Whenever one of us is in trouble, God intercedes. He takes care of us. The psalmist testifies, “Who will protect me from the wicked? Who will stand up for me against evildoers? Unless the Lord had helped me, I would soon have died. I cried out, ‘I’m slipping!’ and Your unfailing love, O Lord supported me” (Psalm 94:16, 17).
The apostle Paul went through many hardships but God was always there with
Him. Paul remembers, “The first time I was brought before the judge, no one
was with me. Everyone had abandoned me. I hope it will not be counted
against them. But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength, that I might
preach the Good News in all its fullness for the Gentiles to hear. And He
saved me from certain death. Yes, the Lord will deliver me from every evil
attack and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom” (2 Timothy
4:16-18).
I have gone through trials and God always helped me through them. He would
comfort and encourage me through His Word or through other people. Many
times I have had a friend send me scripture that seemed to speak directly to
me and what I was going through. God would impress people to pray for me or
He would bring someone before me whom He wanted me to pray for. He has had
me pray for people I don’t know or never met.
The Lord Himself promised, “I will rescue those who love Me. I will protect those who trust in My name. When they call on Me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them. I will satisfy them with a long life and give them my salvation” (Psalm 91:14-16). What a comforting thought! We don’t go through trials alone–God is there with us.
God has His angels take care of us. “For He orders His angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone” (Psalm 91:11, 12).
God has other people take care of us. When the prophet Jeremiah was preaching, “This is what the Lord says: Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who surrender to the Babylonians will live. The Lord also says: The city of Jerusalem will surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it,” the officials went to the king and said, “Sir, this man must die! That kind of talk will undermine the morale of the few fighting men we have left,
as well as that of all the people, too. This man is a traitor!”
The king told them to do whatever they liked. The men took Jeremiah from his cell and lowered him by rope into a cistern which had no water in it but thick mud at the bottom. Jeremiah sank down into it. Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, an important palace official, heard about what happened and he went to see the king. “My lord the king,” he said, “these men have done a very evil thing in putting Jeremiah the prophet into the cistern. He will soon die of hunger, for almost all the bread in the city is gone.”
The king ordered him to take thirty men with him and pull Jeremiah out of the cistern before he died. So, Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to a room in the palace beneath the treasury, where he found some old rags and discarded clothing. He carried these to the cistern and lowered them to Jeremiah on a rope. Ebed-melech called down to Jeremiah, “Put these rags under your armpits to protect you from the ropes.” Then when Jeremiah was ready, they pulled him out. So Jeremiah was returned to the courtyard of the guard-the palace prison-where he remained (Jeremiah 38:2-13). The story doesn’t end here.
The Lord gave Jeremiah the following message while he was still in prison: “Say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, `The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will do to this city everything I have threatened. I will send disaster, not prosperity. You will see its destruction, but I will rescue you from those you fear so much. Because you trusted me, I will preserve your life and keep you safe. I, the Lord, have spoken!’ “ (Jeremiah
39:15-18).
The Lord had impressed Ebed-melech to help Jeremiah and the official had obeyed. He did what the king failed to do. He listened to God and did what was right. The king listened to the officials instead of listening to God. God will take care of us but first we have to trust Him.
Notes to Women 