© 1990 Beth Bartley
© 1990 The Urantia Book Fellowship (formerly Urantia Brotherhood)
by Beth Bartley
Starting with the spiritual retreat, I have continuously heard things in different talks that have built up to what I have to say about problem solving. For instance, at the Adventures in Spiritual Living retreat we were talking about Prayer in the Moment, the immediate and sometimes emergency need for help from God. In his keynote speech Steve Dreier talked about the inner and the outer walk and how they relate. Carol Hay referred to a need of skills to promote our interest to act; you get skills through repetitive action, the formation of habits. Bobbie Dreier talked about her search to find God, the problems she encountered and her need to rely on God for guidance. Phil Geiger’s songs this morning were about worship and the effect it has on your attitude; attitude affects your perspective of the problem. Finally, there was Allison Gardner’s talk this morning and the third slip of paper; the one we were to keep. Mine said: “Love with all your heart, ask me for help, and feel peace.” All of these thoughts relate in some way to my perspective of problem solving. My message: When you have problems, ask God for help.
Several months ago in prayer, I was evaluating the change in direction of my career, and my interest in business ethics. Since there are no established credentials for this line of work, it created a challenge in how to proceed. In this particular conversation with God I mentioned that I could stand to update my experience speaking to large groups of people. I ended the conversation with the question, “How do you get on the Urantian speaking circuit?” Obviously God heard my question, for a short while later Marta Elders called and offered me this opportunity. The other day Monica Kemp commented that “God called my bluff.”
In asking for help I was following the instructions in The Urantia Book where it states: “The law of the universe is: Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find.” (UB 167:5.2) Steve Dreier mentioned in his keynote speech that “we were made to walk with God.” From that perspective it is very natural to ask Cod when we need help, for he is interested in helping us learn and grow.
It is natural for me to ask questions, for my mother nurtured my curiosity when I was young. She taught me that questions were okay and she would respond with a positive statement and action such as, “Let’s go see what the encyclopedia (or dictionary) says about that,” or, “Why don’t we go to the library and see if they have some books on that subject.” My mother not only encouraged my curiosity, but she taught me responsibility. She didn’t give me the answers; she taught me to find the answers.
When I was introduced to The Urantia Book, I was delighted with the strong statement it makes about curiosity. On UB 14:5.11 it says: “Curiosity — the spirit of investigation, the urge of discovery, and the drive of exploration — is a part of the inborn and divine endowment of evolutionary space creatures.” I challenge you to remember the importance of curiosity when you are around children; not only is it a divine endowment, but curiosity stays with us until we pass beyond the last circuit of Havona.
It was my habit of asking questions that helped me at a time of confusion in my spiritual life. The churches were not answering my questions, and there was a very critical time when I asked God, “If you are there, then help me find you.” Can you imagine the reaction of m y Thought Adjuster when I said that? With that question I opened myself to being guided; I became receptive to God. Eventually I was lead to The Urantia Book.
However, I’m getting ahead of myself, for I want to talk about the three words in this session’s topic: worshipful, problem, and solving. The first and last words are fine, but personally I prefer to use “opportunity” or “challenge” instead of the word “problem.” These words imply there is something to obtain in the action, some goal towards which you are going, whereas “problem” so often has a negative concept. Attitude has a great deal to do with how you approach and deal with situations and therefore it affects the outcome. Remember the book tells us: “The positive always has the advantage over the negative.” (UB 102:6.7)
Along with a positive attitude it helps to get beyond the emotions so we can objectively deal with the facts. We are told that, “The mind of evolutionary man is ever confronted with the intricate problem of refereeing the contest between the natural expansion of emotional impulses and the moral growth.” (UB 103:5.5) I can relate to this because when I am dealing with a challenge, often my emotions seem to be ahead of my mind. When this happens it prevents me from properly thinking the problem through. That’s when I get myself into trouble and I cannot deal with the situation until I slow down and reestablish my connection to God and theneby feel his peace.
In the philosophic style, for clarification, let medefine the words worshipful, problem, and solving. There is no better definition of worship than what the book has to say: “Believers must increasingly learn how to step aside from the rush of life — escape the harassments of material existence — while they refresh the soul, inspire the mind, and renew the spirit by worshipful communion.” (UB 156:5.12) What a wonderful concept that gives to worship — it offers an instant getaway when you are under stress. We’re not told to withdraw permanently, just step aside and be refreshed. What an offer.
For the second word — problem — I went to MerriamWebster’s dictionary which defines it as “a question raised for consideration or solution.” It doesn’t say that action is always needed, only that you will consider or solve the question.
For the last word-solving — I go back to The Urantia Book where it says: “Personal, spiritual religious experience is an efficient solvent for most mortal difficulties.” (UB 196:3.1) You deal with problems through your religious experience by building a foundation of knowledge where you learn how to react and deal with situations.
If you put these ideas and definitions together and add the quote, “Growth needs the stimulus of adversity” (UB 100:3.6), problem solving starts to take on a circular pattern. You have a problem, you pray, you solve, you grow. You have another problem, you pray, you solve, you grow, and on and on. You end up with an ongoing circle not just in this life but beyond. However, I’ll return to this idea later.
Rodan said that Jesus had the greatest method of problem solving which was: isolated worshipful meditation. (UB 160:1.10) But as we meditate it is necessary to understand what to do. This brings us back to the law of the universe. Another and expanded version of it is: “Ask and it shall be given; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. For every one who asks receives; and he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks the door of salvation will be opened.” (UB 144:2.3) Another offer to assist is in our lives.
Jesus encourages your prayers and offers assistance when he says: “If…you are ever in doubt as to what you would ask of the Father, ask in my name, and I will present your petition in accordance with your real needs and desires and in accordance with my Father’s will.” (UB 146:2.10) If you don’t know how to pray or what to ask for he will ask for you.
The last phrase of this quote, “in accordance with my Father’s will,” helps to understand how to pray. For instance, it is the Father’s will that we develop the potential that we have (remember the ideal mortal career that the Thought Adjuster brought). I’ve observed that when I ask for help, if the request involves characteristics that will assist me to grow spiritually, the response can be felt immediately. For instance, when in doubt if I ask for faith, or when fearful if I ask for understanding, coure ge or knowledge (fear often comes from the unknown), or when confused if I ask for wisdom, then I am aware deep within that there has been a response. These requests are things of values, things that help us grow. The book specifically tells us that we should never ask God to solve our problems but to ask him for wisdom and spiritual strength so we can attack the problem ourselves. (UB 91:6.5)
Prayer is a daily event with most Urantia Book readers that I know. I don’t mean down on the knees with a lot of thee’s and thou’s; rather a time of quiet reflection with God, a time set aside for personal growth and spiritual nurturing. We’re told that: “Genuine prayer adds to spiritual growth, modifies attitudes, and yields that satisfaction which comes from communion with divinity…a spontaneous outburst of God-consciousness.” It continues, saying that, “Prayer is not a technique of escape from conflict but rather a stimulus to growth.” One of the most explicit comments about prayer is: “Words are irrelevant to prayer.” (UB 91:8.12)
Several times we are told that God knows our needs before we ask. Yet as mortal creatures — will creatures — it is necessary to ask God to be involved in our lives. We must actually choose God with knowledge and intent. There was an occasion in my life when I called God’s name — thankfully that’s all that was necessary to reflect my choice and engage God’s involvement. I was driving my children home from a church party one afternoon, when suddenly I realized a car approaching from the opposite direction was angled in such a way that we were destined for a head-on collision. The other driver wasn’t watching the road and was unaware of what he was doing. All I said was, “Father God.” (I’m not sure why I used that name for God, but it worked.) The children immediately became silent, my voice must have indicated trouble or urgency.
The events that followed were instantaneous and yet seem to be isolated in slow-motion within my mind as individual happenings. My high school physics was somehow mentally resurrected to work out the best angle to take the “hit” from the other car so that we wouldn’t be flipped into the water-filled ditch on the side of the road. My daughters settled back and prepared for the obvious outcome of the situation (thankfully all seat belts were on). All other traffic seemed to fade away as the other drivers became aware of the potential accident and presumably put on their brakes. Everything was set to have an accident — an accident that should have happened but didn’t.
The Urantia Book says God does not normally get involved with accidents of time, but I know within the very core of my existence God was involved in this situation. I could feel the presence of an energy between the cars that prevented them from touching. You can bet that I believe in worshipful problem solving. God was somehow involved in this and my turning to him was instrumental in the outcome. The Urantia Book tells us that “Repetitive experiences become habits.” (UB 160:3.2) More specifically, we are told that “[the] numbers of decision, frequent repetitions, persistent repetitions, are also essential to the habit-forming certainty.” (UB 110:6.6) When you keep asking God for help and he responds, you become certain and confident in God. When I said “Father God” I did so with certain knowledge he would be there. Thankfully turning to God was a habit that I had cultivated.
Earlier I mentioned the idea that problem solving was circular — problems, prayer, solving and growth. We have discussed the first three points; now I want to look at the fourth — growth. We are told that “Difficulties must be encountered for growth.” (UB 154:2.5) and again, “Growth needs the stimulation of adversity.” (UB 100:3.7) And yet on page 1204 it says “All spiritual growth…is a gift from our heavenly Father and not our own doing.” If our spiritual growth is a gift from our heavenly Father, why do we have to encounter the difficulties? Why doesn’t God just make it happen? Well, God could make it all happen, and he could have created us so that it was automatic, but we would lose the aspect of our lives that makes us free-will creatures. When we ask, and by asking choose, he gives us this gift, “growth” — spiritual growth — for the work and trials we confront and endure. It is the spiritual growth that makes all the aggravations in life worthwhile; it’s kind of a bonus (a Christmas bonus, if you will). Our spiritual growth in turn draws us closer to God and makes us aware of the immense satisfaction we gain in and through and from the relationship we have with God. The peace that passes all understanding is our awareness of God and gives us certainty of his presence in our lives.
Problems are the food that nurture spiritual growth. Problems, challenges, opportunities, aggravationswhatever name you give them — are an essential part of our ascent to the Father. We are will creatures and as such we must choose. Without adversity there is no choice to make, But keep in mind that “Every step you take must be one of willingness, intelligent, and cheerful co-operation.” (UB 34:6.11) No long faces allowed; you must live life with a smile on your face and joy in your heart.
We are told that “Successful living [is] the art of the mastery of dependable techniques for solving common problems.” (UB 160:1.7) This implies that we should be aware of our method or technique. Could it be that when you are aware of your method it is more automatic to use, and the more it is used the more certain you become? (Sounds like another circle.) You are also instructed that “The wise and effective solution of any problem demands that the mind shall be free from bias, passion, and all other personal prejudices.” (UB 160:1.8) Solving problems effectively needs a mind that is free from the emotional contaminates we bring into our thoughts, especially the negative aspects.
On page 1662, jesus tells Nathaniel that their mission is to help solve people’s spiritual problems so that they are better prepared to deal with their material ones. This relates to Steve Dreier’s comment in the keynote speech that, “once the inner life is secure the outer life begins.”
In Rodan’s talk he mentions that Jesus said, “The greatest of all methods of problem solving [is] the isolation of worshipful meditation.” (UB 160:1.10) Jesus went off by himself to pray and we can learn from Jesus’ approach to problems in prayer. He looked at the problem to analyze what it was and how best to deal with it. He sought wisdom and energy. Jesus also considered the long-range purpose of life. So imagine yourself ten years down the road looking back. Is the present situation a major one or is it trivial? Jesus controlled the changes in life rather than letting them control him. This changes your attitude and insight on life’s events. And last, remember the Master’s prayer: “Not my will, but yours, be done.” (UB 160:1.11)
I’d like to take a minute to quickly review what I have said. First, I talked about the three words in the topic: worshipful, problem, and solving, and I defined them. Next I brought in the idea of growth, because this makes the situation circular and ongoing, eternal if you will. Most recently I was talking about the “how to” of problem solving from The Unaritia Book. One of the most basic aspects of our lives, from a spiritual perspective, is that as will creatures we must choose God, and that by choosing God we need adversity and challenges in our lives from which to grow. This does not mean that life is or should be oppressive. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Have you ever seen the face of a God-centered person who is experiencing adversity? Their face seems to glow — actually glow. On 1227 it says: “Only religious confidence — living faith — can sustain man amid such difficult and perplexing problems.” (UB 111:6.8) In contrast think of a person without faith who is in an adverse situation. They seem to fall apart. There is nothing for them to hold onto.
Let me give you an example of how opportunities and the application of the law of the universe can work to sustain us. These are real situations and involve two heart attacks. One happened to my husband and the other to a friend’s husband. (Let’s call my friends John and Jane — as in Doe.) My husband had a heart attack when he was in his early 40 's, just as John did; they were both in the hospital for 10 days, and home for three months of recovery. Without getting technical, both heart attacks were mild and would be called in layman’s language a “warner” (the word my husband’s doctor used, explaining that he had been warned there was a problem).
These are the similarities. However, there is a difference in how Jane and I initially handled the situation. While my husband was still in the ER, looking as though he was wired for sound with an EKG attached, an oxygen mask, and a blood-pressure cuff, I prayed. We had just moved there a few months earlier and we didn’t have a local support team. I didn’t know what to do, so I turned to God for help. Actually I gave it all into God’s hands. It was a matter of desperation. I didn’t know where else to turn. However, this prayer is the only difference in how Jane and I dealt with our situations.
I walked through the next three months in peace, and at no time did I feel anger, concern, fear, or apprehension about what was happening. Each day I confronted the realities of life and did whatever needed to be done; I took care of the house, the bills, the family and Steve in the hospital. I had always presumed that Jane’s experience had been like mine and was shocked recently when she told of her anger towards God for allowing the heart attack to happen. In listening closely to her story I realized that the only difference was the prayer that I said in the ER. I had asked God for help.
Could a prayer make this much difference, allowing one person to walk through a situation with inner peace, while the other was consumed with anger and bitterness at God? That’s quite a statement.
While writing this example, I recalled a quote from The Urantia Book: “In the time of testing, a man’s soul is revealed; trial discloses what really is in the heart.” (UB 165:6.2) I had a real problem with what this implies; it sounds religiously arrogant. Yet, Jane and I were each given the same opportunity; we just dealt with it differently. As Christians we both had the same knowledge of, “Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find.” I chose to apply it to my situation. She didn’t.
Let me run through some other examples of asking. (Do keep in mind that the stories I am using are examples of when I did things right. Please don’t presume that I always do. I am human.)
Many years ago I taught Sunday school for two and three year olds and there were between 20 and 30 students in the class. There were three adult teachers and two teenager assistants. The teachers rotated two weeks on and one week off. During one of my “on” weeks I suddenly came down with a sinus infection and was put on antibiotics. I was running a fever and was dizzy and mentally confused from the medicine. This all happened Friday evening and by a fluke I couldn’t get in touch with either of the other teachers to take over for me. Since I wasn’t infectious I decided to go and teach the lesson. My husband drove me up, helped me into the class, and waited to return me home and to bed, even though he normally sang in the choir. I was physically exhausted when we arrived at church and the other teacher told me to go home. Since I was there I said if she would get the students into place I would teach and then leave. While they got the students seated in front of the little altar in the room, I turned my back and prayed, “Father, I can’t do this today; you have to do it for me. These are your children, so please tell them the story you want them to hear.” I had no idea the impact of this simple prayer for a couple of weeks.
The story that week was the parable of the Good Shepherd, and I don’t know what God said that day, but he reached the hearts and minds of those young children in a way that I never could. Their parents came in for months afterwards and told us how their children loved that parable; the parents presumed it had been told the week before. If you consider the retention of a child this age you can see what a marvelous thing God did.
Another example has to do with fear, for I have had a fear for many years of New York City. It caused no inconvenience until I was asked to be an Area Coordinator, and being an AC was important enough to me that I finally confronted this fear. I used self-guided meditation to sort through early stories of trips I took to New York City with my mother and brother. As I prayed I began to feel the terror of the crowds in Grand Central Station that I had experienced when I was a child. It really amazed me how easy it was to locate the reason for my fear and once I had identified the source of the fear, it was easy to deal with. I have found that often fear comes from the unknown, or something that you aren’t aware of knowing, so look at it, evaluate it, and then confront it. And remember to let God help.
I’ve covered a lot of territory in this talk, so let me do a real quick summary. Worship is an escape from the harassment of the material world; a retreat to refresh, inspire and renew. Problems are situations that need consideration and/or action. Solving is dealing with a situation. When you put them together, worshipful problem solving means letting your spirituality strengthen and refresh you while dealing with mortal situations. Growth was added to these three terms, which made a circular pattern that is the basis of spiritual growth and progress throughout your life.
There is one last word I want to mention: joy. Our lives are to be joyful. Did you know that the principle activity of the secondary seconaphim is to direct a reaction of joy? (UB 28:5.16) This morning Phil Grieger mentioned the primary seconaphim’s job involves worship and I know God well enough to know the connection is no coincidence. We are told that sonship is to yield supreme joy in the spirit. (UB 149:5.4) Joy is actually a byproduct of sonship. We are also told that no matter what the cost of sonship in this life, you will receive manyfold more joy. (UB 137:8.14) No matter what you go through you will be given enough joy to cover the matter. (There is no excuse not to be joyful.) “Increasing happiness is the experience of all who are certain about God.” (UB 159:3.10) (Remember, certainty comes from habitually seeking God.) And last, joy is defined as: “A tonic for health, a stimulus for mind and an unfailing energy for the soul.” (UB 194:3.19)
So go forth with your circles; circles of progress, and love, and joy and as David Elders said, of unity. These circles will help you as you develop and grow on your Walk with God.