The promise encourages us, the invitation allures us, but trouble impels us to call upon our God! Our troubles are frequently the instruments the Holy Spirit employs to carry on His sacred work in our hearts. By troubles, He empties us of self, weans us from the world, and endears Jesus and His salvation to us! Oh, believer, make use of your privilege in every time of trouble and fully expect what Your God has promised!

“Call upon Me in the day of trouble! I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me!” Psalm 50:1 Believer, in this portion of the divine word, you will discover 1. your present portion, trouble; 2. your constant privilege, prayer; 3. your future prospect, deliverance.
1. Your present portion is trouble. You must expect trouble, and will certainly be deceived if you expect to escape it. Sin is the parent of trouble, and our sin-cursed earth its fruitful soil. Trouble springs up all around us and appears in an almost infinite variety of forms.
Every connection we form, every character we bear, every office we fill, and every relation we sustain is a fruitful source of trouble! We shall have trouble in mind, trouble in circumstances, trouble in body, trouble from almost every quarter! This poor world is not our rest, for it is polluted! This poor world is not our home, for we are poor pilgrims! This poor world is not our country, for we are strangers and aliens!
Every day has its peculiar troubles. Often when we look for a certain comfort, we only find peculiar distress and vexation! Everything declares, “Happiness is not in me!” You may look on the right hand, but you will find no permanent peace, and on the left hand, disappointment awaits you. Only in Jesus is solid peace, holy satisfaction, and permanent comfort to be found.
If we could rightly interpret the various voices around us, we would find them all saying: “Go to Jesus! Abide in Jesus! Derive all from Jesus or be wretched, miserable, and disappointed!”
In youth, manhood, and old age, trouble and tribulation is the Christian’s lot. Our God feeds us with the heritage of Jacob our father; but if we carefully read his history, we shall find some very bitter herbs grew on it. Joseph is lost, Rachel dies, Simeon is imprisoned, Benjamin must go, Simeon and Levi slay the Shechemites, and all these things appear against him!
Just so with us, troubles and trials follow each other, at times, almost like Job’s messengers treading on each other’s heels, and we are almost overwhelmed! But,
2. Your constant privilege is prayer, to visit the throne of grace and wait upon our God. He says, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble!”
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There are believers who are always complaining of their circumstances: they are worked too hard, they are tried more than others, they have such a vexing family, they have such a demanding job, they have such financial losses, they have no end of things to vex, harass, and distress them! Complaining Christian, “Do you have a father?” If so, had your Father anything to do with fixing your lot? Did He place you where you are? Is He wise? Is He good? Has He ever told you, that all things shall work together for your good?

Standing at my window one day, while the cholera was raging in London, I saw two corpses carried by, followed by one little child, walking alone next to the coffins, with a few neighbors behind. That child was now an orphan. Both parents had been carried off by the pestilence. The sight of that child produced deep emotions, and awakened painful sympathy in my heart.
I was led to think of the sorrows and privations of orphanhood, and then of the happiness of the Lord’s people to whom Jesus has said, “I will not leave you as orphans.” A believer can never be an orphan! He has an ever-living, ever-loving, ever-present Father! But many of the Lord’s people do not realize this, therefore they do not live and act under its influence.
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The yoke of Christ is EASY. Compare it with the yoke of Satan, which we wore in our natural state; the yoke of Moses, as worn by the Jews of old; the yoke of superstition, as worn by pagans now. It is easy, because connected with it for every trial, there is assistance; for every temptation, there is support; for every difficulty, there is help; for every sorrow, there is solace; for every trouble, there is tranquility; for every loss, there is unspeakable gain; and for every service, there is a rich and eternal reward!

The “yoke” symbolizes subjection and obedience. The yoke of Jesus includes the subjection of the understanding to His teaching. We must receive the kingdom of God as little children. All that He says, we must believe; and all that He commands, we must do.
The yoke of Jesus includes the subjection of the conscience to His authority. He must be sole Lord of conscience. As cleansed by His blood, enlightened by His truth, and sanctified by His Spirit, the conscience must bow to Him, be zealous for Him, and maintain His honor.
The yoke of Jesus includes the subjection of the will to His pleasure. We must prefer His will to our own, and make His pleasure ours. The yoke of Jesus includes the subjection of the heart to His love. His love must inflame, regulate, and elevate the heart. He must become the object of its highest, warmest love. Love to Him must rule our thoughts, words, and actions.
The yoke of Jesus includes the subjection of our abilities to His service. For Him, the duties of life must be performed.
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Let us, then, bear our afflictions with patience, and seek grace to honor God in all that we suffer, as well as by all that we do. If we keep our eye fixed on glorifying God, He will order and arrange everything that happens to us, so that it shall work for our good. 

Nothing ever happens to us by ‘chance’. Our little trials, our great troubles, our heavy crosses, our painful losses, are all a part of God’s plan! Nor did He plan afflictions for us merely haphazardly; He planned them because He saw that we needed them. He intended to make them rich blessings to us. Every cross is a mercy, every loss is a gain, every trouble is a blessing, and every trial is a seed of joy!
We shall be better in the future, for what we suffer now. If we sow in tears, we shall reap in joy. A wet spring will introduce a glorious harvest.
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