“Truly I am your servant, Lord; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains.”

Psalm 116:16

I don’t know what trial God has required you to cope with. Some trials are very grievous, and they never resolve themselves in this life. There are no accidents in suffering. God knows every part of our being, and knows what we can handle. Our inherent weakness tells us that we cannot take any trouble at all and we pray to be free from all pains. But we instinctively know, that God is not going to leave us sailing through life with no storms to cope with.

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it.”

1 Corinthians 10: 13

This is a fearful Scripture for our faithless hearts. God is not going to rescue us from the troubles He sends, but gives us the power to go through. He knows what we can bear, because He will always give the necessary strength. The way of escape is through. So when the waves and breaker hit our life, we can stand up under their beating.

It is reasonable that the greater our troubles and the deeper their effect, then the stronger we will be.

The Psalmist talks about release from chains. This is a precious truth. As we weather the storms, there comes a point when the chains fall off. It is not in the cessation of the storm, but the moment we exercise faith. This is God’s purpose for His people- that we will be over-comers through Christ who loves us and went to the utmost pains, to be there first.

There was no trouble like His trouble, and no sorrow like His sorrow.

“Is this nothing to you, all you who pass by Look around and see! Is there any sorrow like mine, which was inflicted on me, which the LORD made me suffer on the day of His fierce anger?”

Lamentations 1: 12

Will we, as followers of the Lamb, be sheltered from sorrow? This is the reason many fall back and make shipwreck of their souls. This writer of this Psalm, entertains no such idea. He has a strong witness, the life of his mother, who lived for God. He saw her face the troubles of life undaunted, and go through them, with courage and patience. His mother was a true child of God and her witness brought blessing to her family. The Psalmist could see faith at work, and it’s truly practical manifestation in his mother’s life. He had no qualms that a woman should be his model, and that he should learn from her lessons. 

He has believed and so is now free from the chains of unbelief and sin. Now he is the servant of the Lord, and is able to face trouble in his own faith given by God, and put that trust in the same God as his mother. If you had a Christian mother, maybe you could think of her and how she was helped by God, to face the trials of life. If you did not have such a blessing, maybe it’s time for you to step up and exercise living faith in the only Saviour, Jesus Christ. Maybe you will be a witness to your family, and have the joy of seeing them live for God.

May every child of God, loose the chains and walk free, with the trials vanquished and the enemy of our souls trampled on. We live life free from the chains and looking to Christ, our Lord.