“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.” Psalm 91:14

We often find ourselves in trouble, pitfalls we can’t escape. Trouble comes in all shapes and sizes. We might have fallen on hard times financially. We might have suffered some injustice. We might be in poor health. We might be experiencing problems in our relationships. We might be overwrought and agitated. We all have problems. The question remains, as Christians, how do we deal with them?

We’re all looking for a way to solve our problems. We’re looking for a way to climb out of the pitfalls crippling our lives. We look for solutions in the world. We rely on money, connections, and hard work. If we do something better, do something smarter, we think we can solve all our problems, but we can’t. No matter what we do, we can’t rescue ourselves.

Only the Lord can rescue us from peril. Only the Lord can rescue us from the trouble and quicksand. Now, does God want to help those who seek solutions in other ways outside of God? Does He want to help those who include God as part of the way out of trouble? No! God helps those who recognize there is only despair without God. He rescues those who believe God is the only One to save them from all their worries, anxieties, and problems.

“‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord. ‘I will rescue him.’” God rescues those who love Him. God has given us the solution right there. The way out of all our problems, big or small, is to love Him. That’s it. It’s in the Bible, and God makes that promise. Repeat after me:
“Because he loves me!”
“I will rescue him!”
Do you believe this in your heart of hearts? The solution to all our problems… the way to climb out of all our pitfalls… the way to break free from the quicksand slowing us down… is to love Him!

What does it mean to love Him? The Bible says, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” The only way God rescues us is if we love Him. Loving Him entails keeping His commandments. It doesn’t mean keeping His commandments when things are good and easy; it means keeping His commandments at all times, whether times are good or bad.

Joseph experienced many ups and downs in his life. Sold into slavery, wrongly accused, and forgotten about in jail- how was Joseph rescued from these low points in his life? He loved God. He kept his commandments. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced trouble when the king threatened to throw them into the fire if they did not worship the gods and images they set up. What did they do? They loved God. They kept His commandments. “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

We all have trouble in our lives, and we have to accept the ebb and flow of life. Some of you are fighting the greatest battle of your life right now. Some of you are in a dark place because the world has turned on you. Whatever obstacles or hardships you face, there’s only one way out. Love God! And loving God means keeping His commandments. So wherever you are, how low or high you may be, remember God rescues us if we love Him. There is always hope in the darkest of days if we love God and keep His commandments.

Click for Korean sermon https://soundcloud.com/yhpaik/1981-3-13-mixdownshort-1