Psalm 34:19 – “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.”  NKJV

I had a person tell me once that if becoming a Christian was a guarantee against problems, they would readily accept Christ.  That individual had been witnessed to on numerous occasions by some well-meaning believers who suggested that by accepting Jesus, all life’s problems were over. 

At Salvation, our problems are, and they are not over!  They are in the sense that we settle our eternal destiny and have access to heaven’s resources for life, but they are not if one is to understand that one will never face another battle.  Accepting Jesus is the beginning of some major problems, difficulties, afflictions, and battles.  At that point, the devil declares full-scale war on you and will do all he can to shipwreck your life.

Please do not understand me to be making the devil more powerful than he is! The Bible identifies him as a defeated foe, but it does not declare him no longer existent.  He will attempt to destroy until he is finally thrown into the Lake of Fire.  The very idea that becoming a Christian excludes or exempts you from problems would call into question the many passages regarding the devil and the weapons of warfare the Lord has provided for us.  If all of our problems are over by receiving Christ, why bother with weapons you do not need?

The Psalmist declares that many are the afflictions of the righteous.  If that were all that he said it would be most depressing. I have experienced times when I could almost believe that was the end of the story as wave after wave of demonic attacks came my way.  There have been times when I, like the apostle Paul, almost despaired of life, wondering if there would ever be a reprise in the assaults.  Yet deep inside, I clung to the latter portion of the Psalmist’s declaration, “BUT the LORD delivers him out of them ALL….”   

When the enemy comes in, I expect God to come in like a flood and raise a standard against him!  I expect the Holy Spirit to comfort me when I am oppressed.  I take the words of our LORD to heart where He declared in Matthew 11:28 that I could come to Him in my weariness and fatigue from the assault and labors of life weighed down under the heavy burden pressed upon me, and HE will give me Rest. 

Trouble will knock on your door from time to time as you traverse from the cradle to the grave, and when it does, if you are a believer, “Lift up your eyes and look to the hills for your help comes from the LORD.”  He has not forsaken you, and you can cling to the promise here in Psalm 34 that although you may face many severe afflictions in life, GOD will deliver you out of them all, even if that deliverance is taking you out of this world, and home. 

May the Lord be with you as you go through this day!  Do not expect a life free of problems but a promise-filled one!   God bless you as you go through your day!