Put Your Trust in the Lord and He Will Rescue You
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you” Isaiah 43: 2.
This chapter is a powerful passage in which God reassures His people, of His unwavering presence, protection, and unconditional love, especially in trials. To read the chapter, click here.
Same Rains, Winds and Flood: Different Outcome
The righteous go through the same trials as the wicked, and the wise as the foolish. But there is a distinction between the two: The Lord is with His people and strengthens us in their trials. And then delivers them out of them.
In the parable of the two foundations, the house of the wise and the house of the foolish both endured the identical storm (Mathew 7: 24-27). Same rains, same winds, same flood. The only difference is in the outcome.
The house of the wise stands, whereas the house of the foolish is destroyed. “For the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity” Proverbs 24: 16.
Both experience trouble. But the trouble becomes calamity for the wicked, because of the outcome. They do not “rise again“, but “stumble” in it.
The psalmist echoes this same idea in Psalm 91: “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him” Psalm 91: 14, 15.
Learn to Put Your Trust in the Lord in Trials
There is one important exception to this, and this is persecution. There have been many persecuted and even martyred Christians down through the ages for which the above promises did not prove true.
Persecution is a gift that is granted to some. And it is an even greater gift than protection and deliverance, because of the eternal rewards. “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him” Philippians 1: 29.
But, why do we have to go through it at all? Why can’t He just spare us all the trouble and affliction?
For one thing, this is how we come to know and trust God. As we go through hard times, and He’s “with us in it, and delivers us out of it”, our trust in Him grows.
It’s also how we become whole and complete. As we continue t walk in love through it, we gain endurance, and finally maturity (James 1: 2-4).
To read a post related to Put Your Trust in the Lord and He will Rescue You, see The Storms of Life: Can We Predict Them?