Armed Warrior For God

Trouble In The War Zone

Trouble In The War Zone

"'He will.' it may not be today,
That God himself shall wipe our tears away,
Nor, hope deferred, may it be yet tomorrow
He will take away our cup of earthly sorrow;
But, precious promise, he has said he will,
If we but trust him fully, and be still.
"We, too, as he, may fall, and die unknown;
And e'en the place we fell be all unshown,
But eyes omniscient will mark the spot
Till empires perish and the world's forgot.
Then they who bore the yoke and drank the cup
In fadeless glory shall the Lord raise up.
God's word is ever good; His will is best:
The yoke, the heart all broken, and then rest."
Claudius l. Chilton
The famous writer E.M. Bounds wrote about "The Essentials of Prayer," and I quote here
some of his works on prayer and trouble.
Trouble and prayer are closely related to each other.
Prayer is of great value to trouble. Trouble often drives men to God in prayer, while
prayer is but the voice of men in trouble. There is great value in prayer in the time of trouble. Prayer often delivers out of trouble, and still oftener gives strength to bear trouble, ministers' comfort in trouble, and begets patience in the midst of trouble. Wise is he in the day of trouble who knows his true source of strength and who fails not to pray.
Trouble belongs to the present state of man on earth.
"Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble." Trouble is common to man.
There is no exception in any age or clime or station. Rich and poor alike, the learned and the ignorant, one and all are partakers of this sad and painful inheritance of the fall of man. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man." The "day of trouble" dawns on every one at some time in his life. "The evil days come and the years draw nigh" when the heart feels its heavy pressure. That is an entirely false view of life and shows supreme ignorance that expects nothing
but sunshine and looks only for ease, pleasure and flowers. It is this class who are so sadly disappointed and surprised when trouble breaks into their lives. These are the ones who know not God, who know nothing of his disciplinary dealings with his people and who are prayer less.
What an infinite variety there is in the troubles of life!
How diversified the experiences of men in the school of trouble! No two people have the same troubles under like environments. God deals with no two of his children in the same way. And as God varies his treatment of his children, so trouble is varied. God
does not repeat himself. He does not run in a rut. He has not one pattern for every child.
Each trouble is proportioned to each child. Each one is dealt with according to his own peculiar case.
Trouble is God's servant, doing his will unless he is defeated in the execution of that will.
Trouble is under the control of almighty God, and is one of his most efficient agents in fulfilling his purposes and in perfecting his saints. God's hand is in every trouble which breaks into the lives of men. Not that he directly and arbitrarily orders every unpleasant experience of life. Not that he is personally responsible for every painful and afflicting thing which comes into the lives of his people. But no trouble is ever turned loose in this
world and comes into the life of saint or sinner, but comes with divine permission, and is allowed to exist and do its painful work with God's hand in it or on it, carrying out his gracious designs of redemption.
All things are under divine control. Trouble is neither above God nor beyond his control. It is not something in life independent of God. No matter from what source it springs nor whence it arises, God is sufficiently wise and able to lay his hand upon it without assuming responsibility for its origin, and work it into his plans and purposes concerning the highest welfare of his saints. This is the explanation of that gracious statement in Romans, so often quoted, but the depth of whose meaning has rarely been sounded, " and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God".
Even the evils brought about by the forces of nature are his servants, carrying out his will and fulfilling his designs. God even claims the locusts, the cankerworm, the caterpillar are his servants, "my great army", used by him to correct his people and discipline them.
Trouble belongs to the disciplinary part of the moral government of God.
This is a life of probation, where the human race is on probation. It is a season of trial.
Trouble is not penal in its nature. It belongs to what the scriptures call "chastening".
"Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth."
Speaking accurately, punishment does not belong to this life. Punishment for sin will take place in the next world. God's dealings with people in this world are of the nature of discipline. They are corrective processes in his plans concerning man. It is because of this that prayer comes in when trouble arises. Prayer belongs to the discipline of life.