Encouraging Dependence on God's Sovereignty in Crisis Situations
Dependence on God's sovereignty in crisis situations is a recurring theme in biblical texts, encouraging believers to seek divine help and comfort amidst difficulties. The Psalms, for instance, frequently portray God as a "refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" [2]. This perspective emphasizes that God is with the afflicted [5] and that believers can confidently turn to Him for rescue [6].
The Bible encourages prayer during times of affliction, with specific requests for God's consideration of trouble, His presence and support, divine comfort, mitigation of troubles, and deliverance [4]. The author of Hebrews exhorts believers to "draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace for help in time of need" [1]. This highlights the accessibility of God's grace and mercy for those facing crises.
The apostle Paul's experience, as recorded in 2 Corinthians, further illustrates this dependence. one tradition states, "Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong" [3]. This passage suggests that human weakness can be a conduit for divine strength, fostering a deeper reliance on God. John Gill, in his commentary on Ephesians, interprets the petition for believers to be "strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man" as a request for fresh supplies of strength to endure tribulations [9].
Matthew Henry, a Nonconformist commentator, emphasizes that believers should not rely on "creatures, upon men and means, instruments and second causes," but rather "stay ourselves upon God as a God of power and a God all-sufficient for us" [7]. He also notes that all human undertakings should be managed "under the direction of his religion," with a continual regard for divine Providence [8]. This perspective underscores the belief that God is a "help and a shield" to those who trust in Him [10].
Sources
- Hebrews “Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace for help in time of need. -- Hebrews 4:16”
- Psalms “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. -- Psalms 46:1”
- 2 Corinthians “Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong. -- 2 Corinthians 12:10”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Affliction, Prayer Under — Exhortation to -- Jas 5:13. That God would consider our trouble -- 2Ki 19:16; Ne 9:32; Ps 9:13; La 5:1. For the presence and support of God -- Ps 10:1; 102:2. That the Holy Spirit may not be withdrawn -- Ps 51:11. For divine comfort -- Ps 4:6; 119:76. For mitigation of troubles -- Ps 39:12,13. For deliverance -- Ps 25:17,22; 39:10; Isa 64:9-12; Jer 17:14. For pardon and deliverance from sin -- Ps 39:8; 51:1; 79:8. That we may be turned to God -- Ps 80:7; 85:4-6; Jer 31:18. For divine teaching and direction -- Job 34:32; Ps 27:11; 143:10. Fo”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Afflicted Saints — God is with -- Ps 46:5,7; Isa 43:2. God is a refuge and strength to -- Ps 27:5,6; Isa 25:4; Jer 16:19; Na 1:7. God comforts -- Isa 49:13; Jer 31:13; Mt 5:4; 2Co 1:4,5; 7:6. God preserves -- Ps 34:20. God delivers -- Ps 34:4,19; Pr 12:13; Jer 39:17,18. Christ is with -- Joh 14:18. Christ supports -- 2Ti 4:17; Heb 2:18. Christ comforts -- Isa 61:2; Mt 11:28-30; Lu 7:13; Joh 14:1; 16:33. Christ preserves -- Isa 63:9; Lu 21:18. Christ delivers -- Re 3:10. Should praise God -- Ps 13:5,6; 56:8-10; 57:6,7; 71:20-23. Should imitate Christ -- Heb 12:1-3; 1P”
- Psalms (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Psalms 44:23: 44:23-26 In the end, God’s people can turn to the Lord and trust him for rescue. Their petition for God to remedy their situation is as strong as their lament about God’s rejection. 44:23 Wake up: Biblical authors often call for God’s attention in a crisis (35:23; 44:23; 73:20; 80:2; Mark 4:38).”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 121:1: This psalm teaches us, I. To stay ourselves upon God as a God of power and a God all-sufficient for us. David did so and found the benefit of it. 1. We must not rely upon creatures, upon men and means, instruments and second causes, nor make flesh our arm: "Shall I lift up my eyes to the hills?" - so some read it. "Does my help come thence? Shall I depend upon the powers of the earth, upon the strength of the hills, upon princes and great men, who, like hills, fill the earth, and hold up their heads towards heaven? No; in vain is salvation hoped for from hills an”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 127:1: We are here taught to have a continual regard to the divine Providence in all the concerns of this life. Solomon was cried up for a wise man, and would be apt to lean to his own understanding and forecast, and therefore his father teaches him to look higher, and to take God along with him in his undertakings. He was to be a man of business, and therefore David instructed him how to manage his business under the direction of his religion. Parents, in teaching their children, should suit their exhortations to their condition and occasions. We must have an eye to Go”
- Ephesians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Ephesians 3:15: That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory,.... Or according to, and out of that rich, plenteous, and glorious fulness of grace and strength in Christ Jesus. To be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; this is the petition which the apostle puts up on his bended knees to the Father of Christ, that he would strengthen these saints, that so they might not faint at the tribulations which either he or they endured. Believers in Christ need fresh supplies of strength to enable them to exercise grace, to perform duties, to resist Sat”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 115:9: In these verses, I. We are earnestly exhorted, all of us, to repose our confidence in God, and not suffer our confidence in him to be shaken by the heathens' insulting over us upon the account of our present distresses. It is folly to trust in dead images, but it is wisdom to trust in the living God, for he is a help and a shield to those that do trust in them, a help to furnish them with and forward them in that which is good, and a shield to fortify them against and protect them from every thing that is evil. Therefore, 1. Let Israel trust in the Lord; the body”