Trouble comes to everyone.  Even to Christians.  Even to committed Christians.  Some have more than others, but all have some.  If it is not too severe, we usually muddle through.  But if it is really a “day of trouble,” looming over us, overwhelming us, we are often ready to give up.  In such a time, God has a word for us.

    First, He issues an invitation: “Call upon me.”  Simple enough, isn’t it?  But we are reluctant to do that. We are independent so we try to work things out by our efforts.  When that doesn’t work we might enlist the help of others.  Often we don’t get still enough and quiet enough to hear God’s invitation until all hope is gone.  Only then do we call upon Him.

    It would be so much better if we habitually called on God immediately.  That’s what He wants us to do.  If we could develop the habit of calling on Him before we do anything else, we would spare ourselves much hardship and worry.  But God is so kind and gracious that He responds to our call, even when we wait until all else fails.

    Then He makes a promise: “I will deliver you.”  Help would be appreciated.  In fact, that’s what many of us really want.  We want help to work it out by ourselves.  But God doesn’t promise to help us.  He promises to deliver us.  That’s different.  Help is God doing some, while we do the rest.  Deliverance is God doing everything, while we watch.

    When God makes a promise, He keeps it.  When some men make promises, they don’t really plan to keep them.  Others make promises with the best of intentions, but are not able to keep them.  With God, things are different.  He not only intends to keep His promise, but He has the ability to do so.  “With God nothing shall be impossible.”  (Luke 1:37).  We can count on it.  If we call on Him in faith, He will do what He says He will do.  He will deliver us.

    Finally, He gives a command: “You shall glorify me.”  How do we do that?  There are several ways to glorify God.  Jesus said God is glorified when we grow in Christian maturity (“bear much fruit” John 15:8).  Paul said we glorify God when we life holy, separated lives (1 Cor. 6:20).  Jesus glorified God by being obedient to God’s will, especially when He died on the cross.

    But there is another very important way we can glorify God.  Later in this psalm, God said, “Whoever offers praise glorifies Me,” (vs, 23).  If God did it all, then God, and God alone, deserves the credit.  And He wants us to give Him the credit due.  Praise is giving God the credit.  It is simply bragging on God.  It is telling anybody and everybody the remarkable things that God has done in delivering us in the day of trouble.

    If we call and He delivers, the least we can do is tell others.  And that will glorify God.