Who do you call in a crisis? We teach our children from an early age to dial 911. Maybe you have a friend you would call. You might call your pastor or your church. But who do you call when the lines are down and the electricity is out and the roads are impassible? Who do you call when everything and everyone you depend on is out of reach? Who do you call when you are alone in the face of overwhelming difficulty? Consider the following invitation from God.
Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me. (Psalm 50:15 NASB)
Did you know that your day of trouble is a day marked on God’s calendar? God is not surprised by the arrival of trouble into our lives or by its intensity. Jesus said, “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34 NASB)
The God who gives us our daily bread—the God who is our provider in times that appear to be good—will not fail to be our provider in times that are bad. He foresees calamity and has made preparation in our behalf in advance of its arrival.
The day of trouble will make you feel distant from God. Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? (Psalm 10:1 NASB)
Is it true that God hides Himself in a time of trouble? That is the way trouble makes us feel. But our feelings offer no truth about God. He is not distant or distracted. Once, Jesus’ disciples were battling a storm on the sea of Galilee. They were alone. In the early morning darkness, Jesus came walking across the water. Peter saw Him and said, “Lord, if it is you, call me to come to you across the water.” Jesus extended the invitation to Peter, and Peter began to walk on the surface of the water toward Jesus. In the midst of the storm, Peter took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink. But Jesus never took His eyes off Peter, and he didn’t sink. Trouble may convince me to take my eyes off my Lord, but He will never take His eyes off me.
The day of trouble may last for more than one day and will test your faith to the limit. When trouble is right in front of your face, that is one thing. But there are times when trouble is in front of me and behind me, it is on my left and on my right, it is hangs over my head and lies under my feet. David knew what it was to walk in the midst of trouble, and so do I. Is that where you are walking?
Thankfully, I might be walking in the midst of trouble—but I’m still walking. I may be worn out and worried out, yet I have faith that God will bring me out! It was when Elijah ran from Jezebel and was so tried by his trouble that he felt he couldn’t take another step or live another day—that God sent an angel to revive his wearied spirit. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, God will revive me just as He revived men like David and Elijah.
The day of trouble is a day to call upon the Lord. I cry aloud with my voice to the LORD; I make supplication with my voice to the LORD. pour out my complaint before Him; I declare my trouble before Him. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, You knew my path. (Psalm 142:1-3 NASB)
The day of trouble is a day to pray. When you call 911, the rescue squad comes with siren sounding. You can tell God about your trouble. Like the Psalmist, you can pour out your complaint before His throne.
Why turn to God when trouble overwhelms your spirit? Because He knows the road you travel. He knows what you had, He knows what you lost, and He knows what you need!
He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. (Psalm 91:15 NASB)
Where is God when you are in trouble? God promises that if you call Him, He will answer and will be with you in trouble. He will be the fourth man in your fire, your present help in time of trouble, your portion, your deliverer, your shelter from the storm, your refuge and your strength, your shepherd, and the sustainer of your soul!
For He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5b-6 NASB)
For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock. (Psalm 27:5 NASB)
The day of trouble is a day that will bring glory to God. How? I don’t know how, I only know WHO! The God who works all things after the counsel of His will—the God who works all things together good for those who love Him—He is the ONE who will bring Himself Glory in the midst of your trouble.
When we call to God in our trouble, God promises our journey through trouble will bring honor to Him (Psalm 50:15). The word translated honor in that verse is the Hebrew word for glory. When does our trouble bring God glory? It brings Him glory every time we trust our trouble into His hand! It brings Him glory every time we call upon Him in our trouble!
The disciples found a man who was born blind, and they asked Jesus, “Who has sinned this man or his parents that he should be born blind?” And Jesus said, “neither—but that the works of God should be displayed in Him.” In other words, his trouble was an opportunity for God to display His glory.
In the New Testament, a man named Lazarus was sick. He was sick to the point of death. He was so sick he would die. But Jesus saw his trouble from the perspective of Heaven and He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”
Imagine how Lazarus would have felt as he walked in the mist of his trouble, if Jesus had said, “Lazarus, you are going to face a time of terrible trouble like you have never known. You are going to sink so low in that trouble that neither you nor anyone around you will see any hope for the future. But Lazarus, your sisters are going to call upon Me in your day of trouble, and I am going to rescue you. When I rescue you from that pit of a predicament, you will honor me from that day on! From here to eternity, people will be talking about your trouble, and your trouble will never cease to honor Me!”
What if God is doing the same thing with the trouble you face? To you, it may seem like the end of the world. But from Heaven’s perspective, it is an opportunity for you to claim and prove and proclaim the promise of God! Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me. (Psalm 50:15 NASB)
Photo by Kat J
