Troublesome Times are Here: Finding the God Who Wants to be Found

"Troublesome times are here, filling men’s hearts with fear." I can still hear the voices of the congregation rising in unison as we sang those words when I was just a child. Back then, the lyrics felt like a relic of a distant past, something my parents and grandparents clung to during their own trials. Today, however, those words feel less like an old hymn and more like the morning headlines.

We live in a world that seems to be shaking at its foundations. From economic instability to social unrest, the "troublesome times" the songwriter penned decades ago have arrived at our front door. Many of our friends and neighbors are hurting right now. I see the look in people’s eyes: it is a look of deep, unsettled worry. People are asking the hard questions: Will I lose my job? Could I lose my house? Will my retirement be there when I need it?

In my fifty years of ministry, I have seen seasons of plenty and seasons of extreme lack. I have walked through the mountains of Peru and faced the dark valleys of Stage 4 cancer and COVID-19. Through it all, I have discovered a singular truth: trouble has a way of stripping away our distractions until only the most important thing remains. That "thing" isn't a thing at all: it is a Person.

When we look at the history of God’s people, we see a recurring pattern. They often wandered when things were easy, but they turned back when things got tough. There is a specific verse in the Old Testament that perfectly captures the heart of our current struggle and the hope that lies just beyond it.

Consider that phrase for a moment: He was found of them. It suggests that God isn't hiding. He isn't playing a game of celestial hide-and-seek to frustrate us. Instead, He is standing ready, waiting for the moment we stop looking at our bank accounts and our news feeds and finally look at Him. Austin Gardner has always believed that faith-based development starts with the realization that God’s mercy is actively pursuing us, even when we are running in the opposite direction.

Trouble is often the "chastening rod" mentioned in that old song, but it isn't meant to crush us. It is meant to awaken us. We often find that we seek God more earnestly when we are in trouble than we do when all is going well. When the fridge is full, and the 401 (k) is climbing, we tend to feel self-sufficient. But when the foundations tremble, we remember that we were never actually the ones holding it all together.

It is incredibly easy to become crisis-focused. When you are worried about your mortgage or your health, those concerns take up a lot of space in your mind. However, focusing solely on the crisis only serves to magnify the fear. Some people in your life will try to get you to focus on money more than ever right now. Others are completely consumed by the latest political or social fear.

Jesus gave us a very clear warning about this kind of living.

If your life isn't defined by what you possess, then it also cannot be destroyed by what you lose. Your satisfaction in Jesus is a treasure that the economy cannot touch and the world cannot take away. This is the core of the New Covenant life: realizing that our identity is anchored in being loved by God, not in our performance or our net worth.

We need to shift our gaze. Instead of being crisis-focused, we must become God-focused. This doesn't mean we ignore our responsibilities or pretend that problems don't exist. It means we interpret our problems through the lens of God’s character rather than interpreting God through the lens of our problems. When you look at your trouble and say, "God is bigger than this," you are practicing true faith-based development.

Many people treat God like a cosmic 911 operator. They only call Him when the house is on fire. Once the fire is out, they go back to living their lives however they please until the next emergency arises. But God is much more than a crisis manager. He is the Lord of the universe, and He wants more than just your "emergency" calls.

He wants you to surrender your life to Him 100%. This kind of surrender isn't about giving up your personality or your joy; it’s about finding them. When we surrender, we stop trying to be the general managers of the universe. We hand the keys over to the One who actually knows what He is doing.

I have found that the greatest peace comes when I finally stop striving. As I often say, rest doesn't come after you fix yourself; rest comes first. God’s grace is sufficient for you right now, in the middle of the mess, before you have figured out a single solution.

Trouble will inevitably change you, but you get to decide the direction of that change. Will you allow this season of difficulty to make you bitter? Will you allow the fear of the future to destroy your family’s peace? Or will you seek the Lord and allow this crisis to refine you?

I have seen people lose everything and come out with an unshakeable joy because they found their satisfaction in Jesus. Similarly, I have seen people keep everything but lose their souls to bitterness and anxiety. The difference is always where they turn in their trouble.

2 Chronicles 15:4 reminds us that the Lord wants to be found. He is waiting for you to humble yourself and seek His face. When you do, you’ll find that His mercy isn't trailing behind you with conditions; it is running toward you with intention.

If you are carrying a heavy suitcase of worry today, I want to encourage you to set it down. You weren't meant to carry the weight of the world. You were meant to be held by the One who made it. Whether you are facing a job loss, a health scare, or just the general unease of these troublesome times, remember that God is for you.

We don't seek God to earn His protection; we seek Him because we are already His children. Our obedience and our trust flow from the fact that we are already loved. Specifically, when we turn to Him in trouble, we aren't trying to change His mind about us; we are simply bringing our hearts into alignment with the truth of His goodness.

Austin Gardner has spent years teaching that the Christian life was never meant to be powered by fear or performance. It was meant to be lived from the security of the finished work of Christ. Jesus didn't just pay for your sins; He secured your future. He is the anchor that holds when the storms of "troublesome times" blow the hardest.

So, let the world worry. Let the news cycle spin. You have a Father who knows exactly what you need. Humble yourself, turn to Him, and watch how He meets you in the middle of the storm. You might just find that these troublesome times become the very place where you experience the greatest growth of your life.

Focus on the truth that your life does not consist of your possessions. While you should be a good steward, remember that God is your ultimate provider, and He has promised to never leave you nor forsake you. Shifting your focus from what you might lose to what you have in Christ: His grace and mercy, will provide a peace that passes understanding.

Surrender isn't about religious performance or following a checklist; it’s about a relationship of total trust. It means acknowledging that God’s way is better than your own and letting go of the need to control every outcome. It rests in the fact that you are loved first, and allows your life to flow from that security.

In the New Covenant, we see that Christ took the punishment for our sins. While we face the natural consequences of a broken world, and God may use trials to discipline and grow us as a loving Father, He never acts out of a desire to harm us. His "chastening" is always aimed at bringing us back to a place of rest and satisfaction in Him.

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