No exemption from troubles

Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16: 33

Unfortunately for the Christian, we are not exempt from troubles and difficulties in this life but the one thing we can be absolutely sure of is that God is with us in the midst of all our difficulties and he is fighting for us. 

Whilst I would never happily embrace trouble, I know that it is in the hard times that my character has been shaped and my dependence on God and his goodness deepened. I have no problem donning my armour, resisting the devil and enforcing the victory Jesus won for us at the cross but sometimes it seems we have to walk through a long, hard valley of the shadow of death.  It is important that we never forget: 

‘I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.’ Psalm 23: 4

God is with us.

I had the great pleasure of listening recently to a message preached by a young lady who I used to teach. It was incredible. It was prophetic, full of Scripture and truly inspirational.

However this young lady went through some tough times whilst at university. She plays the violin and was studying music. She hurt her wrist and was unable to play her violin for quite a while, something she both loves but was also essential to her gaining her degree. All the time she couldn’t play, she studied hard but also did all she could to help with concerts that others were playing in and that she would have loved to be participating in. She didn’t stay away, feeling sorry for herself, she sold tickets and programmes, served refreshments and helped out in any way possible. That is character building. That is what lays foundation blocks in our lives that become essential to being able to preach inspirational messages later. 

 Another lady that has had terrible trouble but is also truly inspirational is Joni Eareckson Tada. At age 17, she foolishly dived into the water and broke her neck on a hidden rock. For 50 years now she has been unable to move any part of her body from her neck down. She is in constant pain and has to rely on others for every single thing to do with her body. 

Does she regret her foolish dive? Of course but has she given up on her life? Never. She now has a worldwide ministry of speaking engagements, radio and TV broadcasts and books inspiring others both able and disabled. God has opened doors for her that would never have been opened if she had been able bodied. She is a mighty champion for the disabled, influencing governments, and involved in all manner of programmes worldwide.

 If you ever need a bit of encouragement, find one of her programmes on YouTube or read one of her books. She really epitomises Romans 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 

Troubles will come and find us and we must do all we can to fight the devil and all his works because that is what Jesus came to do- For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3: 8. 

However we know God is always with us and sometimes we must walk through hardships, letting our Lord form his character in us, shaping us for the journey ahead, trusting that our lives are in his hand and that he is working out his plans and purposes. 

The walls came tumbling down

They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. Numbers 13: 27 – 28

I am sure we are all familiar with the story of the 12 spies sent into the Promised Land to scout it out. They saw what a wonderful place it was flowing with milk and honey just as God had said but they also the powerful people and the fortified cities. 10 of the spies, full of fear, persuaded the Israelites that they could not take they land despite Joshua and Caleb’s assurance that with God on their side, it could be done.

No doubt the 10 spies looked at the fortified cities and remembered the towering walls of Egypt and their life of slavery. For them it meant disaster and failure, an obstacle too big to overcome but they were looking at the cities and themselves instead of their God. They forgot the ten amazing plagues and how God completely routed the Egyptian army whilst leading them safely across the Red Sea on dry land. They forgot how God provided water, manna and quail for them to eat. All they saw was an insurmountable problem. 

Forty years later, another generation also saw the fortified city of Jericho but they knew who their God was and what he could do. They had not grown up in slavery; they had grown up in the desert and were keen to get into the Promised Land. In order to do this the fortified city would have to be defeated. They learned that looking to God, being obedient by praising him and towering, fortified walls would just collapse at a unified obedient shout to the Lord of hosts.  They didn’t have to fight but they did have to overcome fear – fear of looking stupid, fear of it ‘not working’, fear of failure. They trusted their miracle working God and they were not disappointed.

We too may have fortified cities standing against us by which I mean problems that look insurmountable or situations that seem all locked up. It may be unbelieving family or friends and it feels like they will never get saved. It may be problems at work or even in church which seem as if they will never change. It can be in a host of different situations but the solution is always the same. God – our miracle working God.  There is nothing than can withstand our God and his obedient people. Absolutely nothing. We need to ask God for the strategy to see these insurmountable difficulties overcome and the walls will come tumbling down.