Dear Christian friends:

God has blessed us with a beautiful summer day. For most of us this Father's Day may be a very good day. Trouble seems far away. It does not seem to be a good time to preach about trouble, except for those who already have some of it.

However, our text, which is the Epistle Lesson for this Sunday speaks of trouble and how Christians should deal with it. Also, allow me to remind you that trouble often pops-up when we least expect it, even on a beautiful, national day. And, if we are realistic at all, we know that sooner or later it will come to us as it has to our relatives, friends and neighbors.

So on this beautiful, festive Sunday let us attend to our text and see what He would have us do


In spite of our trouble we need to remember that God is still in heaven and in charge of things. When troubles overwhelm us we may lose our cool, and act as if we have no God.

So Peter tells us: "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." (1 Peter 5:6) This simply means to recognize God as greater and wiser than yourself. If He allows trouble to come to you, He has good reasons for it even though you are not aware of them. Why did God allow the terrible tornado to flatten many homes recently in Oklahoma? Psalm 46:10,
"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
He commands us.

If we have humbled ourselves before God as we ought to then our response should be the same as David's in this very Psalm. Psalm 46:13:
"God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging."

When troubles come our God would have us humbly trust in Him. Peter tells us in our text,
"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)
"He cares for you." One of the most precious verses in the Bible!

So often, when trouble comes, it seems that no one really cares. O yes, our friends and relatives go through the formalities of caring, but many times they don't really care. "They couldn't care less," has become a popular saying in our day. And even if they care, they often do not have the resources to help, or the wisdom. But God does have this wisdom and all resources.

So it is most comforting and reassuring to hear these precious words of our text: "He cares for you." He who has the resources and wisdom to help in every need. He cares for you. You are very dear to Him and he is concerned about everything that happens to you. He cares more for you than your natural Father. So on this Father's Day don't forget to thank your Father in heaven also!

When troubles come, we may, of course wonder if God really cares and loves us. It's only natural. We might be tempted to think and even ask: "Can God really care about me? Does He really love me? If so, why has He allowed this trouble to happen to me?"

Certainly also, the devil will be on hand to suggest these thoughts to you and reinforce them. He may even go further and remind you of some of your past sins and suggest that God is now punishing you for a sin you formerly did.

That is why Peter here in our text, 1 Peter 5:8 warns:
"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."
Satan wants you to think that you are so bad that God can't love you anymore or forgive you. And when troubles overwhelm us it is not hard for us to think this way.

When troubles come we need to continue to believe that God has long ago forgiven all our sins through His Son, Jesus Christ who suffered and died on Calvary's cross to remove God's anger over human sin.

We need to hear again these Gospel words in Isaiah 1:18,
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool."

And in Psalm 103:12,
"as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."
And in Isaiah 43:25,
"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more."
God solemnly promises this.

When God allows trouble to come to us it is not because He is angry with us, or seeks to punish us. He, of course, is grieved by our sins and waywardness, but He is not forsaking us! He is chastening us! In Hebrew 12:6 the Bible says,
"because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son."

"As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; (Psalm 103:13)
As a loving caring father corrects his wayward children, so our heavenly Father lovingly corrects us with various troubles. He cares enough to bother to correct us, which is a lot more than some fathers today do for their erring children.

So, when troubles come, let us humbly and trustingly submit to our dear heavenly Father's mighty, heavy hand which has been laid upon us. Let us not despair, though Satan seeks to drive us down that lonely, dead-end road.

And finally, when troubles come, remember that they are sent to perfect you and strengthen your faith so that you at last enter into eternal glory and so that God be glorified.

Peter closes his exhortation with these precious words in 1 Peter 5:10-11:
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

And to that we we also say, Amen! Amen, let it be so Lord!

Amen.