Trouble In My Way

Trouble In My Way

Scripture: Mark 4:35-41; John 14:1-6

Introduction

When I was growing up, the church choir that I sung in sang several songs that dealt with troubles. One of the songs that one of my favorites was “Trouble In My Way”. That song, even from the time that I was a pre-teen, always ministered to my spirit. I cannot tell you why except I guess I used to think I had a lot of troubles when I was a child. As young as I was, I knew, based on songs like these, that no matter what I faced God would be there to take care of me. Let me share with you a few of the words of this song since some of you may not know it. For those of you who do, I am sure that this will bring back some memories. As the leader sung the words, the choir would repeat what the leader said to make a truly uplifting song.

“Trouble in my way (trouble in my way), I have to cry sometimes (I have to cry sometimes), trouble in my way (trouble in my way), I have to cry sometimes (I have to cry sometimes), I laid awake at night (I laid awake at night), But that’s all right (that’s all right), for I know that Jesus, (Jesus, He will fix it) after a while (after a while).”

Another song that we used to sing was “Soon I Will Be Done”. This song was sung slowly and I remember the version sung by Mahalia Jackson. She sung this song with such emotions that you knew it was coming from deep within her. Here are a few of the words:

“Soon I will be done with the troubles of this world, troubles of this world, the troubles of this world; Soon I will be done, with the troubles of this world, I’m going home to live with God. No more weeping and a wailing, no more weeping and a wailing, no more weeping and a wailing, going home to live with God.”

As you can see, the word expressed the feeling that although we are experiencing troubles on this side, the day will come when troubles will cease. There will be no crying nor sorrow for we will be in the presence of the Lord forever. These are songs that were sung in the Church. There are also secular songs that deal with troubles. Two classes of music that I am sure many of you are familiar with are the Blues and Country music. There is nothing like listening to the Blues when you are depressed or feeling down. Remember the song “They Call It Stormy Monday”? When you listen to that song, it tells you that Monday is stormy, Tuesday is just as bad, Wednesday is worse, and all Thursday is all so sad. Now if you are feeling bad on Monday and you listen to this song, you really have nothing to look forward to for the rest of the week. Blues and Country music can add to the deepness of your feelings of depression if you listen to them during those times. Ever heard the saying “misery loves company”? When you are feeling down and you’re listening to the Blues it is like the song understands what you are feeling and/or going through. In my personal opinion, the worse thing you can do when you are feeling down is listen to Blues and/or Country music. Yes it may help you understand that others know what you are going through, but it does nothing to lift you up.

In this message this morning, I want you to take a step back and ask yourself two questions: “If I am serving God and doing what He said to do, why do I have troubles?” and “What do I have to do to be blessed?” These questions may not seem to relate to each other but for a lot of people they are related. Many have been taught that when we do what God tells us to do and we are in His will, we won’t have any trials. We have also been taught that when we obey God we will have success in everything that we do. Still there are others who will tell you that you must do things to earn God’s blessings and if you are not, you will have troubles because you are cursed. Within these teachings it becomes clear that if you are blessed you do not have troubles and if you are having troubles you cannot be blessed. But when we look at the lives of men and women in Scripture, being in God’s will didn’t necessarily mean they were always successful and free from trials. A life of success and no worries, trials or lack of them have little to nothing to do with our obedience to God. But our willing obedience to Him has everything to do with His ability to act on our behalf. This morning I want you to leave here knowing that based on your relationship with God, even when you are dealing with troubles, you are still blessed and you have the authority to rise above the troubles. Because of your relationship and fellowship with God you do not have to seek blessings, they will find you.