The Day of Trouble

Have you ever woken up to a day of sickness, a condition that won’t go away, or an illness that sticks to you like a clothing? What about lack and want, or maybe the pandemic has struck close home? Maybe you’re facing rebellion from your teen, or a marital relationship gone south and you feel overwhelmed. Even right now you’re probably experiencing a troubled day? When you become fearful, terrified, snares and temptations assail your way, and you feel besieged, your day of trouble is here.
The psalmist acknowledges that there is such a day- called “the day of trouble”.

Psalm 27: 5
“For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.”

Many men and women of God have, and will continue to experience their day of trouble.

I want to encourage somebody who is experiencing a troublesome day. The Lord knows about it and if you give him an opportunity, he will help you.

Ps 91:1 promises whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 

The word dwelling means staying-not visiting, but staying there perpetually. When you do, then, you will you find rest. So in your day of trouble, make the shelter of the almighty your habitation, and you will find rest. Rest here means, that though the trouble remains, your soul is at peace. Isaiah 26 :3 says,  “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.”

Secondly, not only will you find rest but you will be hidden from the enemy that seeks to destroy you.
You see the enemy causes trouble so that he can strike you at your most vulnerable point.

Psalm 91:3 promises that the Lord will surely save you. The word, “surely ” is a definite. If the Lord says it, he means it.

So the Lord will not only give you rest,he will hide you and save you. What a promise.

The writer of Ps 27 begins by acknowledging that “The Lord is my light and my salvation — whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?”
In your day of trouble you need not fear.

You may ask though, when will my days of trouble end, I seem to live here. Will I wake up some day and realise I’m free from this trouble? Sometimes it’s like all I do is keep hoping that things will be different but lo, nothing seems to change, you feel.

Just like you and I, the psalmist also got to that place of despair, and he began to plead with the Lord. He however encouraged himself and us. He says in Ps 27:13 (KJV), “I had fainted, unless I had believed…” Faith kept him in that place of trust. The NIV renders it this way, “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

We need a confidence beyond what we can see and touch, and that is called faith. Habakkuk says that though the object of our faith may tarry, it shall surely come to pass (Habakkuk 2:2-3). He also says that the just shall live by faith – Chapter2, verse 4b.

Though it seems like nothing is moving in our day of trouble , the psalmist encourages us to wait.
Ps 27:14 says, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
This word, “wait for the Lord” is repeated in this verse for emphasis. And that is the key to our breakthrough. The Bible encourages believers to wait. In a microwave generation, this is a hard call. However, waiting renews our strength. Isaiah 40:30 says, “they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” It does not necessarily mean you get what you want, it doesn’t mean your issue disappears like mist, but as you wait, the Holy Spirit helps to ready you for the breakthrough that is coming your way.

David in Psalm 40:1 says, “I waited patiently for the Lord.” He did not only wait, pacing and wondering when the Lord was coming to deliver him, but he waited patiently. Patience is a great virtue in your day of trouble.
So beloved if you’re experiencing the day of trouble, wait, the Lord is doing something about it. 

I read a post recently about a “lesson from the ATM machine”. That, when you put your card in the ATM machine, after confirming your details, you get a message that says, wait, your transaction is being processed. After this, all you can do is WAIT. When the process is over, you receive whatever you asked for. So, WAIT, whatever you requested is being processed.

May I say that we are all candidates for “the day of trouble “. If you’re not there yet, your day is coming. There are those who were on the queue before you, there are those behind you, do your best to encourage them once you get to the other side of the queue.

I conclude with this promise from our father from Psalm 91:14&15, that after the wait He says, “Because he * (put your name )* loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;*( name)*I will protect him *(name)*, for he *(name)*acknowledges my name.
He *(name) * will call on me, and I will answer him*( name)*I will be with him *(name)*in trouble,
I will deliver him*(name)* and honor *(name)* him.

May the Lord be with you and encourage you in your day of trouble.