“Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me” (Psalm 50:15).
I’m ashamed to admit that I don’t often do a very good job of calling on God in times of trouble.
Going to him with my problems is often an afterthought or last resort when all other options have been exhausted—and it’s usually just for the big problems. When I have no one and nothing else to whom I can turn. When I can’t fix or resolve whatever trouble I’m facing. Maybe that’s true for you too.
Why do we do that?
As Christians, we believe in the God who has been, is, and always will be there for us. That’s what he promises in his Word. And by faith, we believe him. Why don’t we go to God first when experiencing trouble—of any kind?
No problem is too big for our God. But we sometimes think that certain troubles of ours are too small. They’re beneath God. Maybe we feel that asking for his help on something so insignificant would waste his time. “I don’t want to bother God with this—I’ll deal with it myself.” But as we know from painful, firsthand experience, the weight of small problems and troubles can add up, little by little, until they become too big and impossible for us to manage.
What are we doing when we don’t bring God all our troubles, including our small and insignificant ones? God doesn’t quantify how much trouble we have to be in before we can call on him—so why do we? When we do that, we’re subtly deceiving ourselves to believe the lie that God doesn’t want to hear our small and insignificant troubles.
Not only is that way of thinking false, but it’s also damaging to how we view God. We start to believe that God only wants us to come to him with our big problems. That certainly isn’t how God reveals himself to us in his Word. He isn’t a God who can’t be bothered with our problems until they pass a certain threshold. He wants us to come to him with all our troubles, fears, worries, and anxieties.
Dear Christian, nothing is too big. Nothing is too small.
Our God promises that he will listen. Our God promises that he wants to listen. Not begrudgingly or exasperatedly, wondering why we’d even bother bringing such a small and insignificant thing before him. But lovingly. Our heavenly Father lovingly listens because these problems matter to us, and we matter to God.
How do we know?
Because God doesn’t just listen when we call on him—he answers. He sent his one and only Son to live and die for us so that we would know beyond a shadow of a doubt how much he loves us. He has delivered us from our greatest troubles, troubles we couldn’t hope to overcome: sin, death, and the devil. Will he not deliver us from everything else as well?
Of course, he will.
How? Sometimes, he delivers us with an earthly solution to our trouble. Other times, our trouble remains—but God still delivers us, because he is always working in the way that is best for our spiritual good. No matter what happens, God wants us to be with him in heaven forever.
He says to us in his Word, “Call on me! Bring me all of your troubles; lay them at my feet. Listen to my Word—you are my dearly loved child, fully and freely forgiven. Hear my words of peace—the peace that is always yours in Jesus. Yes, you will have trouble in this world. Trouble from being my child; trouble from living in a sinful world. But take heart! Your Savior Jesus has overcome this world for you. Eternal life is yours, and nothing will separate you from my love.”
Dear Christian, may God’s Word strengthen us and remind us to go to him first with our troubles, knowing that he wants us to bring them to him—no matter how big or small they may be. He cares for us. He loves us. He delivers us in Jesus.
Let’s give him honor and praise.
Only you and God fully know the troubles you face every day. But God alone knows the plans he has for you. Sometimes you might plead for his grace to change a difficult situation, but tough times don’t always change immediately, if ever at all. Prayers for People Under Pressure contains 97 prayers written for such times to help you draw close to God and receive the strength to persevere through all adversity.
Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
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