Trouble comes to everyone. In this Sunday message from March 12, 2023, Pastor Linda Reese taught from Psalm 107 about what to do when it does: talk to God, and thank Him for the deliverance. Sometimes we wonder, after we finally pray, why we didn’t ask sooner.

Chains of every kind

Psalm 107:10-12 describes people sitting in darkness, bound in affliction and iron. We tend to think people in prison deserve what they get, but God loves everyone, however far they’ve fallen. Believers overseas are still jailed for their faith, as Paul and Peter were. Here, we can walk through the church doors and worship freely.

Other chains are quieter: debt from poor money decisions, health problems from poor choices, addiction. Whether the bondage came from sin, bad choices or no fault of our own, God can set us free.

Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.

Psalm 107:13 (KJV)

“He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder” (107:14). Darkness gives way to light, and gloom lifts as God replaces sadness with hope and joy.

He sent His word, and healed them

Some people are so sick or so tired that they don’t want to go on. Don’t rush death. God may still have a plan for you. The common thread in stories of healing is that someone prayed. “He sent his word, and healed them” (107:20). Pastor Linda once made a bookmark covered front and back with healing scriptures. Faith in Christ can break addiction and restore broken relationships.

Take inventory

Four times the psalm repeats, “Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness” (107:8). Start your prayers with thanks. The hymn says it: count your blessings, name them one by one. As a child, Pastor Linda sat down every New Year’s Eve and wrote God a letter listing everything she was thankful for that year. “Whoso is wise… shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD” (107:43).

The series began with His Mercy Endureth for Ever and continues in Praising God in Hard Times. Need prayer for healing or freedom? Send a request.