Billy Graham - Answers to Lifes Problems: Guidance, Inspiration and Hope for the Challenges of Today

ANSWERS TO
LIFES PROBLEMS

BOOKS BY BILLY GRAHAM

Angels: Gods Secret Agents

Approaching Hoofbeats

Facing Death and the Life After

The Holy Spirit

How to Be Born Again

Peace with God

The Secret of Happiness

Unto the Hills

BILLY GRAHAM

ANSWERS TO
LIFES PROBLEMS

GUIDANCE, INSPIRATION AND HOPE
FOR THE CHALLENGES OF TODAY

ANSWERS TO LIFES PROBLEMS

Copyright 1960, 1988 by Billy Graham

Copyright 1960, 1987, 1988 by Chicago Tribune-N.Y. News Syndicate, Inc.

The material appearing in this book is a collection drawn from Dr. Grahams newspaper columns syndicated under the title My Answer by the Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate Company, Inc.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form whatsoever, except for brief quotations in reviews, without the written permission of the publisher.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New International Version of the Bible, published by the Zondervan Corporation, copyright 1973 by the New York Bible Society. Used by permission.

Those marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971 by the Lockman Foundation.

Those marked KJV are from the King James Version.

Those marked by TLB are from the Living Bible, 1971 Tyndale House Publishers, used by permission.

Those marked Phillips are from The New Testament in Modern English by J.B. Phillips, published by The Macmillan Company, 1958, 1960, 1972 by J.B. Phillips.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Graham, Billy, 1918
Answers to lifes problems
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-8499-0642-3
0-8499-3564-4 (tp)
1. Christian life-Miscellenea. I. Title
BV4501.2.G7245 1877
248.4-dc19 88-4213
CIP

Printed in the United States of America
04 PHX 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

The whole Bible was given to us by inspiration
from God and is useful to teach us what is true
and to make us realize what is wrong with our lives;
it straightens us out and helps us do what is right

2 Timothy 3:1 TLB

CONTENTS

IF TALK IS CHEAP,
ADVICE IS FREE.

A dvice columnists, astrologers, and books offering tips on how to make money, how to avoid disease, and how to get in physical shape are as plentiful as cars during rush hour in our major cities. But not all advice is good. Much of this advice is based on human wisdom or false hopes or the wrong motives-and many who take such advice are disappointed and disillusioned.

Those who grew up in the troubled 1960s in America were told by the media, the rock music culture, and their friends that the values held by their parents and grandparents were old-fashioned. They threw off what they regarded as encumbrances in favor of alternate lifestyles and doing your own thing. There was widespread cultural support for their ideas and behavior. Doing your own thing became the in thing to do.

Tragically, a survey published in Rolling Stone magazine revealed that those who bought into the 60s counterculture mentality and believed the lies they were told, are now having trouble communicating to their own children the necessity of the values they rejected. The survey reveals that having overdosed on drugs and free love (which turned out not to be free at all) the flower children of the 60s now embrace psychiatry as something to be relied on.

Is there a standard which can be depended on to give good advice and accurate information and answers to questions about ourselves and our lives?

There is. For nearly thirty years I have been writing a newspaper column called My Answer. Actually, the column has been more than my answer to every imaginable question people have sent me. My answers are based on what the Bible says. Though cultures differ and times change, the Word of our God stands forever as an unchanging source of answers to all lifes problems.

President Reagan has correctly stated that the answer to all of lifes problems can be found in the Bible, if people would only read it. He is right because every problem known to mankind has a spiritual origin.

Chances are that you will find the answer to one or more of your questions about God, the Bible, interpersonal relationships, job frustrations, the universe, and a host of other subjects in this book. We have documented evidence that these answers have helped thousands. I am convinced that the major reason many of us seem to have so many unresolved problems is that we are ignorant of what God has to say about our problems or we reject His answer out of hand without ever giving it a try.

In more than fifty years as an evangelist I have read many books, consulted many psychologists and other experts in many fields, but I have yet to discover a course of information, practical advice and hope that compares to the wisdom found in the Bible.

My prayer is that you will discover in this book that source of information and, more important, Gods plan for your redemption through Jesus Christ.

PART ONE
RELATIONSHIPS

1
IS THERE SUCH A THING
AS TRUE LOVE?

I am in my early twenties and I have always had very high moral standards. I date a lot, but frankly Im very disillusioned about men because all they seem to be interested in is sex. I want someone to love me for myself, but now Im beginning to wonder if there is such a thing as true love.

There was a popular song a few years ago which contained the lyric, I was looking for love in all the wrong places. There is a lot of so-called love in our world today which is not really love but is instead based on selfishness and even lust. In fact, I get many letters every day from people who got married because they wanted their own selfish needs satisfied, and have only later come to realize that this does not work.

But there is such a thing as love-honest, selfless love. This is the kind of love the Bible talks about when it speaks of Gods love for us. It is also the kind of love that the Bible describes briefly but profoundly in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

My prayer is that you will stick to your standards-you will be glad you did in the years ahead. But more than that, I pray that you will commit this whole area of your life-and in fact every area of your life-to Jesus Christ. God wants to teach you what true love is, as you come to experience and understand His love for you. He also has His perfect will for your life-including your future husband, if it is His will for you to be married. Dont be satisfied with anyone less than the one who is Gods will for your lifes mate, no matter what the pressures might be.

We live in a time when Gods standards are often dismissed or scored as old-fashioned and useless. But Gods standards have not changed, and neither have His promises to those who follow Christ. There are many young men who are seeking to honor God in their lives, and you should trust God that He will lead you in the way that is best for your life.

My boyfriend is not perfect and sometimes I wonder if he would make a very thoughtful or sensitive husband, but I am afraid of letting go of him because I wonder if I will ever find another husband. What should I do about him?