“Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19).
TEXT — Psalm 34:15-22
Message
His troubles were so numerous that the police authorities requested that he should carry a walkie-talkie everywhere he went as the most versatile of all crime victims in the United States. This Passaic, New Jersey man endured 83 muggings over five years. He was hospitalised 20 times, severally knifed, shot at twice and bludgeoned with a metal pipe, losing several teeth, robbed of $2,000 in cash, and dispossessed of several bags of groceries and four automobiles.
While this man looks like the definition of excessive affliction, his experience may not be compared to what some believers encounter. The enemy constantly attacks, undermines, and shoots at the righteous at all times. This is akin to the troublous picture the psalmist painted in Psalm 34, out of which God delivers the righteous. The psalmist highlights a litany of devilish activities from which our unfailing God constantly delivers His faithful ones. There are the constant cries, the multitude of troubles, the broken hearts, the hatred of evil ones, palpable desolation, and many more! In all these things, believers in Christ are more than conquerors.
God has unfailing promises for those who have chosen the path of righteousness. While he may be assuaged like the Passaic, New Jersey man, his God is constantly on his case, delivering and lifting him up. What an assurance for all the people of God to live free of worries and anxiety caused by the secret workings of the enemy of their souls.
It is imperative that the righteous cry to the Lord. Our text confirms that God’s ears are always open and His eyes constantly watch over all righteous and peaceful children. Sometimes, the suffering believer may feel alone, almost abandoned, and sad. Still, God is closer to His righteous ones than we imagine. He will not allow the enemy to overcome the faith of those who trust Him. Prophet Isaiah even made a bolder declaration: “In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old” (Isaiah 63:9). Saints, rejoice in the Lord. Be at peace. The fact that God is for us is an everlasting assurance and joyfulness that no worry and anxiety must diminish.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
