The cry for protection and breakthrough arises from a heart that knows its own frailty and the fury of the battle. This is well, for the Lord is a stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows them that trust in Him. Your sense of need has driven you to the right fortress, for there is no other security. Without walls of Divine Grace and bulwarks of mercy, how can a tempted soul escape the clutches of the Destroyer? But where the soul lies in the entrenchments of Divine promise, all the devils in Hell cannot carry it by storm. Your safety does not lie in how earnestly you have pled, but in Him to whom you flee. He is the castle; cast yourself entirely upon Him.
When you seek breakthrough, remember that deliverance is by Divine power alone. The dry tree by Divine Grace shall flourish; the green tree, deserted by the dew of heaven, shall dry up. The Lord brings low the high tree and exalts the low. If you would see the chains of circumstance or besetting sin shattered, look not within, but to the heavenly Father, altogether and alone. Deliverance from the power of darkness is as much His work as deliverance from its guilt. He has found a ransom; the great transaction’s done. Therefore, He makes their deliverance effectual and in very deed He brings them forth. This breaking through of light into the prison-house comes when the Lamb is slain, grounded in the finished work of Christ, not in your tremulous grasp of it.
Yet do not think these trials strange or outside His rule. If this evil came apart from Divine permission, where would you be? It is a hopeful thing when we find that all our ills lie within the fence of Omnipotent overruling. The Lord chastens sorely, but it is always one great object of the Divine dealings to make and keep us humble, and then to display His own perfections. He has a stronghold in the day of trouble, giving safety and perfect peace, a fortress defying the enemy. The foe comes tearing up the hill, but God abides forever the same, a sure refuge. His grace shall to the end stronger and brighter shine; He has not forsaken those who seek Him, nor ever will.
Now, having this shield, go forth declaring the works of the Lord. The believer’s conduct after deliverance is not silence, but testimony: “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” And when a Christian man is saved, he is not content with his own safety; he longs to see others blessed. So take this word for yourself and for all in need: the Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble. He will set His people aloft, like an eagle perched on a towering crag. Doubt not your deliverance; the clock of mercy has struck. Rest in the ransom found, and expect to see the high tree laid low and the humble heart lifted into the sunlight of Divine Love.