Have you ever found yourself in a really tough situation? Perhaps your situation was with your health, or marriage, or in another relationship, or with finances, or feeling pressed to make a decision.

God knows EVERYTHING we face.

The truth that God knows what we face gives me great comfort, takes away the fear that could build, and reassures me that as I seek Him, He will help me.

The following verses remind us of the importance of seeking God:

Proverbs 8:17: “I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me find Me.” People who truly love God, and put effort into seeking Him, find Him, and receive help and guidance as needed, according to His will.

Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Our mindset must be on Him, and what matters to Him. God will then provide all we need, not necessarily the way we want it, or in our timing, but what is best for us.

God often uses other people to help us. Therefore, we need to be focused on God so that we know when He is asking us to do something to help a person who is in a tight situation.

This means we need to be a follower of Jesus, submitting our lives to His will. We need to read His Word, daily, to know Him intimately. His Word is also His vessel His Holy Spirit utilizes to speak to our hearts so that we can know what He is asking us to do for His kingdom. 

Helping others who are in tight situations is one way for us to further God’s kingdom. 

When we help others, it is a testimony of God’s love, power, and provision. Helping others helps them, but also encourages us as we are blessed by God in our obedience to Him.

Helping others doesn’t always mean life will be easy. Consider so many of the men and women whose accounts are shared in Scripture. 

Jeremiah was a man, called by God to share His messages with the nation of Judah. Many of those messages revolved around their judgment by God for their rejection of Him. Jeremiah was not popular among most of his fellow Jews. But God equipped him to pronounce His Words, and Jeremiah did so obediently.

Jeremiah suffered physically on more than one occasion, because God’s message was rejected by the people. 

Jeremiah 38:7-13 is one account of a tight situation for God’s prophet, Jeremiah:

“When Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch who was in the king’s house [The king was King Zedekiah, who was an ungodly, evil man.], heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate— Ebed-melech went from the king’s house and said to the king [Approaching a king, as Ebed-melech did, was risky in those days. One never knew if it could result in your own death.], “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern, and he will die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city.” [Ebed-melech boldly presented his case before the king.] Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, “Take thirty men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” [Only God was able to move the king’s heart to grant favor for Jeremiah’s benefit.] So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe in the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes. [Ebed-melech came prepared to help Jeremiah.] Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Put the rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremiah did so. Then they drew Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.” 

Let’s consider the events of this account. 

Ebed-melech could have been fearful and not taken this bold stance. After all, he was an Ethiopian. He wasn’t one of God’s chosen Jewish people. But God had this worked out for he and Jeremiah. He did not shy away from doing what was right.  in the same way, Jeremiah had not shrunk back from obeying God.  God “showed up”, as people might say today, and granted favor for these faithful men. 

This is significant for us to remember when God is directing us to do something that could be dangerous. 

It is more dangerous to disobey God! 

We are “safe” in His hands when we obey Him. That might not mean this earthly life won’t end, but that we are safe for all eternity, and that is what matters.

What do you think it was like for Jeremiah, as he sat at the bottom of the cistern, expecting death was imminent? Can you relate to his tight situation, possibly thinking there was not a way of escape, that no one would come to your rescue, perhaps even thinking God had forgotten you?

But God had not forgotten Jeremiah. God was working behind the scenes for His glory, and Jeremiah’s benefit.

You might ask, how could Jeremiah benefit from sitting at the bottom of a cistern?

God allows, or even puts us into tight situations, so that we will look to Him. [John 16:33 reminds us that Jesus told us we would have troubles, but that we can look to Him for help. James 1:2-4 reminds us that God tests our faith.] As we do that, we experience a closeness to Him that cannot be duplicated any other way. That is always a benefit, no matter the outcome of the situation. Intimacy with God is worth every hardship we suffer, in the same way it was for the Lord Jesus, when He laid down His life for us on the cross.

The other point that stood out to me in the above story was Ebed-melech’s care for Jeremiah. He knew Jeremiah would need clothes, as he was likely thrown in naked, or the clothes he had on were mud-soaked. We can only imagine the discomfort that came from that! The ropes would easily have chaffed and cut into Jeremiah’s underarms. But God moved Ebed-melech to provide rags for under Jeremiah’s arms, along with the dry clothes. He went the extra step to bring comfort to God’s suffering prophet.

When we serve God, and help others, we need to allow the Lord to guide us so that we have whatever is necessary to truly care for those we are sent to aid.

How does it help you to know that God sees, that He cares, and that He is prepared to help you in your tight situation?

If you would like to further look at Scripture regarding how God helps us in our tight situations, please contact me at: ButGodCares@gmail.com.

Living for Jesus, Donna

P.S. If this has helped you, please feel free to share it with others!

Note: If the verses for Bible references do not appear when you hover over them, go directly to the website, and they should appear for you.

Copyright 2023 Donna Shappy   All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other – without the prior permission of the author.