(Day 2)
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord.
– Psalm 77:2
Many of us spend most of our time and energy to try to insulate ourselves from trouble. We think of ways to protect ourselves and our families so that no trouble will befall us. I think of parents who try all ways and means to shield their children from misfortune, even going to extreme measures of confronting other parents or school authorities. Yet this is a vain endeavour.
The bible tells us that trouble is a sure fact of life. We can never escape meeting it. Job 5:7 tells us that man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward. Trouble comes in the form of adverse circumstances in life, encounters with difficult people or experiences of inner pressures and stress. No one on earth is immune from trouble. The day of trouble will come.
Yet the important thing is not about avoiding troubles by dealing with it.
Here the psalmist tells us the tried and true method: he seeks the Lord in his time of trouble. This is a recurrent theme throughout the Scriptures. Psalm 121 also says, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” It is only the Lord who can truly help and save us.
How are you coping in your day of trouble today? Don’t seek to escape from it but seek the Lord’s help to save.
God our shepherd,
you led us and saved us in times of old;
do not forget your people in their troubles,
but raise up your power
to sustain us in our poverty and helplessness;
for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Revd Ian🙏