Day 3: In All Things
He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us again. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers... (2 Corinthians 1:10-11).
Our Father in heaven, David prayed with thanksgiving, Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You (Psalm 9:10). Although throughout his life he saw troubles many and bitter (Psalm 71:20), he was able to say with conviction, "I have always been mindful of Your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on Your faithfulness" (Psalm 26:3).
The apostle Paul and his ministry partners, too, experienced troubles...great pressure far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself (2 Corinthians 1:8). But like David, Paul had a testimony of learning to live in reliance not... on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us again (2 Corinthians 1:9-10).
This was the same testimony he shared with the Roman believers: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?... Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. (Romans 8:35, 37 - NKJV).
Our Lord Jesus told us, "In this world you will have trouble" (John 16:33). And because You are our help, You invite us to bring our troubles to You: Call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you will honor Me (Psalm 50:15). You also urge us to pray for each other, with the assurance that You deliver as we help each other by our prayers (2 Corinthians 1:11).
Yet, we often do not have the right perspective on trouble. We often associate "answers to prayer", and "deliverance" only with the absence of trouble. But Your deliverance may not go according to our understanding, our logic, our expectations.
Lord, when our hearts are overwhelmed by trouble, remind us that Your deliverance works in all things... for the good of those who love You, who have been called according to Your purpose (Romans 8:28). Remind us that You are with us in trouble, in hardship, in peril, in distress...
You are the God who is with us when we don't get the job as much as when we do. You are the God who is with us in a health crisis, as much as in perfect health. You are the God who is with us in financial difficulty as much as in material abundance. You are the God who is with us in failure as much as in success. You are the God who is with us in grief as much as in celebration.
You are the God, who, reminds us, What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31). You are the God who did not spare His Son (Romans 8:32)—the One who assures us, "Take heart, I have overcome the world" (John 6:33).
