Trouble

There are 4 Questions I would like to discuss as they relate to life: 

1. What is Trouble?

2. How does trouble come?

3. How do you get out of it?

4. How do you avoid it?

1.   What Is Trouble?

Trouble actually seems to start for us as kids.  Sometimes we even refer to “how much trouble we got into” as kids.  Maybe you were even considered a troublemaker.  We’ve all grown up around trouble.  You might even say that at this point, we’re so good at it, and so polished at making trouble, that we could even be considered professional troublemakers.  We just don’t call it trouble now.  We’ve found other words for it, like dysfunctional, political correctness, gender simplification (hello Catylyn Jenner), misunderstandings, and religious diversification, but it’s still Trouble!

People all through the Bible found themselves in various kinds of trouble: 

• Job found that suffering can be very troubling.   

• Moses was troubled  by the Feeling of Inadequacy, when he felt the lack of necessary qualities to get the job done.

• Caleb was troubled by fear. 

• Samson discovered the trouble of being worldly, and having the same attitudes and behavior as the people of the world.

• David faced the problem and trouble of slander, when people say evil things that are false against you.

• Jehoshaphat was troubled with Anxiety. 

• Elijah was troubled with Depression. 

• Jonah dealt with the trouble of Prejudice, when he had strong ideas and refused to think about anybody else's opinions.

• Isaiah faced troubling guilt.

• Jeremiah was troubled with Doubt.

• Haggai was involved with the trouble that comes with Materialism, when people think that money and possessions are most important.

• And Malachi found it troubling to deal with the Problem Of Indifference, when someone does not care. It may be a lack of care about life, or about other people or about the things of God.

Trouble can come in many forms.  But trouble is basically a difficulty or a problem:  it’s the malfunction of something,  something regarded as unsatisfactory or as a source of difficulty, frustration or disorder, or to be distressed or anxious about something.  It’s when something is off-track, or something has gone wrong.  “Houston, we have a problem!”  Any one of these things can take you out of the race and destroy you.  

Your situation is not removed from those found in the Bible. As we’ve seen, people all through the Bible were troubled with many kinds of trouble. Trouble can come at you from any angle, at any time, through people, through situations, through the devil, even through yourself.  Troubles do come, and you can't stop them from coming, but you can respond to them properly.  But if you are ever going to properly deal with trouble or troubling times, you must first realize that you are not exempt from trouble.  You don’t have a free pass on trouble.  Job 14:1  says “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.”   Troubles come, but they do not have to stay.

Psalms 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

So, to answer the question “what is trouble,” I’d have to say that it’s what you’re left with when something has gone wrong, or not gone according to plan.  It’s the current situation at hand.

2.   How Does Trouble Come?

Well, trouble and choices go hand-in-hand.  You can make choices to get into trouble, you make choices to stay in trouble, you make choices to get out of trouble, and you make choices to avoid trouble all together.  The Bible says to choose this day whom you will serve. It's about choices.  I watched a parent dropping off her young child at the school the other day, and she said to her kindergartener,  “make right choices today!”  That’s it!

So, at what point does trouble actually begin? Is it when you realize you're in trouble, or when you made the choice to get into trouble, or when all hell breaks loose. Trouble begins in the heart just like anything else.    Psalm 25:17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged;  Bring me out of my distresses.    Proverbs 21:23  He who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles.

Trouble and Temptation also go hand in hand.  Temptation means:  trouble is ahead!   I recently was opening mail at my house, and opened this one piece, only to find it was full of pornagraphic advertising.  Porn Mail sent directly to my house.  Miriam was right there with me, so I immediately closed the envelope and handed it to her.  Then we shredded it.  But, there I was, minding my own business, opening mail, paying bills, and trouble came right to me.  Without me asking, without me knowing.  Trouble can come to you at any time.  Be prepared!   

Kinds of trouble:

• Trouble due to disobedience - you choose to disobey the law, or violate the Word of God.

• Trouble due to ignorance - you didn’t realize water doesn’t go in the gas tank.

• Trouble that came to you - like the mail I told you about.  

• Trouble that you brought on yourself - you didn’t follow a budget, and now you can’t feed your family, or put tires on the car.

• There are troubling times - troubles in society, riots, storms, floods, etc.

• There is a specific day of trouble - sometimes it all comes together in a day.

• There are those who trouble you - these are the troublemakers.

Here are some ways that Trouble can get a foothold in you:

• Unrealistic expectations 

• Unachievable goals

• Unannounced desires

• Unfulfilled passion

• Unresolved conflict

• Unreachable investments

• Unexpected setbacks

• Unspoken frustrations

Leaving something undone could be your undoing.   You must deal with each one of these things. The consequence for not dealing with them is tremendous and leads to trouble.  When the trouble remains unresolved, destruction is the next stop.  You cannot stop all trouble from coming your way, but you can prepare for it, avoid it as much as possible, and deal with each circumstance in a Godly, scriptural way. With Gods help, you can get the victory, and come out on top!

You might be in trouble if:

• Stop reading God’s Word consistently or stop praying consistently.

• You think of yourself more highly than you ought.

• You prepare for and make provision for future sin.

• You put up with “just a little” arguing, yelling, or temptation in your marriage.

• You believe unbelievers’ advice more than believers’ advice.

• You will not listen to, or adhere to Godly counsel or Godly leadership.

• You seek much counsel from many people in order to get the answer you desire.

• You hang out with unbelievers more than believers.

• You listen to what unbelievers listen to, drink what they drink, see what they see . . .

• Openly disobey the laws of the land.  Lawlessness shall abound.  Toll way. Stop.  Lines.

• You ask for someone's suggestion or advice, having already predetermined the correct answer.  

• When you run to someone's past during an argument or confrontation.

• When you quickly point out someone's mistakes and flaws in order to make yourself look better.

• When you absolutely must have the last word, because after all, you are right!

• When your spiritual expectations of others outweigh your ability to live a normal life in the flesh.  Be spiritually minded!  Don’t be overly spiritually minded!  If everything is about a vision or dream you had, about the seals being opened, the Glory of the Lord ascending and descending, but you don’t have time to make dinner, repair the house, or go to work, you are in trouble!

3.   How Do You Get Out Of Trouble?

Let me encourage you with a few scriptures here:

Psalms 9:9  The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. 

Psalms 37:39  But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: He is their strength in the time of trouble.

Psalms 86:7  In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me. 

Psalms 138:7  Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.

Proverbs 12:13  The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble.

John 14:1, Jesus says, "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”

And Finally In Psalm 34:19  Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.          

You may say, that’s great, but that’s Old Testament.

2 Timothy 3:11  Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. 

So, number one, you must know that is it the Lord’s intention to deliver you out of all of your troubles!   2 Chronicles 15:4  But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.  Then, right away, you have to make the decision that you are not going to let your heart be troubled.  You let not your heart be troubled. God gave you the choice. God gave you power over your heart.  A lot of people believe that in a given situation, there is no way that they can help but to remain in trouble, to be depressed and to be discouraged. But, this is contrary to God's Word. To “let not,”  is a command as much as any other command in the Word — as much as "thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, and thou shalt not kill." It is a direct command from the Lord!

So, you have to say, "I am not going to let my heart be troubled.”

It doesn't matter what comes your way — physical problems, financial problems, relationship problems — whatever the devil is fighting you with. God has given you the ability to overcome it. But you have to choose. If you identify with troubles, discouragement, doubt, and depression, you set a precedent that will enslave you the rest of your life.

If you're depressed, if you're discouraged, it's because you've chosen to submit to those feelings. You've made the wrong choices.

So, What Can You Do?

1. Come to Yourself - Realize your need for God.  I mean right in the middle of the trouble, the confrontation, the argument;  STOP and “Come to Yourself.”  Realize you are currently in trouble, and know that you can do something in line with God’s Word to change it.  There is a way of escape, but it will not initiate itself.

2. Come to God - Run to Him, not away.  He is pulling for you, but He’s not doing it all for you!  He has given you everything possible to make right choices, make right commitments, and do things in a right way!  Choose to use the tools He has given you.

3. Come Clean - He already knows.  You may as well get it out in the open; God already knows, and so does your spouse.  This is a necessary step in reaching a victory over a particular trouble.  If you can’t even admit that there is a problem, you’ll never be big enough to follow a scriptural path to fix it!

4. Come Around - It’s time for change.  Go ahead and commit to be the first to make a positive move, even if your spouse doesn’t.   If you want things to remain the way they always have, just keep doing things the same way you always have, but if you want different results, you will have to do something differently!  

5. Come to Church - Then understood I.  You need the Body of Christ.  When you don’t feel the need of the Body, you are thinking more highly of yourself than you ought to.  You are not an island unto yourself; you need others, and others need you.  Men, nothing will show your wife and your family more about your Godly leadership in the home, than leading your family to, and keeping your family in Church on a consistent basis.  How powerful is it to say that you are going to hear from God today at Church, and to see how God may lead you to help someone else.  Ladies, your willingness and support of your husband and family to go to church consistently, completely solidifies the Godly family unit, and continues to demonstrate to your family and to others that you are putting God first place.  It’s a very powerful thing!

4.   How Do You Avoid Trouble?

Temptation leads to trouble  -  Avoid temptation, and you’ll avoid trouble!

Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.   1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 

Know this:

• You may have a lot to say, but “A soft answer turns away wrath”

• You may be quick to judge, but “Be quick to change and quick to repent”

• You may run from trouble, but “Run to the Word of God”

• You may trust your own feelings and emotions, but “Trust in the Lord”

• When all else fails, you can always just say:  “I’m sorry, I was wrong, Please forgive me.”

Isaiah 26:3  Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. 

Philippians 4:7  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 

1. Recognize that you are in trouble!

2. Reverence God above all else!

3. Respond to the Word of God!

4. Resist the devil!

5. Rejoice in the Lord always!

6. Resume the right path in God!