January 1, 2019

A manufacturing plant experienced a power failure that shut down production. Customer contracts with looming deadlines put immediate pressure on the plant manager to solve the problem with alacrity.

The plant manager took pride in timely fulfilling contracts and was a seasoned problem solver who was energized by challenges. He reacted decisively to problems that impaired his ability to meet customer expectations. His standard mode of operation was to hyper focus on the problem, which caused him to be insensitive to people.

The plant manager’s engineering specialty was power. But when the power failure occurred, he initially deferred to his subordinate, the production manager, to solve the problem. But the plant manager was quickly frustrated by the production manager’s dilatory progress. The production line was large and complex; there was no backup. To meet customer commitments, the production line had to return to service quickly. So, in a move that displayed a lack of sensitivity to the production manager, the plant manager took over.

The issue was probably a short circuit in the power distribution system but locating it proved elusive even for the plant manager. Hours passed with no progress. Finally, the plant manager, who was a Christian, in frustration prayed and asked the Lord for wisdom.

Prayer is an act of faith, humility, and dependence upon God. Though the plant manager claimed to be committed to living congruent with his faith, it was not his practice to pray in a crisis. Generally, he found that he could solve problems using his own skill, training, and experience. But the solution to this problem was vexing; it defied his abilities, so he prayed.

Shortly later, he learned that a technician, working on an unrelated problem, reported an unexplained noise. The plant manager and his team quickly went to the area and discovered the problem. A component in the power distribution system had malfunctioned. The defective component was part of an engineered system. The best solution was a new system but it would delay restarting the production line by weeks. Production would be shut down until the new system was received and installed. This was unacceptable.

Then one of the staff members told the plant manager about a power system—identical to the one on the production line—in another part of the plant. That power system was not in use and was able to be moved to the production line to effect an immediate repair. Soon the production line was back in service; no customer deadlines were missed.

This experience was life changing for the plant manager. He knew that he had not solved this problem by his own wisdom or strength. God had responded to his prayer and led him to both locate the problem and the solution. The plant manager realized that his normal approach to problem solving was based on self-reliance, not on reliance on the Lord. He also realized that his approach was autocratic and therefore highly insensitive to his subordinates. He recognized that God had shown him a better way. The plant manager experienced divine problem solving.

Jesus presented the seminal principle for problem solving in the following text:

Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him. (Matthew 7:7–11 CSB)

The God of the Bible is the consummate Father who lovingly and appropriately responds to requests from his sons and daughters. The process presented by Jesus can be reduced to the acronym ASK, which stands for ask, seek, and knock.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5–6 CSB)

The plant manager’s initial response illustrated the pedestrian approach to problem solving. Contrary to Scripture, he leaned on his own understanding rather than trusting the Lord. He sought to identify the problem and developed solutions with little regard to divine guidance. This was a proud naturalistic approach void of spiritual discernment.

God was loving and merciful to not, sometimes, allow the naturalistic approach to work. The plant manager was given a wonderful gift as a problem solver. But in this case, his problem-solving prowess failed, which drove him to prayer—dependence on God—the proper place to start a problem-solving process.

The manager experienced, in part, the divine problem-solving principle when he finally humbled himself and sought the Lord. In reflecting on this situation, he realized that his normal naturalistic, self-reliant approach to problem solving was based on his own limited understanding. The manager repented and saw a glimpse of God’s problem-solving methodology based on ASK. This was a priceless lesson.

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