If you live a long life, you will find yourself facing times of trouble. It may be a health issue, the loss of a relationship, the loss of a loved one, or a financial crisis. There are as many different situations where we feel we are in a time of trouble, as there are people. We each have our own circumstances and painful situations to deal with. No matter who you are troublesome situations are a reality and they will find you.
Knowing that we will all face troubles in life, brings me to the question of how will you manage them? Some turn to counselors. They bear their souls to a doctor in hopes they will equip them with various coping tools. Doctors and counselors can be great to help us determine what needs to be done, but if we are not careful, we can become dependent on the person instead of dealing with the problem. I remember a movie called “What About Bob.” Bob had become so dependent on his psychiatrist that he could not function if did not have a daily appointment. It was a hilarious movie where Bob followed the doctor on his vacation and the doctor himself became paranoid because Bob kept popping up wherever he was. Bob’s problems were not solved, the doctor just became his crutch. In trouble. some turn to alcohol or drugs. Instead of facing the problems, they escape by using stimulants to dull the pain. So much of the time the way we manage our troubles only creates more problems.
As a Christian, everything about me should be anchored in God. When I have troubles, my first response should be to take the problem to Him. However, most have the tendency to try all other resources before they turn to God.
In I Kings chapter 19, we find Elijah under a juniper tree in the desert. He has just seen the power of God in a mighty miraculous way. In I Kings 19:2, Jezebel the queen sent a message to Elijah telling him she would have him killed! He is weary, scared, and alone. These three elements can easily lead us to make wrong decisions. He feels sorry for himself and has elevated his feelings above the reality of what God can do. God was still in control, He was not asleep, but He was waiting for Elijah to trust Him. Elijah needed to remember what God had done. In chapter 18, God had answered Elijah’s prayer and shown the people that He was the living, sin-hating, prayer-hearing God. He destroyed the idols and the people fell on their faces and confessed “the Lord He is God.”
I Kings 19:2-4 “Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belonged to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.”
I Kings 18:37-39 “Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.”
How quickly we too forget where our help comes from in times of trouble. When the stress of this world pushes in we focus on the problem. We want a quick fix this seems logical and present. Our focus takes us away from the only one who has total control. He is and will be our help every day if we will trust Him and His ways. In Isaiah 55:8-9, the Lord teaches us that His ways are different from ours. Proverbs 3:5 teaches us not to trust our understanding, but His.
Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
He holds our life, and our future in His hands. In Psalms 46, the psalmist declares that God is our help. Throughout the chapter, he mentions situations where God’s help is needed, and each time he depends on God. Why do we live life striving to find answers, seeking every way possible to solve our problems, and as a last resort, we turn to the one who was ready and willing to help us with the perfect solution?
Psalm 46:1-2 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.
Is He your refuge and strength? Run to Him and trust Him. He will never fail.
