Every Friday I join a community of bloggers for Five Minute Friday. One word prompt, five minutes. Unedited. The prompt this week is …Â Many.
Upon seeing the word prompt, this verse immediately came to mind:
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:19, NASB)
Afflictions can be defined as troubles, and they can come in all shapes and sizes – financial, spiritual, emotional, or physical. They can drag on for months or pass as quickly as a time out.
If life has taught us anything, it surely has taught us we will have troubles. And yet we are promised that the Lord will be with us, He will come to our rescue each time.
Whatever our trouble may be, Christ is sufficient for every one. When we feel trapped in a situation, hopeless, or think our affliction will never end, we can count on the Lord drawing near to us, being present in our lives.
While others may desert us, He stays nearer to us at those times, closer than even the air we breathe.
“Sometimes God delivers us from our problems; sometimes God delivers us through our problems.”
(from Draw the Circle, Mark Batterson)
Sometimes from.
Sometimes through.
But always from all.
“The righteous cry, and the Lord hears And delivers them out of all their troubles.” (Psalm 34:17, NASB)
**After posting, this song came to mind. After listening to it again, I came back to share it:
Photo by Krisztina Kovari on Unsplash
Today I may be joining …
Righteous? I think maybe not,
although sometimes I do try,
but by temptation I am caught
to become, quickly, That Guy
who talks a good and holy game,
whose manners are immaculate,
and then to my unending shame
I wander blindly off, forget
and wallow as a happy hog
in the mire of my sin,
Jesus lost in fleshly fog
until I once again begin
a climb out of the stinking deep,
new promises I hope to keep.
In my life God has been with me throughout the difficult times. The Psalms have been a resource, encouraging me to pray. God is faithful.
I also thought of this verse when I read this weeks writing prompt! It is such a blessing to know that God is with us always.
Visiting from FMF #8
Christ is truly all-sufficient! In our darkest times He draws closer than ever and holds us in such a fiercely loving grip.
Just stopped by from FMF #12
I am thankful God is with us in the tears and the joys. His love is forever.
I thought about that verse too, but wasn’t able to write about it, even though the Lord has been so good to me and has delivered me many times.
The song you shared, and Mark Batterson’s quote are encouraging reminders.
Thanks for sharing.
Yes, He did warn us of troubles and afflictions, but I do tend to cherry-pick and just want an abundance of ‘easy-life’ missions. Lord have mercy.
I’m so thankful that even when the trials are self-afflicted as my mind gets mired in the muck, God still sees, hearts, knows and understands my heart. He will make a way out of the quicksand!
While I don’t wish trials on anyone, it is comforting to know we’re not the only ones who have them. And more comforting to know God never leaves us alone in them!