How should I respond when trouble comes? - Trouble - TouchPoints

How should I respond when trouble comes?

Psalm 18:4-6The ropes of death surrounded me; the floods of destruction swept over me. The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death itself stared me in the face. But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry reached his ears.

Nehemiah 9:32“And now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of unfailing love, do not let all the hardships we have suffered seem insignificant to you. Great trouble has come upon us and upon our kings and leaders and priests and prophets and ancestors—all of your people—from the days when the kings of Assyria first triumphed over us until now.

John 14:1, 27the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

1 Samuel 30:7-8Then he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring me the ephod!” So Abiathar brought it. Then David asked the Lord, “Should I chase them? Will I catch them?” And the Lord told him, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!”

Psalm 4:1Answer me when I call to you, O God who declares me innocent. Free me from my troubles. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

Psalm 77:1-2I cry out to God without holding back. Oh, that God would listen to me! When I was in deep trouble, I searched for the Lord. All night long I pray, with hands lifted toward heaven, pleading. There can be no joy for me until he acts.

Isaiah 31:1Destruction is certain for those who look to Egypt for help, trusting their cavalry and chariots instead of looking to the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.

Jeremiah 16:19Lord, you are my strength and fortress, my refuge in the day of trouble! Nations from around the world will come to you and say, “Our ancestors were foolish, for they worshiped worthless idols.”

Jonah 2:1-7Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish.

Psalm 57:1Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy! I look to you for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until this violent storm is past.

Psalm 142:2I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles.

1 Peter 5:7Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you.

Psalm 86:7I will call to you whenever trouble strikes, and you will answer me.

Psalm 138:7Though I am surrounded by troubles, you will preserve me against the anger of my enemies. You will clench your fist against my angry enemies! Your power will save me.

Psalm 88:1-9O Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried out to you day and night. Now hear my prayer; listen to my cry. For my life is full of troubles . . . Each day I beg for your help, O Lord; I lift my pleading hands to you for mercy.

Psalm 120:1I took my troubles to the Lord; I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.

Isaiah 37:14-20After Hezekiah received the letter and read it, he went up to the Lord’s Temple and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord: “O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. Listen to me, O Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! . . . O Lord our God, rescue us . . . then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O Lord, are God.”

Psalm 77:2When I was in deep trouble, I searched for the Lord. All night long I pray, with hands lifted toward heaven, pleading. There can be no joy for me until he acts.

Psalm 86:7I will call to you whenever trouble strikes, and you will answer me.

Psalm 116:10I believed in you, so I prayed, “I am deeply troubled, Lord.”

Psalm 120:1I took my troubles to the Lord; I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.

Psalm 142:2I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles.

Psalm 69:1Save me, O God, for the floodwaters are up to my neck.

Psalm 55:1-2Listen to my prayer, O God. Do not ignore my cry for help! Please listen and answer me, for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.

Psalm 18:6-19But in my distress I cried out to the Lord . . . He heard me from his sanctuary . . .

Psalm 46:1God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

Mark 6:45-52He saw that they were in serious trouble . . . he came to them . . .

Go immediately to God—with honesty and faith. He promises to listen to you and act on your behalf – not always to take your trouble away, but to help you grow from it and give you peace during it.

Psalm 25:16-18Turn to me and have mercy, for I am alone and in deep distress. My problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all! Feel my pain and see my trouble. Forgive all my sins.

When trouble strikes, search your heart to see if the problem might be a result of your own wrongdoing. If it is, ask God’s help in dealing with it. God sometimes uses your troubles to draw you back to him, not to get even with you.

Psalm 119:143As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands.

Matthew 13:21But like young plants in such soil, their roots don’t go very deep. At first they get along fine, but they wilt as soon as they have problems or are persecuted because they believe the word.

Dive into God’s Word. He has given you his Word as a source of comfort, joy, guidance, and nourishment. If you want to hear him speak to you, open his book and read his words.

Matthew 6:34So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Don’t allow yourself to be overcome by worry. Borrowing trouble from tomorrow through worry can cause physical, spiritual, and emotional bankruptcy.

Ecclesiastes 8:6for there is a time and a way for everything, even when a person is in trouble.

Yes, there is a time and a way for everything, even as people’s troubles lie heavily upon them.

Be open to options and look for God’s creative solutions.

Jeremiah 42:13-17The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you insist on going to Egypt, the war and famine you fear will follow close behind you, and you will die there. That is the fate awaiting every one of you who insists on going to live in Egypt. Yes, you will die from war, famine, and disease. None of you will escape from the disaster I will bring upon you there.’

Be obedient to what you know is God’s will – even if you don’t know exactly what to do in a particular situation. Sometimes you might think running away from trouble will make it go away—but some kinds of trouble will follow you wherever you go. The best course of action is usually to stay and work through it with God’s help and guidance.

Job 1:20-22Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground before God. He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be stripped of everything when I die. The Lord gave me everything I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

Job 2:10But Job replied, “You talk like a godless woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.

Ezekiel 18:25,29“Yet you say, ‘The Lord isn’t being just!’ Listen to me, O people of Israel. Am I the one who is unjust, or is it you? . . . And yet the people of Israel keep saying, ‘The Lord is unjust!’ O people of Israel, it is you who are unjust, not I.

Don’t blame God for your troubles. Remember, God created a trouble-free world. It was humans who messed it up and continue to mess it up.

Galatians 6:2Share each other’s troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

Romans 12:15When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow.

1 Corinthians 12:26If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

Hebrews 13:3Don’t forget about those in prison. Suffer with them as though you were there yourself. Share the sorrow of those being mistreated, as though you feel their pain in your own bodies.

1 Thessalonians 3:1-4Finally, when we could stand it no longer, we decided to stay alone in Athens, and we sent Timothy to visit you. He is our brother and God’s co-worker in proclaiming the Good News of Christ. We sent him to strengthen you, to encourage you in your faith, and to keep you from being shaken by the troubles you were going through. But you know that we are destined for such troubles. Even while we were with you, we warned you that troubles would soon come—and they did, as you well know.

Gain strength and support from other Christians. Sharing your burdens with others who care lightens the load.

Psalm 119:157Many persecute and trouble me, yet I have not swerved from your decrees.

Acts 4:16-20“What should we do with these men?” they asked each other. “We can’t deny they have done a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it. But perhaps we can stop them from spreading their propaganda. We’ll warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus’ name again.” So they called the apostles back in and told them never again to speak or teach about Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things we have seen and heard.”

Acts 20:18-27When they arrived he declared, “You know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now I have done the Lord’s work humbly . . . Yet I never shrank from telling you the truth, either publicly or in your homes. I have had one message for Jews and Gentiles alike—the necessity of turning from sin and turning to God, and of faith in our Lord Jesus. And now I am going to Jerusalem, drawn there irresistibly by the Holy Spirit, not knowing what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit has told me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. But my life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about God’s wonderful kindness and love.

Stand firm in obedience. Being obedient to God is one thing you can control when enduring troubled times.

Peter and John stood firm and trusted God to save them. Paul did not fear trouble, but he feared disobeying God’s call. A weak-hearted response to trouble will only get you into more trouble.

Daniel 3:16-18Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, Your Majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

2 Corinthians 1:8-10I think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and completely overwhelmed, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves, but on God who can raise the dead. And he did deliver us from mortal danger. And we are confident that he will continue to deliver us.

Be fully committed to God and trust him with the outcome. If you are unstable in your relationship to God, you will be unsure of God’s help in times of trouble.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.

All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. You can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.

Romans 12:12Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful.

Be ever confident and full of praise to God – even when you don’t feel like it. Outward trouble can boost your inward spirit if you patiently and prayerfully look upward to God in praise and anticipation of his help.

1 Peter 1:6-7So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while. These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

Adversity is the true test of character. In fact, adversity is the fire that refines and the hammer that shapes you. Adversity reveals your shortcomings and drives you to seek God’s wisdom and power.

James 1:2-4Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.

Troubles often deepen your ability to lead. They refine your vision of God, clarify your priorities, strip away the illusions of life, reveal God’s grace and comfort, and keep you humble.

Galatians 6:2Share each other’s troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

Troubles should drive you into fellowship with others, building community by breaking down the barriers of self-reliance and isolation that so easily tempt you.

2 Chronicles 20:12O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.

Troubles teach you to rely on God’s provision and to lead with worship, not warfare.

2 Corinthians 4:7-17We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don’t give up and quit . . . We know that the same God who raised our Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself along with you . . . And as God’s grace brings more and more people to Christ, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. That is why we never give up.

2 Corinthians 6:4In everything we do we try to show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind.

Revelation 2:9-11I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! . . . Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The Devil will throw some of you into prison and put you to the test . . . Remain faithful even when facing death, and I will give you the crown of life. Despite all kinds of adversity, persevere because you serve Jesus and your work is to glorify him.