All tagged trouble
06/10/2024
This morning we contemplate the sufferings of this world and life as compared to the spiritual rewards we have through our faith. The pain, disappointment, and anguish we have as we pass through this existence seems great, but when compared to our final reward it is nothing.
I have been thinking about some thoughts presented by Pastor E.M. Bounds' in his devotional message this morning. I have been contemplating a couple of statements he made that I found quite thought provoking and revealing; the first is "The end of trouble is always good to God." And the second was "Trouble proves a blessing or a curse, depending on how it is received and treated by us." These fit nicely with a conclusion I reached a long time ago. I came to the realization that man is the source of trouble in creation. Let me explain my thoughts...
Let’s quickly define "divine providence" in our lives today as it relates to the “trouble” we experience. The concept of “divine providence” has different, and broader, meanings to various denominations and religions but is generally the same in the fact that it is regarded to mean that God is in control of creation. So without going too much further into the differences between what people believe, let’s agree to agree on this focused idea. Now onto the word, and focus of our study today, “trouble”. E.M. Bounds wrote that "trouble naturally belongs to God's moral government and is one of His invaluable agents in governing the world.” He wrote this while expounding on the subject of "trouble”, which in and of its self is a very interesting concept. I was thrilled with the scripture reference he chose to use today...
All trouble in our lives is under Devine control, and that was the title of the devotional message I read this morning. The author went on to say that "Trouble is neither above nor beyond His control. It is not independent of God." This is the deeper meaning his opening scripture. You see, God is able to take any adverse situation in our lives and either solve it as a problem or reform it entirely to work His will for us. So, he used one of the most quoted verses in the bible to make his point and reassure us...
Is there a purpose drawn from the trouble we face in our lives? E.M. Bounds believed so and answers that question in this way: "Trouble is under the control of God and is one of His most efficient agents in fulfilling His purposes and in perfecting His saints." To make this point Bounds chose two verses from 1st Peter as the basis for this argument...
My morning devotional reading dealt with trouble in our lives and didn't paint a very hopeful picture. It began by saying "trouble is a part of a person's everyday life on earth”, and then concluded with the statement that people who look for sunshine and roses in life "are the people who don't know God, who know nothing of His disciplinary dealings with His people and who are prayerless." Both of these quotes are from Pastor E.M. Bounds and he selected a scripture from Job to accompany them...
My devotional reading by E.M. Bounds today was titled "Trouble Has No Power" and he said this about life's challenges: "Good and bad alike experience trouble. Trouble is no evidence whatsoever of divine displeasure." As Christians we have heard this many times and from a number of sources, and we know it to be true, but if we are not careful and seek God as we should we might find that the world’s troubles can distract us from our spiritual resolve. If we are not careful then we will allow the world to place itself between us and our prayer closet, and Satan will use our earthly troubles and circumstances in an attempt to encourage fear, and to discourage our deep abiding love and belief in God, and Jesus Christ. Satan has no power over us as believers that we can’t overcome by holding firm to God’s Word, and knowing that His Son Jesus has taken our sin from us, and conquered death. Is our relationship with the divine secure in our faith, and belief in Christ?
Are you experiencing hardship in your life right now? Is there a problem at work, a health issue, the loss of a loved one? There are so many troubles that plague us in life, and being a Christian doesn't exempt us from them... but it does help us through them. Our God is not bound to this world, and Jesus, our savior, tells us that He too has overcome it. Answered prayer, like the way we worship, comes in spirit and truth. Are you looking far enough into your faith to find it?
When we face great difficulty, or are taken captive by some form of trouble, we turn immediately to God, and begin to search His Word for relief. Those who rarely read the Bible do so when they are hurting, and pour over its pages until at last they latch onto a key verse or two that help them deal with what they are facing in their lives… then they memorize them, and recite them time and again in prayer. There is nothing line feeling separated from God, or a serious problem to bring us close to Him… is this where we are today? Are we in the midst of trouble, and seeking, or returning to Him for relief? Well, He will reveal Himself to us in such times.
Are we feeling particularly blessed, and think that God has set us atop the world? Well, don’t get too comfortable there because the Lord sends us into solitary places, places that seem contrary to our service to Him, and there, in a sorrowful state, a lowly existence, He feeds us, and increases us in our faith. We were doing everything He asked, and leading a righteous life to glorify Him, when suddenly we are struck lame, made sick, suffered the death of a loved one, lost all that we have worked so hard for, or perhaps had a beloved child walk away from God, and we find ourselves in a wilderness, or alone beside the brook Cherith… humbled and unable to feed ourselves. Have we been there? Has the sunny day we have been enjoying suddenly darkened and a storm settled over us?
We want to live easy happy lives, but trouble always seems to find us. In the midst of them we cry out to the Lord for relief, and to have mercy on us, but these are the very times that strengthen us most, and prepare us for what lies ahead in our service to God. David would not have been the king that he was had he not first faced Goliath, been pursued by King Saul, or lusted for Bathsheba, and faced the repercussions of that sin. All of the hard things in our lives temper us, and by going through them we are made stronger. We are not made stronger BY our distress, but IN it.
How do we look to God in our times of trouble? Do we pray to Him for help, and faithfully continue in those prayers for His deliverance in spite of our suffering, or do we blame Him for allowing such a predicament to have befallen us? Do we believe that He is there with us, and stand firm in the courage that His promise provides us, or do we fall prey to a feeling of abandonment, and quake with fear? Let’s ask ourselves this question again… How do we look to God in our times of trouble?
What do we do when the articles of our faith go missing from within our churches? What do we seek when the Arc of our faith can no longer be found in the houses of worship where we once experienced God’s presence, and forgiveness? If every church, cathedral, temple, and house of worship, were demolished, where would we turn to find God? We should do what so many of us did during the COVID 19 pandemic, and what so many others have done under extreme persecution, we open His Word in our hearts, and seek God in our quiet places by retreating into our own temples to worship Him… into the temples of our bodies, and the safe havens of our homes. In these, the personal sanctuaries of our faith, and belief, we find God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. In these places our spirituality remains safe, and is secure from its enemies. The door to heaven remains open.
We Christians are not immune to the trouble that is in the world, and we experience the hatred of men, just as Jesus did. Jesus told us this would happen, and that not only would we be hated, but killed as well. Yet our hope remains in the Lord, and although we are perplexed by His allowing suffering to continue in our lives, we do praise Him in its midst, and see the good lessons that come from each one. David understood that earthly trouble would come, and he asked the Lord the same question that many of us continue to ask Him today… “Why do you stand far away?”
No matter what troubles we face as Christians, we not only find that God leads us through them, but that during the most immense, intense, and frightening of them, the love of God gives us not only victory, but leads us triumphant through Heaven’s streets in celebration of our complete victory over them. We not only survive life’s ordeals, but thrive in the midst of them. How exhilarating it is to feel the wind in our face during a storm, or how alive we are when we experience the intense fear of standing too close to a precipice. So God is with us in our storms, and in every danger, but not to simply watch over us, but to lead us through them victorious, and then in triumphant procession as we reflect His glory.