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trouble that does not reach us

Psalm 91:7-8 (JDV)

Psalm 91:7 Though a thousand fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, it will not reach you.
Psalm 91:8 You will only see it with your eyes and witness the punishment of the wicked.

trouble that does not reach us

This passage can be used to express the false notion that believers will never face trouble. As Stradling puts it, “the message of this psalm is that God is present and that he is our hope. Paul found that God worked through him especially in times of weakness, for Jesus had said to him: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’, and when he was weak then he was strong. God says to us: ‘I am with you in trouble.’ He does not promise to get us out of trouble, but he does promise to come into the trouble with us, as a good friend, and that makes the trouble bearable” (68).

We will have trouble, but it does not have to reach us. It does not have to overcome us. We can overcome the hardship because we trust the God who promises to never leave us.

Stradling, Leslie E. Praying the Psalms. London: S.P.C.K, 1977.