It is an indisputable fact that one thing that is common to man on the face of the earth is problem. In other words, there is no one on the face of the earth that does not have one problem or the other, regardless of their spirituality or what have you—nobody is immune to problems. However, it is possible for you to live above your problems, regardless of the degree of the problem in question. Thus this message proffers scripture based, practical answers, and principles that do not only help you to live above your problems, but also keep you in God and keep God in you while you are going through those problems.

It is unfortunate that many people look for temporary solutions to their perceived permanent problems. People get involved in all kinds of inconceivable things with a view to finding temporary solutions to their supposed permanent problems. Conversely, there are people who look for permanent solution to temporary problems—suicide.  If you are going through one seemingly insurmountable problem or the other, it is of paramount important that you arm yourself with this irrefutable truth: every problem has a shelf life. That is to say, there is no problem besetting humanity that is permanent—every problem has an expiry date. No problem is permanent!

One of the principles that you must put in your mind, in your heart, and be must be on your finger tips that would serve as a point of contact to every situation and circumstance or people you meet in life is this: every battle and every victory has two sides. In times of battles and trouble, sometimes it is not something that you did that brought it to your way—it is a wager between God and the arch-enemy(Satan)—it can God-directed and it can be self-inflicted. See Job 1-3. In like manner, there are two sides for every victory—there is a God-side of every victory and there is a man-side of every victory. It is when you do not know what to do about your problem that you are overwhelmed. As a matter of fact, the real problem in your life is not the one you are facing or crying about; the real problem is not knowing what to do about the problem. In other words, the moment you do not know what to do about the problem, that is the real problem, not the problem itself. That is what pushes people into temporary and permanent solution.

You need to let it sink in and settle in your heart that God never changes—He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Therefore it is important for you to know that your problem is not bigger than God (Hebrews 13:8). In other words, He can still do what He has done in the past. If He did one great miracle for one, He can do it for all. If God healed in a particular way, if you study what He has done, He can do it for you too (Romans 15:4).
The seemingly terminal sickness of king Hezekiah was used as a case study of how to live above your problem. When Hezekiah received the dispirited message from the foremost prophet, he wept bitterly unto God—godly people also cry. It shows that there is no immunity when it comes to trials and troubles. It is the response of godly people to problems that makes the difference. Hence Hezekiah responded positively to his problem which triggered the divine intervention: Hezekiah turned to the wall. This implies that he turned his back to the problem and everything that man could give, while his face was turned to the Rock of Ages—the only One who can walk through the wall. Unfortunately, many of us have done what Hezekiah did, but while we turn to God we are looking around for human solutions. As long as you are leaning on men, the arms of men will fail you. Therefore, in order for you to be able to live above every circumstance and situation, you must get to the place where you turn to the wall.

When God told Hezekiah through the prophet that he would not live but die, it was a word of warning, not a permanent word. Because if God had wanted Hezekiah dead, He would not need to send a word. But He sent a word so that he could turn to the wall (God). However, the true word is ‘you will not die but live and declare the works of God’ (Palms 118:15-18). But you need chastisement to get to the place where you can represent God in every situation and all circumstances. Thus certain things happen in your life so that you can get to the place where God is God all by Himself and He is real to you. The side of God is to send you the word so that you can heed the warning while your side is to turn to God (wall) but turn your back to man’s solution. However, when you turn to the wall, what you are saying to God matters a lot—you should not magnify the problem, but rather magnify God in your prayer and singing.  Murmuring is nothing but the language of slaves.  Learn how to turn to God in trouble with a grateful heart. That was the secret of Hezekiah. This is the key to living above your problems (Isaiah 38:18, 19).  

Summary
The principles that would enable you to live above your problems are listed below:

• You must walk in the consciousness that every problem has a shelf life—no problem is permanent.
• You must know that  God is bigger than your problem—learn to glory God in all circumstances, not your problem.
• Never trust in the arm of flesh because it will fail you in times of trouble.
• Learn how to turn to God in praise and prayer, not to human solutions.
• And most importantly, keep yourself pure from contamination of the spirit and of the flesh—sin is the number one hindrance to prayer.