The Psalmist made this statement to the Almighty: “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me” (Psalms 138:7).  To know that God is with us and able to deliver us is comforting.  Moreover, to have the faith to state that you know God will deliver and save you from evil is powerful.  There is not much that this world and the god of this world can do to your faith if you truly believe God is powerful enough to deliver you.  We need a higher hand of might for we, like the Psalmist, walk in the midst of trouble.

     Any faithful Christian will often feel, as did Paul, that they are troubled on every side if they walk worthy of the high calling while in the midst of this world (II Corinthians 4:8).  Yet, as Peter said: “But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled” (I Peter 3:14).  This world is certainly not the home of those who are in Christ Jesus (I John 2:15-17).  As we, being faithful Christians, spend time in this world we will find that we have nothing in common with those who are of this world.  Jesus said, of His disciples in a prayer to His Father, this statement that should apply to all saints: “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17:14).

     Upon this earth we walk in the midst of trouble because of the choices men and women have made in opposition to God’s will.  Most of those who inhabit this earth that God created and sustains oppose all that He wants of them.  This is reflected in what is recorded about our Lord’s time on this earth: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.   For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved” (John 3:19-20).

     As Christians we walk in the midst of trouble because the evil that is in this world surrounds us on a daily basis.  You cannot go to buy food for your family without seeing the immodesty of others and the ungodly publications that are displayed in the line you pass through to pay for your groceries.  You may turn on your television to watch an innocent program, but what about the commercials that may air during that program?  Where we work, play, travel, etc. we find that we are in the midst of trouble.  We can find comfort in that this world is our trying ground and that we will have a reward if we endure (I Peter 1:3-9).  We can also find comfort in that fact that we can be dead to this world and be revived through the work of God.

     There are two points that I wish to make from the fact that God will revive us.  The first is simple.  We become dead to this world through conversion into Christ (Romans 6:2-3).  God then gain newness of life (Romans 6:4).  At the point of conversion into Christ we have become dead to sin and alive unto the Lord (Romans 6:6 and II Corinthians 5:17).  Additionally, this world tries daily to kill our spiritual man which is in Christ Jesus.  To this point Paul wrote: “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (II Corinthians 4:16). That is comforting for from these facts we know that this troublesome world can have no lasting effect on our souls.  Still yet, this world does have a physical effect on us.

     The second point is a simple point as well.  If we have been born into this world we know that we shall leave this world because of death (Hebrews 9:27).  Death entered into this world because of the sins of Adam and Eve (I Corinthians 15:21).  Still yet, God will revive us (Romans 6:8-11 and I Corinthians 15:22).  Regardless of what man shall do unto us, God will revive us.  Certainly, those who would oppose those of us who are God’s children have a lot to fear.

     “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us” (Romans 8:31)?  In reality I could stop on this point at this one Scripture (though that would not finish this article at the needed length, thus I shall write on).  Solomon wrote saying: “The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead” (Proverbs 11:8).  The Hebrew writer assures us saying: “…The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me” (Hebrews 13:6).  As Christians all who do evil will hate us for what we are.  Jesus assures us of that.  In fact, Jesus said this to His disciples: “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.  Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also” (John 15:18-20).

     It is never good to know that you’ll have enemies.  That is of course unless your friends are bigger than your enemies.  If you are a faithful Christian you have no greater friend than our Lord who died for you (John 15:13).  He is certainly bigger than any enemy we can have on this earth.  To this end, we should not fear what man will do to us.  We should fear He who is able to destroy both the body and the soul (Matthew 10:28).  Furthermore, we need to remember that God will make sure that we are taken care of according to His divine will (Romans 8:28 and I Corinthians 10:13).  After all, God’s goal is for us to be and remain saved!

     When this life ends all that matters is where you will spend eternity.  What we face here on earth is but for a season, our destination in that world to come is eternal (Matthew 25:46).  People often quote the twenty-third Psalm, but few understand what it means to be saved by God.  We may die on this earth due to ungodly persecution.  At times God will allow our enemies to prevail (at least in the sight of men).  Then, when we do die, God’s salvation is truly realized.  For the faithful Christian death is the greatest gain we’ll ever have (Philippians 1:21).  Why?  Isn’t that what the life of a Christian is all about?  Aren’t we living here towards the prize at the end of the race of life (Philippians 3:14-15)?

     God will save us in the end because He promises us so (Titus 1:2).  The point of the life and death of Christ was for the obedient to have everlasting life (Romans 5:6-10, Hebrews 5:8-9, and James 1:12).  Sadly, there will be those who do not love the truth that they might receive salvation (II Thessalonians 2:10).  Let us not be of that number.  We need to strive to be those walking in the midst of trouble, not those who are causing the trouble.  We can be in this world so long as we are not of this world.  Let us live now to be ready for the day of salvation.

     Paul wrote the brethren in Rome saying: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35-39).  We should all be able to say: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory” (I Corinthians 15:55)?  Though we are all in the midst of trouble, truly the victory over death is eternal life which comes to us through our Savior (I Corinthians 15:57).  God will use His might in protecting us now and saving us in the end!