I am a math teacher for high school students, and I recently went to a training for ACT preparation. I went to a session that was all about high-performing math students’ thought processes and the patterns they used to solve problems. A huge pattern in high-achieving mathematics students is metacognition. They are able to think about and analyze their thinking.
We watched videos of students solving math problems and narrating their thought processes. This one girl was attempting to work out a problem and had no clue how to do it. She tried one method, got a ridiculous number, and immediately said, “that doesn’t make any sense”.
Then, this is the part that makes me proud as a teacher and puts a thought in my head about being a Christian. She restarted the problem, and, knowing she had no clue how to solve it, she started plugging in the answer choices and checking them to see if they worked. This is actually a mathematical strategy simply called “working backwards”.
As a follower of Christ, I know I personally try to find the answers to my questions about my future and problems with what I can do and what I think is best. That is where the problem lies.
This strategy reminds me of a man in the Bible, whom most of us learned about as a small child named Jonah. He was told by God to go to Nineveh but tried to do life the way he thought was best and went to Tarshish. He then got on a boat, and a huge storm arose. The people on the boat then threw Jonah out of the boat, and a great fish swallowed him. It was in the belly of that fish when he cried out to God, saying,
“I called to the Lord in my distress, and he answered me. I cried out for help from deep inside Sheol; you heard my voice,” in Jonah 2:2. And he also said,
“As my life was fading away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, to your holy temple.”
Jonah tried doing life his way. He tried finding a solution and realized, “that doesn’t make any sense.” He was in the middle of a whale’s belly. The first thing he did when Jonah realized the mess he had gotten into was cried out to God, prayed, and remembered who ultimately is the answer or solution.
Immediately, when Jonah turned to the Lord, the fish spit him onto dry land. Problem solved.
When we try to solve problems and answer questions in life in our own strength with our own knowledge, we will eventually realize that something just doesn’t make any sense. But, when we start with the solution and then make our decisions based on that, the problem is solved. Proverbs 3:5 says,
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, in all your ways acknowledge Him.”
When we don’t know the next step, when we are at a point in life where we just do not know what to do next, let’s start by working backward. Go to Him in prayer. Go to the Bible. Start with the ultimate solution, and He will reveal your next step. Why wouldn’t we? He created us and has great plans for us. Start with the solution.
Kristie Brothers
Lean into Jesus Ministries
#kristiebrothersblogs
