I will be with him in trouble

The 91st Psalm is a great comfort to many in the Christian faith. Let’s look at just a part of the chapter that I believe will deal with everyone at some point in their lives, some more often than others.

Verse 15 says “He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him.”

This verse is somewhat of a surprise, as it seems up to this point in the chapter that the godly man is living a charmed life in spite of snares, plagues, arrows, pestilence, lions, dragons, darkness and destruction all around him.

Then comes, “I will be with him in trouble.”

Many have asked “why does God allow trouble in our lives?”

Let’s look at a couple of possible reasons.

I believe God loves us too well and too wisely to leave us continually in perfect circumstances.

This is not where character is formed.

Someone said “A calm sea never made a skilled sailor.”

The poem Pleasure and Sorrow says:

I walked a mile with Pleasure

She chatted all the way,

But left me none the wiser

For all she had to say

I waked a mile with Sorrow

And never a word said she;

But oh! The lessons that I learned

When sorrow walked with me.

Trouble builds character and integrity in us as well as other things.

Also, it is in times of trouble that God has given His best opportunities to show His love, power and protection.

It is in times of trouble that we hear His words, “when you pass through the waters, the rivers will not overflow you,” or “when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned.”

It is in these times that we find Him “a very present help in time of trouble.”

How many married couples, happy and truly in love on their wedding day, never realized how deeply they loved or how much they meant to each other until they have gone through some rough times together.

How many have found out who their true friends were when trials and troubles came into the scene.

This is where faith and faithfulness are put to the test and grow.

If you are going through a time of trials in your life, put your faith in God. Trust that he has a purpose for it if He has allowed it.

He is faithful and will work it out for the good of those who love and trust him (Romans 8:28).

As Christians we should neither look to cause trouble, nor fear trouble because our extremities are his opportunities.

Eddie Sims is associated pastor at Valley Christian Fellowship