What Do You Do When Trouble Comes? Or (Confidence In The Midst Of A Crisis)

Sep-01

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN TROUBLE COMES?

or

(CONFIDENCE IN THE MIDST OF A CRISIS)

PSALMS 46:1-11 (91:1-9)

America was struck with the worst tragedy in history this past Tuesday morning just before 9:00 A.M... With out any warning or reasoning, thousands of lives were taken… (Recap the events…) But the question that we as believers need to address today is: “What Do You Do… When Trouble Comes?” In other words, how do you respond…? How do you react…? What exactly is the correct measure… What are the appropriate steps that must be taken… If we are to make it through… When trouble comes…? (Title) When trouble comes; you need to know how to deal with it, because in actuality, you don’t have a choice…!

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or (But I believe that what the Lord was really trying to teach us is that we as Christians should all have Confidence: In The Midst of A Crisis…! Webster’s Dictionary defines the word crisis as; “a stage in a sequence of events at which the trend of all future events is determined.” In other words, a turning point…!)

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Our text here presents us with three fundamental issues that we need to consider if we are to survive during this time of trouble and uncertainty… It lends to us, the advantage of how to overcome the adversary… It sheds light on what we need to do… When trouble comes…! If you want to make it through tough times… If you want to make it when trouble comes… You must first remember that...

I. HE’S STILL GOD; OUR PROTECTOR

(V1-3) What a profound statement this is in verse one… God is our refuge…. (God is…) In other words, God is a safe place… A safety zone… A shelter from danger... The old folks used to say; “He’s a shelter in the time of storm…” I don’t know about you, but I’ve had some storms in my life… I’ve had some troubled times in this life… I’ve had some times where it seemed like I wasn’t going to make it… Some times when I didn’t know whether I was coming or going… Some times when I didn’t know which way was up…! But I’m glad that I had a refuge… I’m glad that I had a place of shelter… For not only does the text inform us that He’s our refuge… But Psalms 91 tells me that…

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide… Under the shadow of the Almighty… For He is my refuge… And my fortress… In Him will I trust…” What I’m trying to say is that … “I’ve got a secret place…! I’ve got a shelter…! And when things get bad, I can run to the secret place…!” (“Who Can I Run To?”) I can run to God… Because He is…!

Because that’s where He can keep me… That’s where He can rock in the cradle of His loving arms and keep me from hurt, harm and danger…! Everybody ought to have a secret place…! When trouble comes your way, just remember that He is still God; Our Protector… And run to the secret place…! Run to the shelter…! When you remember that He is our Protector, you’ll realize that the Lord covers us in times of despair… He is our haven… Our sanctuary…

The place in which we can find a sweet relief…! I believe that’s what Martin Luther was trying to tell us…When he penned the words to the wonderful hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God…!” (Tell somebody, “He’s is our refuge…!”)

Not only is the Lord is our refuge, but likewise we see that He is our strength… (Text) He’s our refuge and our strength… The word and is a conjunction word that connects two or more phrases together… So to get the proper connotation of what the writer is trying to say, you’ve got to connect it together…! God is our refuge AND our strength…! But why does the Lord protect us in times of trouble…? He protects us not to hide us, but to help us… (You missed it) He gives us a shelter not to pamper us, but to prepare us... The Lord gives us refuge in order to get us ready for the battle… How does He do that…? (Glad you asked)

By giving us an infusion of His strength… By infusing us with His strength, we’re able to stand in the midst of trouble… Every now and then, God has to vaccinate us so that we’ll be able to withstand the enemy…! (Explain)… Just like you trust the doctor… You must trust the Lord… And let Him infuse you with His strength…! God is our refuge… God is our strength… But most of all, the He is our help...!