Most of us have never lived through a major “Day of Trouble” before in our lives, but our parents or grandparents lived through two major wars and a major depression. Throughout history, there have been many days of trouble, evil days, times of trouble. Many were far, far worse that what we are facing. Civilizations were brought down and other rose up. Christians were severely persecuted and even killed for their faith – and they counted it a privilege. They knew something about God that we don’t. He is a very present help in all kinds and times of trouble.
I looked up some of these terms to see what the Bible has to say. That is always what I do and what I have always done. One thing that is clear is that God is always there. He is close and near to help those who come to Him and call upon Him. He meets physical needs, He meets mental and emotional needs. He protects us from disaster, and gets us through to the other side. He ALWAYS has help. He ALWAYS gives wisdom. He ALWAYS has a plan of escape to that you can come out victoriously.
This is just a list of scripture, an outline I would use to teach from. If you want the benefit of these scriptures, take the time to write them out for yourself. Look at what the Lord gives as the answer to the times of trouble. Make a list of all that He says He is and all that He says He will do. Ask what He is saying to you.
Then speak these things over yourself and your situations. Meditate of these truths more than the evil day happening around you. You will find His peace will come, wisdom will come; He Himself will come and comfort you and strengthen you to go forth and do whatever needs to be done. And in the end, you will come forth into victory.
Let’s look at some of these scriptures.
Psalm 20:1-2 – May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob defend you; may He send you help from the sanctuary, and strengthen you out of Zion.
Psalm 50:15 – Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”
Jeremiah 16:19 – LORD, you are my strength and fortress, my refuge in the day of trouble!
Ephesians 6:13 – Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Nahum 1:7 – The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him.
Psalm 27:1-5 – The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
Psalm 57:1-2 – Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by. I will cry out to God Most High, to God who performs all things for me. He shall send from heaven and save me; He reproaches the one who would swallow me up. God shall send forth His mercy and His truth.
James 1:2-8 – My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Habakkuk 3:17-19 – Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls – Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills.
2 Kings 19:3 – They told him, this is what King Hezekiah says: This is a day of trouble, insult, and disgrace. It is like when a child is ready to be born, but the mother has no strength to deliver it.
Nehemiah 9:27 – So you handed them over to their enemies. But in their time of trouble they cried to you, and you heard them from heaven. In great mercy, you sent them deliverers who rescued them from their enemies.
Job 3:25-26 – For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me. I have no peace, no quietness. I have no rest; instead, only trouble comes.
Psalm 9:9-10 – The Lord also will be a refuge and a high tower for the oppressed, a refuge and a stronghold in times of trouble (high cost, destitution, and desperation). And they who know Your name [who have experience and acquaintance with Your mercy] will lean on and confidently put their trust in You, for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek (inquire of and for) You [on the authority of God’s Word and the right of their necessity].
Psalm 31:7-8 – I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy, for You have considered my trouble; You have known my soul in adversities, and have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a wide place.
Psalm 37:39 – The Lord saves the godly; He is their fortress in times of trouble. The Lord helps them, rescuing them from the wicked. He saves them, and they find shelter in Him.
Psalm 46:1-3 – God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear, even if earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!
V. 1 (NKJV) – God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 49:5 – Why should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?
Psalm 59:16 – But I will sing of Your power; yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; for You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble.
Psalm 69:17-18 – Don’t hide from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in deep trouble! Come and rescue me; free me from all my enemies.
Psalm 77:2 – 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.
RSV – In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.
Psalm 81:7 – You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you;
Psalm 86:7 – I will call to you whenever trouble strikes, and you will answer me.
Psalm 91:15-16 – When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue them and honor them. I will satisfy them with a long life and give them my salvation.
Psalm 107:6, 13, 19, 28 – Lord, help! they cried in their trouble, and He rescued them from their distress.
NKJV – Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses.
Psalm 138:7-8 – Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever.
Proverbs 1:24-33 – Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, because you disdained all my counsel, and would have none of my rebuke, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, When your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer.
Proverbs 3:25-26 – Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; for the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.
Proverbs 11:8 – The righteous is delivered from trouble, and it comes to the wicked instead.
Proverbs 13:21 – Trouble chases sinners, while blessings chase the righteous!
Isaiah 33:2-3 – But Lord, be merciful to us, for we have waited for you. Be our strength each day and our salvation in times of trouble. The enemy runs at the sound of your voice. When you stand up, the nations flee!
Isaiah 43:2-4 – When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba as a ransom for your freedom. Others died that you might live. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.
Isaiah 65:23 – They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth children for trouble; for they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.
Jonah 2:2 – He said, I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the world of the dead, and Lord, you heard me!
2 Chronicles 15:5-7 – But when in their trouble they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands. So nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity. But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!
Psalm 9:9-10 – The Lord also will be a refuge and a high tower for the oppressed, a refuge and a stronghold in times of trouble (high cost, destitution, and desperation). And they who know Your name [who have experience and acquaintance with Your mercy] will lean on and confidently put their trust in You, for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek (inquire of and for) You [on the authority of God’s Word and the right of their necessity].
Psalm 46:1-3 – God is our refuge and strength, a very present help (abundantly available for help) in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.
He isn’t just present to watch and know what is going on. He is there to actually help me. He is available to help me.
TEV – God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not be afraid, even if the earth is shaken and mountains fall into the ocean depths.
Living – God is our refuge and strength, a tested help in times of trouble. And so we need not fear even if the world blows up and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam; let the mountains tremble!
Jerusalem – God is both refuge and strength for us, a help always ready in trouble; so we shall not be afraid though the earth be in turmoil, though mountains tumble into the depths of the sea, and its waters roar and seethe, and the mountains totter as it heaves.
Darby – God is our refuge and strength, a help in distresses, very readily found.
I am not afraid though the earth is in turmoil around me afraid of this and that. God, Creator and sustainer of all, is on my side, ever ready to help me, a help in distress, very readily found.
Hebrews 4:15-16 – For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
How could a God so powerful also be so good? He has placed Himself at the end of my cry! He has promised to help me in times of trouble and need! He sympathizes with me and is touched with the feelings of my infirmities. He knows I need Him – even more than I do. It is amazing but very clearly seen in His eternal, unchanging Word.
I know Him. I am certain of His constant care. I have experienced His mercy and know He is ever present. So I confidently put my trust in the Lord. He is my refuge in times of trouble (high cost, destitution and desperation). Though the whole earth is in turmoil around me, I am not afraid. Regardless of what happens to them, I know He is my help and strength and refuge. He help is ever present whenever I need it; it is real and true help.
The Lord is my refuge and stronghold in times of trouble, high cost, destitution, and desperation. When darkness overtakes me, light will come bursting in. I don’t fear bad news or live in dread of what may happen, for it is settled in my mind that the Lord will take care of me. I know that He is a present help. He will help me in whatever troubles are around me. When the wicked come upon me, they stumble and fall. Because the Lord takes care of me, I am confident and fearless and can face my foes triumphantly. God’s constant care of me will make a deep impression on all who see it. I am certain that He always causes me to triumph.
My heart is upheld, I will not fear, until I look with satisfaction on my adversaries. When darkness comes, light comes bursting in. When the wicked come, they fall. Even a host can’t hurt me. I confidently trust the Lord to care for me. I am confident and fearless in the face of all the enemy tries against me because I am certain it will perish and come to nothing.