

Here’s the word;

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Jude 1:17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Today our problem isn’t how we deal with word problems, it’s how we deal with world problems; life problems. We don’t know how to apply The Word because we spend so little time in it. We rarely get past panic to the first step of “Remember what you know” because all too often, we haven’t built up a remembrance to draw from. And rather than embracing the idea that ‘we’re MORE than conquerors through Him’…we’re still praying for death. (Ours or others’)

I don’t believe that there’s a single problem that we can face in this life where some insight isn’t already provided in The Word. Our Word problem stems from our lack of time spent studying It. We have a teacher who knows that things will be overwhelming at times BUT there IS always an answer and if you study and remember, you’ll be able to honor His patient instruction by the way you navigate life’s complicated word problems.



In Him,
Cros


Feel free to email your answer to the problem in paragraph 2...Don't forget to show your work.