Dealing With Trouble
Theme: Handling trouble before trouble handles us.
Introductory Remarks
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we always felt as though we were always on "top of the world?" That we would always be in a positive mood, with circumstances involving us always to our liking. That people would always treat us with the respect we feel is due us, and give us all the affirmation and love that we desire and need
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This sounds good when we let our thoughts dwell on it, but all of us know from our own personal experiences in everyday living that life doesn’t come to us neatly packaged like that. Life does have its days of sunshine filled with laughter and expectancy. But it also has its days of storms that are filled with anxiety and uncertainty. Storms filled with the fierce winds of conflict, challenge, and change. Storms that bring troubles into our life that we must learn to deal with before they shipwreck us on the sea of life.
Today/tonight, I want to share with you some practical biblical truths that will help us weather the storm of trouble when it blows into our life. I’ve labeled this teaching " How to Deal With Trouble." It’s based on an incident in the life of the Apostle Paul that’s recorded in the twenty seventh chapter of the book of Acts. It’s the story of Paul’s encounter with a storm on the Mediterranean Sea on his way to Rome as a prisoner to be tried before Caesar. From this incident, I believe we can learn how to stay calm and maintain our confidence and courage when we are encountering storms (troubles) in our life no matter how fierce they may be.
Dealing With Our Troubles
Point I:
As you turn in your bibles to Acts 27, I mention three things about trouble you need to know.
You have just gotten out of it
You’re in it right now
You are headed for it
Trouble is something that belongs to the human race. I’ve yet to meet anyone who can boast of being totally free from it. It is one of those common denominators that links everyone who has lived, who is now living, or who will live on this earth. Job, who had his share of troubles, tells us "man is born unto trouble" (Job 5:7) and again "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble." Job 14:1. Troubles plague the human race.
Troubles produce "tough days." We’ve all experienced them and we know that some seem to be worse than others are. I’ve had days "pop up" in my life and no doubt you have too, when you wonder why you ever crawled out of bed that morning, and then you wonder if you’re going to make it back to bed that night. In the comic strip Peanuts, Charlie Brown is saying to Lucy, "I’ve got so many troubles that if anything happens to me today it will be two weeks before I can worry about it." Can you identify with Charlie? Here’s a fact about life that you can count on happening no matter who you are. Trouble, in one or more of its various forms, is going to come knocking unexpectedly at your door one day. Don’t spend your time looking for it - for it will find you. Trouble knows your address. Prepare yourself in advance to deal with whatever your "it" may be.
Christians encounter "tough days" too. We really do a great injustice to others if we leave the impression in our preaching and witnessing that becoming a Christian will automatically exempt a person from experiencing any troubles or difficulties in life. When Job said, "A man is born unto trouble," he stated a truth that applies to all mankind. Not even Christian "super faith" can change that truth. Christ brings many gifts into our life when we are born again, but a state of perpetual tranquillity free from troubles is not one of them. In this life, there are no utopias for us to live in. There are no cities, neighborhoods, nor churches that are ideal or free from troubles or does not need change or improvement in some way. There are no jobs that don’t have its share of frustrations, discouragement or disappointments. Some have more than others do. It’s unrealistic to believe that every venture we endeavor will be successful or that we will be perfect in all we attempt to do. Sometimes for various reasons we may fail to achieve the goal we have set. But we shouldn’t let that failure become fatal to us. Jesus told the disciples, "In this world you will have troubles, but take heart, I have overcome the world." John 16:33 Although none of us has immunity from the troubles of life that come our way, God gives us a message of encouragement in His Word when He promises to help us when those troubles come.
Psalms 50:15, "Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver thee."
Psalms 46:1, "God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in the time of trouble."
(Amplified) "A very present and well proved help in trouble."
Point 2:
Trouble and the Apostle Paul
Very few people today have experienced as many difficulties in their life as Paul did. He was on a first name basis with trouble. In II Corinthians 11: 23-28, Paul shares some of his experiences with trouble. He is not complaining about them, but he’s just letting us know that he understands what trouble is all about.
"Five times I have received at the hands of the Jews forth stripes save one. Three times I have been beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I have been shipwrecked. A night and a day I have been adrift at sea. On my journeys I have often been in danger from rivers, robbers, my own people the Jews, the Gentiles, false brethern and the sea. I have been in constant toil and hardship with many sleepless nights. Often in hunger and thirst without food. Often in cold and exposure without warm clothes to protect me from the elements, and always upon me there is the pressure of the care of the church." (Amplified Bible)
But troubles couldn’t put Paul down. He refused to be defeated by them. They failed in detouring him from serving God. II Corinthians 4:8, has Paul saying, "We are pressed on every side by trouble, because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit." (Living Bible) J. B. Phillips translates it this way. "We may be knocked down but we are not knocked out."
Acts 27 describes one of Paul’s experiences with trouble and how he responded to it. Because the story is quite lengthy, I want to give you a short version of it and then point out some selected verses that will give us three principles to observe in handling the difficulties that come into our life.
Paul had been arrested by the Jews and brought before King Agrippa. Paul had appealed his case before Caesar.
He was placed on board a ship sailing for Rome.
They enjoyed fair weather during the first part of the voyage but contrary weather forced them to stop at a place called Fair Havens. They purposed to resume their journey, but God warned Paul of an approaching hurricane force storm that they would encounter causing much loss. Paul warned the crew, but the ship’s captain and the owner overrode Paul’s words of warning and they sailed out of the harbor. They soon encountered the storm which was furious in strength and which lasted for many days .God told Paul through angelic ministry for no one to leave the ship and no lives would be lost. Although no lives were lost, the ship ran aground and was broken up by the rocks and waves with the loss of the cargo.
With this story in mind, here are three principles to follow when you find yourself facing a storm in your life, (a time of trouble.)
Point 3:
Principle #1 - Determine the reason for the storm.
Until we first determine the reason for our trouble, we cannot successfully deal with it. Until we know the reason for it, we cannot respond to it appropriately. If we don’t respond appropriately to it - the trouble will defeat us. God does not want the trouble to defeat us, but to develop us. If we have difficulty identifying the reason for the trouble we are facing, take it to the Lord. Seek His insight and ask for His input into the matter. David did in Psalm 73:16, "I tried to think this problem through, but it was too difficult for me, until I went into your temple."
There are three types of storms that come into our lives.
Storms that we bring on ourselves.
Storms that are caused by others.
Storms that are allowed by God.
We need to ask ourselves in times of difficulty, which kind of storm (trouble) is this we are encountering. Is this trouble of my own making? Be honest when examining the trouble. Most of our troubles usually start with us because many of them are home made. Troubles that we bring on ourselves are usually the hardest to bear because we know that our own ignorance, or willfulness or stubbornness has caused it. Troubles that others cause is the hardest to handle because others initiate it. Troubles that God allows are the hardest to understand because we don’t understand God’s purpose in it for us at the time.
Jonah is a good example of bringing trouble on oneself and also bringing troubles on someone else (the crew.) Joseph is a good example of God allowing trouble to come into ones life. In Joseph’s case, trouble was allowed for a purpose. In every storm God allows, He is either in the ship with us or He is walking the waves close by. Our ship cannot sink. We are safe. Every difficulty that God allows into our life - He is at the same time working the solution to that problem into our life
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There are three reasons given to us in Acts 27 as to why and how people get themselves into trouble.
(1) We listen to bad advice from others.
Verse 11,"However the centurion paid greater attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said..."
God had said to them, through Paul, "Don’t sail." They set sail anyway and sailed into a storm. When you don’t listen and give heed to what God says, you are going to encounter storms. We need to know those who advise us. Do they really understand the problem? Have they got the whole picture about what’s going on? Are they themselves successful in the area they are advising us in?
(2) We sometimes follow the crowd.
Verse 12, "The majority favored the plan of putting to sea again."
Listen - just because the majority goes for it does not mean that they are right. The Israelites of Kadesh-Barnea would say, "amen" to that statement. They accepted the majority report of the ten spies and invited trouble into the camp. The phrase "everybody’s doing it" just doesn’t get it unless God is doing it too. You have a mind - use it and don’t let others make your decisions for you. They could be wrong just as the pilot and ship’s owner was wrong in our story.
(3) We rely on circumstances many times.
Verse 13, "So when the south wind blew softly, supposing they were gaining their object, they weighed anchor and sailed."
The weather seemed favorable, but God had said no. The weather circumstance seemed to say, "Go for it," but God had said no. Circumstances always aren’t what they seem. Sometimes they give us the wrong picture. How can it be wrong when it feels so right can be a very dangerous attitude to be guided and controlled by. Feelings are fickle and tricky and you can’t always trust them. It’s really unwise for us to ignore what God has said even if circumstances at the time seem to contradict what God is saying. We are opening the door for trouble to walk into our live.
Point 4:
Principle #2 - Determine your response to the storm.
Ask: What is the best way to respond to this trouble?
If we don’t respond appropriately, the trouble will defeat us. It must be addressed but in a constructive way. Troubles are usually only temporary, but our lack of responding to it could have a permanent effect for a long time.
Here are three wrong ways given to us in Acts 27.
(1) Don’t drift.
Verse 15, "And when the ship was caught and was unable to head against the wind, we gave up and letting her drift, we were borne along."
One of first things storms (troubles) tend to do in our lives is to unanchor us. We start to lose our bearings and begin to drift and we lose sight of everything but the problem. We get our eye on the problem and not the problem solver. Our attitude becomes one of; why try - what’s the use, but it’s at this point we need to determine a course of action and then do it. If we surrender to the storm, we’ll wind up on the rocks.
(2)Don’t discard.
Verse 18, "As we were being dangerously tossed about by the violence of the storm: the next day they began to throw the freight overboard."
Have you also noticed that when a crisis comes into our life, we are often tempted to cast off the very things that were important to us when things were better? Common sense and reasoning seem to be the first things to go - followed in time by faith, friends, family and the list goes on. Troubles have a way too, of warping our thinking abilities and we find ourselves saying and doing stupid things that we would never say or do in normal times. Troubles have a way of causing us to become so sensitive that we become edgy and defensive to others and eventually they avoid us and we find ourselves alone in the storm.
(3) Don’t despair.
Verse 20, "And when neither sun nor stars were visible for many days, and no small tempest kept raging about us, all hope of our being saved was finally abandoned."
Trouble is not disastrous until we surrender to it in despair. At this point, we could go under and many do. They give up all hope. Some commit suicide or drop out of life altogether. Some turn to drugs or alcohol to cope. Despairing in times of trouble is a wrong response. Help is only a prayer away. Remember in Matthew 14, the story of Jesus walking on the water while the disciples were in the boat being beaten by the winds and waves? Peter, seeing Jesus walking on the water, stepped out of the boat to walk on the water to Jesus. But when he looked at the huge waves and felt the fierce wind, his faith faltered and he began to sink. He cried out to Jesus to save him, and Jesus reached out and lifted Peter into the boat. The truth that this incident teaches us is this; whatever is over our head is under His feet. In the midst of the storm, don’t despair. Call on the Sea Walker. He’s only a prayer away.
Here are three right ways to respond to storms.
(1) Confess that there is a problem.
Listen to me carefully. We cannot deal with a problem until we admit there is a problem. Don’t pretend it’s not there. Everyone else knows it’s there. Some don’t want to admit there is a problem because they are trying to confess only a "positive confession." Quit trying to be super saint to others and to the Lord. Admit the problem and ask for help.
(2) Confront the problem.
Don’t fear the storm but face up to it. Ignoring it will not make it go away, but it will grow. A person has to confront the storm head on. Decide that there are some things that can and must be done on your part to face trouble. A person can’t overcome it if one has a "I’ll just have to learn to live with it" attitude. Address the problem. It’s there and it must be dealt with. So quit procrastinating and confront it. God didn’t say it would be easy, but He did say, He would be a very present help when trouble comes.
(3) Claim a promise. Verses 22-25,
"But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down. For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, and he said, "Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in His goodness, has granted safety to everyone traveling with you. So take courage! For I believe God."
Paul claimed victory over the storm because he had a promise from God. He had a word from God. He is calm and he is confident in the storm. He has courage in the crisis. God’s Word to you and I in these verses is; if you face a problem, find a promise in God’s Word pertaining to it. Claim it, confess it, and cling to it. The promise will keep one encouraged until the storm in our life passes.
Point: 5
Principle #3, Determine the resources available in the midst of the storm.
Why was the Apostle Paul so confident in the midst of the storm and the sailors weren’t? What did Paul know that the sailors didn’t know? Paul was encouraged by four great resources that serve as anchors of the soul in times of storms. These anchors will stabilize us and help us ride out any storm we may encounter.
Anchor #1 - The presence of God.
Verse 23, "For this very night there stood by my side an angel of God."
Difficulties cannot hide us from God. Jesus said, "Lo, I am with you even to the end of the world." He also said, "I’ll never leave you nor forsake you." There is a general sense of God being present everywhere at the same time. We call it omnipresence. To the believer, there is the knowledge given that God is present with them in a very personal way. God makes Himself very real to His people in times of crisis. He whispers to us, "My child, I’m right here." Remember the story, Footprints in the Sand? A man and the Lord were traveling back over the road the man had traveled in his life. The man said, "Lord, I’ve noticed two sets of prints most of the way, but when times of great trouble came, I noticed only one set of prints. Why is that? The Lord replied, "My Son, that one set was mine, for in those times of trouble, I carried you."
Anchor #2 - The purpose of God
Verse 24, "And the angel said, "’Do not be frightened Paul, it is necessary for you to stand before Caesar.’ "Knowing that God had put purpose into his life enabled Paul to face the storm that now threatened him. Settle it forever in your mind. When God allowed you to be born into this world, you entered it with purpose for being here. As a believer, God is moving in all things that touch your life (even trouble) to help you fulfill that purpose. Anchor yourself to God’s purpose, knowing that God is at work, working that purpose into your life.
Anchor #3 - The promise of God.
Verse 23, "But take courage, none of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down."
In times of storm, we may lose the cargo. We may lose the ship and we may even get wet, but we are going to make it because of the promises of God to us. I like the Amplified version of John 16:33, It has often been an anchor to my faith when I’ve encountered a storm in my life. "I have told you these things so that in Me you may have perfect peace and confidence. In the world, you will have tribulation and trials, distress and frustration, but be of good cheer, be confident, certain, undaunted, for I have overcome the world. I have deprived it of power to harm you. I have conquered it (for you)." My friend, you are going to make it because of the promises of God working for you.
Anchor #4 - Prayer to God.
Verse 29, "They dropped anchors off the stern and kept wishing for daybreak to come." Luke 18:1, tells us that "Men ought always to pray and not to faint (lose heart and give-up)." When the early church faced storms, they prayed. Acts 4:31, "And when they had prayed, the place was shaken and they continued to speak the Word of God with freedom and boldness and courage." God moves in response to prayer. Answers come. James 5:16, "The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results." ( TNLT)
Cornelius and his household were saved because he prayed.
Peter was delivered from prison in answer to prayer.
Hezekiah was healed and fifteen years was added to his life because he prayed.
In times of storm, the prayer closet is the safest place one can be.
Closing thoughts
What does God want us to learn from this story?
Storms come into our lives to develop us.
Every storm is a school.
Every trial is a teacher.
Every experience is an education
When storms (troubles) come:
Determine the reason for the trouble.
Determine your response to the trouble.
Determine the resources available to you in facing the trouble.
Do these three and you will determine the results of your trouble.
