I have found in my many, many years of experience as a minister of the Gospel that most people don’t know how to meet trouble. Troubles will come; you need to be ready for them. Jesus said, In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 16:33). The Lord will sustain you through all tribulations if you are prepared; but if not, they will knock you to your knees and it could be some time before you can get back up—your face may be in the dust for a while. This is why it is so important to get ready, to learn how to pray, how to meet troubles when the sun is shining, for then when the storm is raging, you’ll be all right. Prepare for the storms, spiritually speaking, in this final hour; you will have a lot of them.

The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him (Nahum 1:7). The Lord is a stronghold, your strength in the day of trouble. Have you ever had a day of trouble? If not, you’ve not really lived. Troubles can draw you closer to God or else drive you away. You won’t stay on the fence; you will go one way or the other, deeper into the love of God or back to the shallowness of the world.

The LORD is good; I like that. This is God talking about Himself, and God never lies. He’s good when the sun is shining and good when the storm is raging. I’ve always believed the Lord was good, a stronghold in the day of trouble. Some people are good to you so long as things are going well, but when the storms of life come and you really need friends, they are nowhere to be found.

He knoweth them that trust in him. God knows you. You don’t have to introduce yourself to Him. Some of you spend a lot of time trying to get acquainted with the Lord, especially in time of trouble. You’re shouting, It’s me Lord; don’t you know me? Don’t you remember me? Lord, look what I have done for you! You don’t have to remind God of your works; He already knows them and you, too.

We Are Perplexed but Not in Despair

The Apostle Paul writes, We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed (II Corinthians 4:8,9). If anyone knew about trouble, next to Jesus, it was Paul. Paul went through many, many ordeals. Whenever you think you’re having more troubles than anyone else, study brother Paul. Then you’ll want to hang your head in shame and ask the Lord to help you never to complain about your trials, your troubles again.

Paul said, We are troubled on every side. Front, back, left and right, he was surrounded by troubles. Did he give up? No. We as Christians today are troubled on every side; all hell is coming against us. We are perplexed; we didn’t know it would be like this; we’re amazed, but not in despair.

Despair is one of the ugliest enemies you can have. If you’re clouded over with despair, look into a mirror and see the reflection of an eyesore. Despair comes from the devil, so send it right back to him.

The Lord said He would beautify the meek with salvation (Psalm 149:4), not with despair.

Persecuted, but not forsaken. Isn’t that rich! Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven (Matthew 5:11,12).

Cast down, but not destroyed. The devil will try to make you think you’re destroyed; in fact, people who are not of God may think you’re destroyed, but you’re not. You rise up stronger than ever when you trust in the Lord, for His arm is strong toward you. He’ll lift you up, make you sit in a heavenly place. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-6).

The wonderful part about troubles and trials is when you come out of them with the victory; that victorious smile is in your soul. It’s not a forced smile; you don’t have to work at it; your face and your soul are smiling all over.

God looks at the inside, at the soul. People may be smiling on the outside and crying on the inside. Haven’t you smiled many times when you were really hurt inside? I’m glad the Lord can see the inside so He can dry the tears that count, those inside tears. It doesn’t take much to have tears rolling down your cheeks. A newborn baby will cry that kind of tears, and if he knew what was ahead of him, what was awaiting him, I’m sure he would scream louder than ever. But it’s reassuring to know that when we’re persecuted, we’re not forsaken by God; we’re cast down, but not destroyed. That’s wonderful!

A Pavement of Gold

Do you believe there’s a Heaven? Do you believe in rewards? God’s reward to you in Heaven won’t be a dime-store gift; it may be worth trillions of dollars and will last for all eternity—your reward—I’m not talking about anyone else’s, just yours. The Bible doesn’t tell us much about Heaven, but in Revelation is a description of a city, the New Jerusalem, and its twelve foundations are garnished with all kinds of precious stones. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass (Revelation 21:19-21).

Our Father is so rich He’s using gold for pavement in Heaven. Isn’t that wonderful! Our Father is rich, and we’re the heirs; so let’s hurry to get our work done for Him on Earth so we can see what He has in store for us.

God Will Handle Your Enemies

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me (Psalm 138:7). Not much life seems to be left in us sometimes when we’re in the midst of great trouble, loaded down with the horror of it. But the Psalmist said, Thou wilt revive me: That means you and me both, doesn’t it?

Thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies. God will stretch forth His hand against my enemies and yours. Depend on God. Why spend time in resentment, holding grudges and anger that put you in bondage, keep you from winning? You’re a loser when you could be a Jesus winner.

The Lord said, Vengeance is mine; I will repay (Romans 12:19). Leave your troubles in my hands; I’ll handle your enemies. Why try to seek revenge on your enemies? Let the Lord repay. He’ll give them a bigger pay-back of vengeance than you ever could muster up. When they get His pay-back, they’ll know you have been avenged. Plotting how to get even will do you no good; it will just destroy your blessings. Give no mind to your enemies. Have more consideration for your thought process than to use it stewing over them. God gave you a brain, cleaned it up, oiled it with the oil of the Holy Spirit for you to use for the Lord and not on the actions of the devil through people. You can have the mind of Jesus; isn’t that wonderful! The mind of Jesus is glorious, indeed!

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me (John 14:1). Do you carry a troubled heart almost all the time? Were you walking that closely with the Lord, you wouldn’t have a troubled heart. Not walking hand-in-hand with Him makes you weak.

You had a troubled heart when you came to the Lord—that’s the reason you came—and He changed that heart to a brand-new heart. Go back to your first love. God gave you peace and gladness and sent you on your way with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

The Lord doesn’t want you to be troubled; He wants you to think about the glory that’s ahead. The Lord has much in store for you. The best is yet to come; great blessings are in store for you in Heaven. Are you going there?

Giants in the Land

I can almost hear some say: Well, I’ve been looking at the destructive giants in the land.

Looking at the dangers is not where your blessings are; that kind of giant is not going to bless you. Goliath didn’t bless David at all. The blessing came when David laid Goliath out on the ground, ran over and picked up the giant’s sword.

Think about David; he was just a youth. How big Goliath’s sword must have been, a sword that was about all David could handle. However, it was sharp enough to cut off Goliath’s head.

When we have the victory, we slay the giants, those giants of doubt, fear, depression and oppression that all belong to the devil. None of them have the name of God on them. When troubles come your way, get ready to kill all the giants.

Miraculous Protection

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee (Isaiah 43:2). The fact that God gives this protection has been proven. The Israelites came through the waters of the Red Sea, and the waters didn’t overflow them. On dry land they went through the river of Jordan safely, too. When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. The Hebrew boys were safe in the midst of the fiery furnace. God has proven that He will look out for His children. This is all so real, so wonderful!

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). Always remember that for you who are called according to God’s purpose, all things work together for your good. How many times have you forgotten that scripture in time of trouble and said, Lord, I’ve done the best I could. I’ve served you with my whole heart. Why am I in this awful condition?

Hear the Lord saying, Child, all things work together for good to you who love me and are the called according to my purpose. If you’re in the divine will of God, He works for your good. If you think you don’t see anything to be encouraged about, it’s because you’re not looking at God’s Word. Always in God’s Word you can find encouragement. But if you forget God’s Word, you don’t have a right to be happy; you’ve forgotten His promises, and that’s disgraceful!

Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved (Psalm 55:22). In time of trouble know that the Lord is there to sustain you, help you, there to fill your cup to overflowing. Have you forgotten that all things work for your good? When you can’t see what’s working for your good, go to the Word. Read God’s promises and realize that He cannot lie. Know that everything is going to work for the good of the obedient, devout children of God, and tell yourself you’re going to be all right.

The Word must live on the inside of you. The Word speaks loudly to this servant of God. In time of trouble I don’t seek people; I flee to the Word. Whether it’s a period of storm or of sunshine, people can give only human remedies; their strength is limited. Flee to the Lord, to His everlasting arm. Flee to the Word of God, where you find your help. In the Word you have all the power and the strength you need today and for all the days ahead. Hold on to the Word of God.

God wants you to trust Him. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). In time of trouble your own understanding is weak support. In time of trouble, don’t go by your understanding; go by God’s understanding. Seek the face of God night and day for wisdom and knowledge to know what should or shouldn’t come out of your mouth, to know when to keep your mouth closed or when the Lord wants to use it to speak. Everything will work out, even though it may not seem that way at the time. God didn’t say things had to look as though they would work; God said they would work.

Those big jet planes don’t look as though they could take off, but they do; and they’re built by the hands of men. Since they can take off, fly like a bird, don’t you know the Lord can lift you up and let you fly? The Bible says: They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint (Isaiah 40:31). Some of you struggle getting to the top of the stairs in your own house, much less mounting up like the eagle. You feel so low you think you had better not go down into the basement, in case you couldn’t crawl out. Reach for the strength in the Word of God.

Meet Your Troubles the Right Way

If you meet troubles right, you can have the joy of Heaven in your heart. I don’t know, Lord, what you’re going to work out of this, but it’s going to be something good, wonderful, because you’re going to do it. I know, Lord, I’m going to be all right.

The Psalmist said, I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble (Psalm 31:7). What a wonderful statement: Thou hast considered my trouble. Some exhaust themselves trying to get God to consider their trouble. You don’t have to urge God to consider your trouble; He’s considered your trouble before you have. He considered your trouble at the onset because He has you in complete, one hundred percent consideration.

You’re precious in the eyes of God, and He loves you. His great love is looking out for you, and that’s the reason He tells you not to fret, not to worry but to have faith in Him. A death sentence may be upon you, some death disease, but don’t give up. Go to the Word and look to the Lord to heal your body; He’s healed many who had been to death’s door.

The Bible tells us, For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus, our high priest, is so close to us that He can be touched by every ache, every pain we suffer, every tear we shed, every feeling we have.

You waste much time in the wrong kind of prayer. Not knowing that the Lord is touched by your infirmities, you fail to believe that He knows, that He understands. If you don’t believe your request is going through to Him, it certainly hinders your prayer. Thinking you don’t have the ear of God, that you’re not reaching the throne of God, it’s no wonder you’re in despair, oppressed and depressed.

The Lord has made it clear that we can come boldly before Him. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16). Let us come how? Boldly. How can you come boldly if you don’t believe you’re approaching the Throne of Grace? If you don’t believe you’re going into the very presence of God, how can you have that boldness? You must have holy boldness through the six spiritual senses, not the five physical senses. Then you go right in before the Lord to make your request known with great faith, great hope, great trust, great expectations, and great thoughts, deep thoughts that God has. You expect God to move, expect Him to help, to deliver. You expect things to be better, if not the next moment, then right away. You know the Lord is with you, and you know He promised: I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (Hebrews 13:5).

God Cares for You

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you (I Peter 5:7). Why should you cast all your care upon the Lord? Because He careth for you. Never let the devil deceive you into thinking that God doesn’t care, that you’re not loved, that God loves everyone else more than He loves you. Don’t believe a word of his lies. Cast all your care upon the Lord; put all your troubles on Him. He’s the one to take your troubles; He knows how to handle them all.

Man wasn’t created to face troubles; and he’s not good at facing them, but God is. If we have God within to face those troubles for us, He makes all the difference in the world. He will lead us along as though we were little ones holding to Daddy’s loving hand. Giving you the consolation, He lets you know: Everything’s all right, Child; I’m here. Cast all your cares upon me, for I care for you. Memorize that verse, I Peter 5:7; it has a great message, a mighty message for you.

How do you face your troubles? What do you do when troubles come? If you take the direction of the Word, do what the Word tells you to do in time of trouble, you’ll get the blessings, the strength, the power, the joy, the peace, the happiness of the Word. But if you don’t take the Word, you won’t come out right.

Some of you have had to suffer for years and years over troubles that came into your life because you didn’t let the Lord take care of them, didn’t let the Lord work them out. You tried to work them out for yourself, tried to get other people to help, and it caused so much confusion that even God hasn’t been able to take them over one hundred percent. Oh, had you only turned them over to the Lord! Don’t wonder why God didn’t work; you are the one who made the mistake; you made the mess by taking those troubles to the wrong source. Becoming mixed up, damaged, hurt, you haven’t been able to rise above your troubles.

Time to Unload

Let this message help you to take your troubles to the right place; it’s time to unload them, to give them to the Lord. Do you think I’m going to carry the troubles of people home with me? If you do, you’re badly mistaken; I don’t need them. They wouldn’t make my living room look any better, so I just take them and give them over to Jesus. Does that shake your confidence? If so, don’t tell me your troubles because that’s what I’m going to do with them. I’m not going to make a companion out of them; they won’t be riding along in the car with me. I go down the road singing, blessing God, and living like the Lord intended. He said He brought abundant life, and I intend to live it; what about you? I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

Living that abundant life of joy, you have peace and happiness; you are not letting everything get you down. Do you know how strong you are in the Lord? Don’t use your imagination; realize how many burdens you let Him carry, how much you praise Him for all your blessings. Your strength in the Lord lies in yielding all to Him.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof (Matthew 6:34). Take no thought of tomorrow. How many nights of sleep have you let the devil ruin because you went against this message from Heaven? How many nights did you toss to and fro, unable to close your eyes until way in a morning hour? Maybe you were pacing around the living room or all through the house, wringing your hands, asking: What am I going to do? What you ought to be saying is, I’m going to trust God, that’s what I’m going to do. If you don’t trust God, fear can take you over; you won’t see a bridge to cross to the victory side, not even a canoe. Although you’re in bad shape needing doctor Jesus, you don’t call on Him. Not looking in the right direction for your help, you see fear, distress, trouble—and none of that lifts your burdens at all.

Whom Do You Trust?

If your car breaks down, does it help to just look at the problem when you don’t have one tool to fix it? Some of us wouldn’t know how to fix it even if we had a load of tools, but does it help to keep your eyes on it? No. What helps is for it to be fixed. What helps is to turn it over to someone who can fix it: There it is; take over.

You can turn your car over to a competent mechanic, but do you turn your burdens over to the Lord, the one who knows what to do with them? Do you take your troubles to the Lord, turn everything over to Him that He needs to take care of? If you don’t, you might as well face it: You don’t trust Him enough.

Oh, I trust Him.

If you really trusted Him all the way, you’d turn everything over to Him. Instead you come to Him saying, Here I am, Lord; I just knew I had to bring this problem to you. My son is giving me a lot of problems, or, my precious little daughter is causing me trouble. Lord, here they are. Then you don’t even get the door closed to the prayer chamber before you check on that prayer. When you see God hasn’t touched one of those little darlings yet, you run back and snatch him or her up so fast that God hardly knows what happened. You decide, I’ll do it; I’ll take care of it myself. God will let you do just that.

When you turn something over to God, it’s time to trust Him; don’t go back and take the problem out of His hands. When you doubt God, you’re taking it out of His hands; remember that. Those are faith hands, miracle hands; He works only with faith and miracle power. Trust in the divine blood of Jesus; God works through divine blood here on Earth just like He works in Heaven. He, I say again, can’t move for you when you take your troubles out of His hands.

Unload your troubles. If everyone’s troubles were unloaded, they would pile up like an ugly mountain, and we’d say, Here they are Lord; here they are: Take them! Can you bring that trouble you have, put it on the altar and leave it there? Some of you will coo to it, cry over it, pet it, pat it every once in a while, and never want it to leave. There’s no need to bless your trouble; get rid of it, turn it over to the Lord. Jesus is your burden-bearer. He said, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).

Be Anxious for Nothing

Do you need rest? This is a tired, stressed-out civilization. I don’t know how old I was before I heard the word stress. Growing up, I didn’t know people became stressed out. But now when a child isn’t doing right, he or she is stressed out. Everyone talks about being stressed out; I hear Christians complaining about it. It’s time to talk about being stressed in and get rid of being stressed out. In other words, meet your troubles.

Preacher, you’re hurting my feelings.

If I’m your problem today, turn me over to the Lord.

Preacher, I came to get help. I didn’t intend to find you as my problem; I thought you’d be my helper.

I can’t take your problems from you; I can just tell you what to do with them, show you the “dock” to unload them on. Unload your troubles; get rid of them. Jesus is ready to take them and give you a song in return. He’s tired of hearing you cry, grumble and complain.

Preacher, about the time I think you’re going to help me, you say something worse to me. I think I’m going to have to limp out on crutches or be pushed in a wheelchair by the time you get through with me.

No, you’re going to be strong. You’re going to leave your troubles and feel more like flying than walking. You’ll feel light, for when you unload your burdens on the Lord, He will give you the wonderful song of freedom and redemption.

The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:6, Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Why would the Lord tell you to be careful, or anxious, for nothing? That means not to worry, not to be troubled or anxious about anything. When you turn your problems over to the Lord, let your requests be made known to Him. That shows you have faith in Him, faith that He’ll take care of them. Now when troubles come, you’ll know what to do. But are you going to do it or not?

Actions Count

Preacher, will it really work?

You need to decide whether or not this Book will work because if it doesn’t work for you, you’ll never see Heaven; it’s your only door into that eternal paradise. You have to go through the Book, the Holy Bible, to get into Heaven; no other book will do.

Preacher, is that Book as strong as you say it is?

Oh yes, it’s as strong as I say. But are you going to use that strength? It isn’t what you say; it’s actions that count. From the time I can remember, I was told that actions speak louder than words. Through your actions God knows your attitude toward Him; you can’t hide it. He knows whether you fully trust Him or not.

Some are not conscious of not trusting God, not conscious of the condition they’re in. They don’t mean to neglect God, don’t mean to try to solve their own problems without His help, but they do it anyway. Check your actions for a whole week, day and night, and see what kind of actions they are. What kind of attitude do you have in prayer, what faith in the prayers you pray? What kind of actions do you have in the prayer chamber with the Lord? Do you struggle with the Word of God, the promises of God? Do you think the thoughts of God? Are you swept up into His thoughts, into His greatness?

Jesus said, In my name shall they cast out devils…they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover (Mark 16:17,18). Isn’t that great! Troubles can be handled in the name of the Lord; there’s power in His name. Use that power to turn your trouble or troubles over to God.

Learn How to Unload

Many of you have the same troubles day after day, week after week, month after month; some have had the same troubles for years. No matter how many people, how many relatives are involved, you still have to unload your troubles on the Lord, give them to Him and trust Him. Cast your burdens on the Lord. Since you will trust Him for eternity, why not learn to trust Him for this short lifespan here on Earth?

You’re not expecting trouble in Heaven. Why? Because God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost are there; and you know all troubles will be taken care of. Why can’t you believe God to take care of your troubles on this journey? Why can’t you unload everything and avoid that nervous breakdown, that fear and frustration? It would help you much just to learn to unload.

We’ve learned how to unload a truck or a wagon. We’ve learned to unload an armful of groceries. We’ve learned to unload the material things, but what about the troubles that hit us? There is someone who is waiting to take them, someone reaching out to assist us who will give us the strength, the courage, the faith, the love and the hope to unload. Why do we have trouble casting all our cares on the Lord? Because we need to think like He does. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD (Isaiah 55:8).

Take the high road where people are not weighed down with the cares of this life, for they have taken their burdens to the Lord and left them there. Those are the people who will be great soul winners in this final hour, the people who will have strength from Heaven and enjoy life on their way to Heaven. For the joy of the LORD is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

It’s wonderful to know how to meet the troubles that are coming on tomorrow. Troubles, remember, can be destructive if you try to take care of them yourself. The world was in a terrible condition when it had no one to carry the burdens of life, but then Jesus came all the way from Heaven to take your burdens, and the heaviest burden of all is the burden of sin.

Come to Jesus!

Sinner, come to Jesus; give your troubles to Him. Some of you have almost destroyed your life with troubles, troubles, troubles. Now you can be set free of that sin that has troubled you so long and robbed you of so much. The Bible says, If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:36).

Sinner, pray this prayer: Oh, God, save my soul. I’m so sorry I sinned against you, but I have come home, and I unload all my burdens. I give my burden of sin to you. I believe you will destroy this burden of sin through the divine blood that was shed for me on Calvary. I believe the power in the blood of Jesus washes away all my sins. Come into my heart, Jesus! Come on in, Jesus!

If you meant that prayer, you now can say, Hallelujah! He has come. Hallelujah! Jesus is mine.

You who have found Him today, serve the Lord; start reading your Bible. Some Bible fasting will help you along the way, and always pray knowing that the Lord is listening, and you will be ready to meet the troubles on tomorrow. Troubles will come, but now you have someone to help you. You have found the best friend you can ever have—Jesus. Take your troubles to the Lord the rest of the journey. You’ll find Him in every valley as you serve Him with your whole heart.

With His Stripes We Are Healed

You who are sick and afflicted, get ready for your miracle. You may have AIDS, leprosy, heart trouble, lung disease, cancer, diabetes or another death disease; it matters not. With his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). The blood stripes of Jesus, that divine blood gives life and destroys all sin, sickness and disease.

Are you ready? Thousands have been healed of AIDS through this Jesus ministry, and it’s hard to tell how many lepers have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus. It’s His power. These supernatural gifts in my life work; the Lord confirms what I preach to the people. Lord, I bring the sick and afflicted to you today. Lay a healing hand on that little dying child; you have healed so many of them. Make it well for thy honor and glory. Those mothers or daddys who are dying, God, deliver them from that death disease and give them life. In the name of Jesus, heal! In the all-powerful name of Jesus, heal! Heal! in the holy name of the Lord. Be thou made well.

You felt His presence, that’s your sign. Watch yourself or watch your child get well and then write and tell me about it. God’s blessings rest upon you.