“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:19)
Coming off of last week’s post about our pain, there is a sweet promise tucked into the verse above. Read it again and take note of what the promise is. The promise is not for a lack of troubles. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous,” David says in this psalm. We are clearly not immune to afflictions if we trust in Christ. Instead, the precious promise is that the Lord will deliver the righteous from all of those afflictions. We will be wounded, but we will not be destroyed. This is the loving design of a loving God.
God will allow troubles in your life to help grow you and push you forward. If no troubles came, you could remain stagnant forever. This is why it is better news to be wounded and then delivered, than to never be wounded. We understand this truth as we go through hardship. We become thankful for how Psalm 34:19 reads! Pain no longer hinders our faith.
So let us continue to flip the script on how we see hard times and afflictions. Let’s take God at His Word today. After all, He is making us a promise in this psalm. This is not a statement that may be true; this is deep truth that we can bank our life on. If we truly believe this promise, we will act much differently in hard seasons. Our eyes will no longer be on our struggles. Instead, our eyes will naturally lift to the God who delivers us out of our struggles!
If you arm yourself with this mindset, brother or sister, your faith will not be hindered by life. Rather, your faith will actually grow as you endure the ups and downs promised us in this life. We have a Rock in the midst of any storm. Not only does He sustain us in trouble, but He actually delivers us out of trouble. Storms would drown us if we were not delivered. Therefore, we cling to and worship the God who is full of promised deliverance.
This truth is exactly why it is shallow, empty, and extremely dangerous to treasure anything other than God. What is an accumulation of possessions going to do for you when the waves rage? Does your bank account come with a promise of deliverance? Is the world coming to your rescue when troubles arise? These things make horrible gods and empty saviors. There is one Rock. One Deliverer. One Savior. His name is Jesus.
Think with me for a second. What power does a wave have when your Savior can walk on water? Matthew 14 tells the story of the disciples being in a boat with waves crashing against them. Jesus walks out to them, on the water, with complete ease. The waves were not too big or violent for Him. Your waves are in the same predicament! Jesus is not phased by them. He can easily walk right on top of them. Therefore, regardless of circumstance, what are we worried about? Deliverance is on the way!
Let us come to terms with the righteous having many troubles. It is promised in Scripture. We must rid ourselves of thinking that Christians ought to live easy lives void of any trouble. That would not be a loving design for God to give us easy lives. We would easily and happily wander around, living for our own desires. God wants more for you. He allows pain to grow you and push you on. Do not shy away from this. Instead, accept it and treasure the One who delivers the righteous from every trouble. Again, not just some or most troubles. No, God promises deliverance from them all!
This is a life-changing truth that we can be extremely thankful for this week. We can joyfully accept troubles in this life, knowing that God is going to deliver us. He will come through on His promise. Let faith arise in our hearts at the thought of this. We have no need to fear when the waves beat against the boat. We have no need to find a creative way to get out of the storm. All we need to do is trust in God’s promise of deliverance. It may not come the way we think it should, but it will always come. Look away from the storm and gaze upon your faithful God. He stands ready to deliver the righteous from all afflictions.