What Trouble?

I am continuing my study of Psalm 34 and this morning I read and contemplated verse 17.

The righteous cry out and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.

My first thought was, "Am I righteous?" And then I thanked Jesus because He made me rigtheous by shedding His blood on the cross for me. Because of what Jesus did, the Lord hears me when I cry out. How wonderful is that?!

But what about this business of God delivering me from all my troubles? What troubles do I have anyway? When I consider the things of which I am aware that other people are facing, I begin to wonder how I could dare call my situation "troubling." Even so, I listed out a number of things which are weighing on my heart right now, and then I wrote in my journal: Why do I ever fret over these things? You are always with me and you are always good. You are able to handle every situation and You will use them for my good. Because of You, my troubles need not be troubling!
I then proceeded to make a list of issues in the past that have troubled me, and after each item I wrote, "Delivered." Knowing God never changes, I trust He will continue to deliver me from all my troubles.

This exercise of writing out past troubles and marking them "Delivered" was so encouraging to me. Perhaps you can give it a try!