A Solution Looking for a Problem?

Does God have a solution to your problems?

The Hallmark Channel has really tapped into much of America’s desire for wholesome entertainment that touches the heart. And at no time of the year do they capitalize on their successful movie formula like they do during the Christmas season.

Of course, Hallmark really has a formula for their movies: money, the big city, and corporate America are all bad. They exist in tension with the small town, the family business, and the spirit of Christmas. And usually the fiancé, who is a part of all that is bad and with whom the female protagonist has had a relationship for multiple years, loses out to the hometown guy with whom it is love at first (sometimes second) sight. Then, there is the crisis that almost wrecks the new relationship, but it gets resolved and the young lady is rescued. I guess the suspense that keeps Hallmark fans watching movie after movie comes from variations on the theme. Maybe the down-home guy is really rich but the damsel in distress has already been shot with Cupid’s arrow before she discovers that. At any rate, the primary story is the same. Wow! I’m really tempted right now to tie this in with the prominent, continuously repeated Western culture storyline that is actually a reflection of God’s story of redemption—but I won’t!

So why am I even talking about Hallmark movies and their Countdown to Christmas theme? Because I want to talk about the original countdown to Christmas. Yes, it does lead to the story of redemption, but the point is this: there really was a countdown to the first Christmas when Jesus was born. You see, Jesus didn’t just happen to show up on earth a couple of thousand years ago. It was all a part of the plan for us to be restored to a relationship with God after Adam and Eve messed that up for us.

In Genesis 3 God announces right after the Fall that the offspring of the woman would crush the devil’s head. God had a plan right from the beginning, and it’s affirmed multiple times all through the Old Testament. God wasn’t surprised at all by the trouble that the devil brought on Adam and Eve, and that they brought on themselves. He already had a plan! In fact, Paul states in 1 Corinthians 2:7 that “we declare … a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.” God had a solution for our separation from him even before we were ever separated. To me, that’s amazing.

When I bought my first iPad several years ago I read a review that called the iPad a fantastic solution looking for a problem. It suggested that people were buying iPads not because they had a problem the iPads could address, but simply because they could do cool stuff. Maybe before Adam and Eve sinned, all the angels in heaven who knew about God’s plans in Jesus Christ said something like, “Hey, Boss, this idea of Jesus going to earth and dying to show your love sounds cool and all, but isn’t it a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist?” The truth is, God knew about the problem of our fall from God even before it happened, and he already had a solution.

On a personal level, I can assure you this: before any problem you face ever came into being, God had a plan. If he can handle all of human history, he can handle the outcome of your life and every problem you face in this life. That’s just the way God works. You can count on God’s story even more than you can count on the plot of a Hallmark Christmas movie. God already had a solution before you ever had a problem. Trust God to work out his plan in your life. There will be a happy ending, I know.

Photo by Jonathan Riley on Unsplash.