In Times of Trouble
Pastor Tan Thai · Aug 29, 2021
This sermon based on Psalm 107 reminds believers that trouble is an unavoidable reality of life, and only God can rescue us in our most desperate situations. God's love and mercy are most clearly revealed through His deliverance of His people in times of distress.
The sermon opens with a call to reflect on the love and mercy of Jehovah, drawn from Psalm 107. The pastor emphasizes that the God of Scripture is completely different from the image of 'Heaven' in Vietnamese and Asian religious thought — He is not a distant, fearful deity to be avoided, but a God of love who desires closeness and relationship with His people.
The theological center of the sermon explains the root cause of all human suffering: the sin of Adam and Eve broke every relationship, resulting in five consequences — separation from God, conflict with the devil, nature becoming hostile to humanity, bodily sickness and pain, and conflict in human relationships. Therefore no one can escape trouble in this life, and the saying 'There is no atheist in a fox hole' illustrates that in utterly desperate situations, everyone senses the need for a power outside themselves.
Psalm 107 describes four completely hopeless situations: wandering lost in a desolate desert wilderness, being imprisoned in darkness and chains because of rebellion against God's word, suffering near death from the consequences of one's own sins, and facing despair before a fierce storm on the open sea. In each situation, the people cried out to Jehovah and He delivered them — leading the wanderers to a habitable city, breaking the chains of the imprisoned, healing the sick, and calming the storm at sea.
The sermon then shows that Psalm 107 is the shadow, and Jesus Christ is the true substance: He is 'the way, the truth, and the life' for those who are lost (John 14:6), 'the light of the world' for those in darkness (John 8:12), the One who bears our sicknesses and sins (Isaiah 53:4-5), and the One who calms storms with His word (Matthew 8:26-27). The most complete deliverance is the one Christ accomplished through His death and resurrection.
The closing section answers the question of why God allows His people to go through hardship: so they learn to depend on Him and grow to maturity in faith, character, and perseverance (James 1:2-4). Psychologist Victor Goertzel's study of 400 famous 20th-century figures showed that 75% grew up in difficult circumstances — trouble can be the very environment in which people develop most fully. The sermon closes with the promise of Psalm 30: 'weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.'