Trusting God in difficult times is essential. And when these difficult times come, He is the One who gets us through it. Notice I said, THROUGH. He doesn’t necessarily have us escape the situation. Think about the Israelites as they left Egypt with Moses, and Pharoah was hot on their tail, and they came upon the Red Sea. Did God catapult them over the sea or go around it? Or run the other way? No. He miraculously had them walk through it (Exodus 14:21-22 ESV).
During our difficult times, God has us walk through them too. The cool thing is He is right there with us. We need to trust Him that He has a bigger plan. And rely on Him to guide us, protect us, and give us the strength we need to continue. He will provide exactly what we need and when we need it.
Trusting God in Difficult Times: A Biblical Example
Daniel’s life is a great example of Bible stories about trusting God in difficult times.
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon overtook Jerusalem. And he brought home the swag from the kill. Oh, and a few youths to serve him. These youths were in such high regard of the King that the Babylonians put time into their training. It took 3 YEARS to train and learn the skill of serving the King! And the training I had at my new job was 2 1/2 days. Wow, here I thought I was being well-trained. 😉
After Daniel had finished training, he jumped into his work of serving the King. He was wise and was sought out by the king to explain his dreams. Daniel explained dreams and wall writings to another king. And when Darius the Mede became king, Daniel was put in a precarious position.
During Darius’s reign, Daniel was one of the three high officials over the many leaders throughout the kingdom. Because Daniel had an excellent spirit, so he was set to be the highest official over the others (Daniel 6:3 ESV). People can be jealous of others and their success. As the king intended to promote Daniel, these other men were jealous and looked for a way to trap Daniel so he would fail. They determined that they would use his faith as a trap. So these men got the king to agree to a decree that all people would bow to him only. And if they did not, they would be cast into the lion’s den (Daniel 6:4-5 ESV).
Daniel and the Lion’s Den
So if you know the story of Daniel and the lion’s den, you know what happens next. Daniel continued to pray to God three times a day as he had done previously. Daniel would not let a decree made by man deter him from faithfully worshipping his God (Daniel 6:10 ESV).
This distressed the king when he learned that Daniel would be doomed to the fate of being put in the lion’s den. No one had survived thus far. When Daniel had been gathered and cast into the den,
the king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”
Daniel 6:20 ESV
The king fasted during the night and was unable to sleep during the night. He ran to the den of lions and found that Daniel was alive!
Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.
Daniel 6:23 ESV
Daniel trusted God that He would provide for him. Either Daniel would be eaten and be in the presence of God, or he would be saved from harm. And the latter is what happened. God sent an angel to close the mouths of the lions, so Daniel came out of the den unharmed.
Similar to Today
In today’s society, we are mandated to do things we disagree with.
The company I was at for 22 years made it mandatory to get the first dose of the ‘C jab’ by a specific date. For some people, this was fine, and they chose to get it.
However, I thought the ‘jab’ was an individual choice and should not be mandated. I began looking for another job. I prayed that God would lead me to another position that didn’t have the ‘jab’ as a requirement. This was a leap of faith to trust God that He would provide. I prayed that God would open doors or slam them shut with each interview.
I trusted Him, and He answered big time! After six weeks of praying and interviews, I began working for a small company that was growing by leaps and bounds. Changing to this new job has helped me grow more in my faith by trusting Him to provide what I need. The last couple of years of my previous job prepared me for what I do today.
Trusting God by Knowing His Name
David was another example of Bible stories about trusting God in difficult times. Saul, his King, and mentor were pursuing him. Saul meant to harm David. But David did not want to fight back and hurt the anointed king. So he ran for his life and lived in the strongholds of the hills (1 Samuel 23:13-14 ESV).
David said he had terror on every side, and people were trying to kill him. Yet he trusted the Lord and called Him his God.
But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.”
Psalm 31:14 ESV
God had cared for David before, and by calling Him his God, He recognized the One who was worthy to be trusted.
He said this in Psalm 9 about those who KNOW God’s name and trust Him.
And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Psalm 9:10 ESV
His name is the name of above all names. And He can be trusted.
Trust in God: He is our Deliverer
Not only did David know God’s name, but he also found out that when he trusted him, there were benefits to that trust.
“He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
Psalm 22:8 ESV
God delivers and rescues us from danger because He delights in us! He did that for David many times. And as we read above, He delivered Daniel from the mouths of hungry lions!
We may know of the times that God rescued us, but there are many times that His angels have protected us from danger. Or rescued us unbeknownst to us.
Similarly, there have been so many times that God has protected me. But this one moment came to mind as I wrote this.
When I was a teenager and headed home from a date, the guy I was with came up to a right turn, a rounded corner where you can look left and then keep going. He looked back and stopped.
When I looked to see why he stopped quickly as he did, a truck went flying by at breakneck speed. The speed was so fast that our car shook from the force of the wind.
We looked at each other wide-eyed and were so glad that God had protected us at that moment! Neither of us would be here today had he pulled out into that oncoming truck. God had a plan for us – even though we later went different ways. But He was our Deliverer!
Trusting God Puts a New Song in Our Mouths
When we trust in God, He gives us a new song. We praise Him for all He has done. And for what He will do in our lives.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!
Psalm 40:3-4 ESV
We are blessed when we trust God. These blessings are far better than when we try to do things on our own and chase after things in this world. And the things of this world won’t satisfy us or give us the content we desire. It is a lie that they will.
God is Our Refuge
Many have found that trusting others can disappoint or even hurt us. But GOD. He is the one for us to take refuge in. He is the one to trust! The Psalmist makes this clear.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.
Psalm 118:8 ESV
A refuge is a place to hide and shelter when difficult times come our way. God is that shelter in the storm.
And in this verse, the Psalmist says that besides being a refuge, God is our fortress. A fortress is a stronghold to keep us secure during those storms we must go through.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Psalm 91:2 ESV
Trusting God in Difficult Times: We are Safe!
Whenever we choose to trust others, we may walk into a snare or trap that will hurt us. But with God, when we trust Him, we are safe and secure!
The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.
Proverbs 29:25 ESV
Trusting God in Difficult Times
Whether you are having a difficult time with mandatory laws that will leave you jobless (or life-threatening by being thrown into the lion’s den!), chased or threatened, or having a hard day, you can trust God. He is trustworthy and doesn’t forsake those who know His name and trust Him. And He is a refuge and fortress we can rely upon for safety and strength.
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