Many people wonder why they have problems in life; what is the purpose of problems; why do problems happen to otherwise good people. Religious people who in their minds are attempting to live correctly (obey God's commandments) wonder why they have probles. People sometimes blame God or become angry with God or lose faith in God because of problems. Less or non-religious people do not target God for their problems, but often target some person or group as the cause of their problems and become angry or lose faith or cooperation with the person or group. Sometimes a person will become angry with a friend, a family member, a co-worker as if that person caused the problem.
So, what is the reason for problems? Do you want my simple answer? Read on.
Here is my simple answer. We encounter problems in this life because we need to learn! It is as simple as that. Many behavioral scientists who make theories about how a person develops a functional personality indicate that if a person does not encounter obstacles, problems, difficulties in life, the the person will not develop much of a personality. It is through the confrontation of problems and learning to resolve those problems that people develop and become who they are, whether good, bad or otherwise. Think about your own life. Think about some great difficulty you have encountered and overcome. What did you learn? Now think about a time when likfe was easy for you. What did you learn? Think about what you consider to be some of the strengths in yourself. How did you come by these strengths? Did they just fall out of the sky or did you purchase them at the mall or maybe they came in your genes? I doubt it. You paid for your strengths by passing through the fire of tribulation. No strength is gained while we sit in an easy chair eating pizza and watching TV. Strength, character, knowledge, capacity to overcome is purchased in the midst of the storm of personal problems. In a way, one should be thankful for problems...otherwise we would all be uninteresting blobs!
I am reminded of the musical "Fiddler on the Roof" which centered upon a Jewish community living in Russia just prior to the coming of the Bolsheviks and the 1905 revolution which ultimately became the Soviet Union. Tevya, the main character, is a Jewish man in the community who has many problems and is often, during the musical, taking an aside and speaking to God. At one point, after mounting problems, he takes an aside and say to to God (speaking of himself and his Jewish people): "I know we are the chosen people, but would it be wrong, would it disrupt some eternal plan to choose someone else sometimes?" (Quote not exact.) I think we all feel this way once in a while...Why cannot a problem choose someone else!
But the price of someone else being chosen is to lose strength ourself. OUR OWN STRENGTH AND DEVELOPMENT IS THE REASON WE HAVE PROBLEMS!!!