When my husband, Joe, and I were going through a very difficult and scary time financially, the Lord brought the verse above to my remembrance. I had claimed this promise many times, and this particular time, I was feeling a bit hesitant to do so. It seemed as though I was always asking the Lord to deliver my family and me in one regard or another. And I was getting weary of hearing myself claim this promise over and over again.

Then the Lord showed me that He inspired Paul to write this passage in the Bible to encourage us, not to convict us. He wanted us to know that His mercy, goodness, and desire to help us never wear out. Notice that God is NOT saying, "Well, I see that you're in trouble yet again. Don't think that I'm going to bail you out every time you have a problem. I'm through rescuing you!" No. When we have put our faith in Christ as our Savior, and have been adopted into God's family, we have the privilege of asking Almighty God to help us in our time of need - no matter how many times a need arises.

Yes, there are times when the Lord must allow us to suffer the natural consequences of our poor choices and decisions. But even then, He will not turn away from us when we turn to Him for help. The Lord longs for us to humble ourselves before Him, to repent for anything we might have done to invite our troubles, and to ask Him to forgive us and send us the kind of help that only He can give.

The Bible says, "God is to us a God of deliverances." (Psalm 68:20 NASB) It is our God's very nature to want to deliver His people when they are in trouble. Paul discovered this truth and declared, "He has delivered us…and He will deliver us again. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us."

If you are in trouble today, and you have rightly placed your hope in the Lord for your deliverance, you have His assurance that His help is on the way!

Prayer: Lord, Your Word makes it clear that You delight in delivering Your people. Teach me how to live for You, and how to rely on You for all my needs. When I am in trouble, show me how to position myself to receive the rescue You have in store for me. Help me to learn from my mistakes, but when I do repeat them, don't let me stubbornly refuse or neglect Your help. Today, I choose to look to You for rescue and relief!