Trouble Knocks and Giants Step

When trouble knocks on my door…. I’m a wimp! Oh I don’t like it…. nope, nope, nope… not one little bit. I even hate it worse when I see precious people suffering under a load too heavy for their souls. What about people who have been so lethally wounded in their youth that they cannot get past the pain of it to live in the present? That makes my heart so sad. Hate destroys the vessel it’s kept in. There are many ugly giants to overcome in this world. Disease, accident, war injuries or line of duty injuries that completely alter a person’s life or existence are among the most difficult to bear.

How did our thinking get so jumbled that we believe the absence of those giants means happiness? Plus the thought that God doesn’t care or exist if the giants are stepping on us?

Oh boy trouble knocks, giants step but God never promises to remove us from our struggles. He does promise, however, to change the way we look at them. When trouble knocks it always helps me when I ask God, “how can I be your woman in this situation – right here, right now”. I pray until the answer comes. "We live by faith, not by sight." (2 Cor. 5:7, NIV)

God promises to correct us and uses our troubles to that end. I often get trouble when I act on my own to solve a problem. That gets things done my way but did I serve the Lord? Were my actions glorifying God? “It was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws”. (Ps. 119:71-72, LB)

There are times we are suffering and we want it to stop but God is actually protecting us from something far worse. I call those my joy in hindsight problems. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good”. (Gen. 50:20, NIV)

Sometimes we have trouble come our way when God is lighting a fire underneath us to get us going in the right direction. Remember not getting your homework done? And the consequences? A little fire direction there? Be very glad if you learned that lesson during school days. "Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways." (Pr. 20:30, GN)

God also uses problems to examine our hearts - People are like teabags if you want to know what's inside them, just drop them into hot water! Has God ever tested your faith with a problem? What do problems reveal about you? “When you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience”. (James 1:2-3, NCV)

God is far more interested in your character than your comfort. He brings problems to develop and deepen your character. Your relationship to God and your character are the only two things you're going to take with you into eternity. “We can rejoice when we run into problems they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady”. (Rom. 5:3-4, LB)

A pearl to string: God is at work in your life - even when you do not recognize it or understand it. “Be merciful and gracious to me, O God, for my soul takes refuge and finds shelter and confidence in You; yes, in the shadow of your wings will I take refuge and be confident until calamities and destructive storms are passed.” (Ps. 57:1, AMP)

Trouble is not your enemy – satan is!
But Jesus is the victor
You are loved,
Lyndi