(The LORD says) “And call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” Psalm 50:15

Seven acres isn’t a lot of ground … usually.

Of course, when it’s dark, and you’re all alone, and you’ve never been on those seven acres before, that property can get very big.

That was the situation in which a father, mother and three-week-old baby found themselves when the sun went down and they were lost in the middle of the Headless Horseman corn maze at Connors Farm.

Not used to such a situation, the mother, in a panic, called 911. For almost seven and a half minutes the dispatcher talked to the husband and wife. He assured them that help was on the way and they calmed down. Finally, an officer reached them and they were brought to safety.

Since that story hit the news the media has had a field day. They revealed the family’s name, that the parents and child were only a few yards away from the road, that the owners of the maze had all kinds of signs to help people get out, and that the family could have walked through the corn rows to get their bearings.

All of which is true and logical and sensible unless it’s dark and you’re all alone and you’re, well, you get the idea.

Now there may be people in this world who have managed to avoid all forms of trouble. If, however, you are an individual who has seen difficulties and more than your fair share of trouble, the words of the Lord as recorded by the psalmist are incredibly comforting.

In Psalm 50 the Lord says, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble.” Did you notice the Lord didn’t say that there was no such thing as trouble; nor did He deny that troubles can cause a person legitimate concerns.

No, trouble is real, but so is God’s love. Our passage assures us that when your trouble comes — whatever trouble that might be — He will be there to deliver us.

For a number of reasons, no one should be surprised at the Lord’s promise. First, as the Creator of all that is, the Lord is far greater, far more powerful than any trouble this world can produce.

Second, in the Person of His Son, our Savior, the Lord has already shown He is committed to fixing that which was broken. So we might be forgiven, so He might declare us innocent of wrongdoing the Lord Jesus took our place by perfectly fulfilling all the divine laws, by resisting every temptation and by defeating death.

Both logic and Scripture tell us that if the Son of God was sacrificed so we could be delivered from our great enemies — sin, death and devil — then we can also be sure the Lord will deal and deliver us from those lesser troubles as well.

This pretty much explains that passage except for that last little bit, the part about how after trouble has come and after the Lord has dealt with that trouble He expects that we show a grateful heart: just like that family showed their gratitude when the policeman delivered them from the maze.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, in this sinful world trouble is sure to come to us all. When that happens, may we place ourselves into Your hands for deliverance. This I pray in the Name of Him who is the cause for my faith. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Pastor Ken Klaus
Lutheran Hour Ministries http://www.lhm.org/ all rights reserved; not to be duplicated without permission.