Although this is a verse that is commonly used to appeal to the sinner to open the door of their heart and allow the Saviour to come in, the Lord is really addressing Christians who have grown cold hearted and indifferent to His love and provision.

Perhaps the distance may have occurred by a slow and subtle drifting, or perhaps it may have happened as a result of a catastrophe in our life that undermined our confidence and faith.

We find ourselves having a crisis of faith because of the trial we never could have envisioned a while ago!

Maybe this is you right now and you feel in your heart like: “this is it; this is where it all ends!”

Somehow you have managed to make it this far; you’ve gone through many trials, but this one overshadows them all, and you feel like you're on the edge! You are going through the trial of your life and you wonder if you will be able to survive. Your energy, your ability is diminished and nothing you have inside of you is sufficient to carry you through.

If you happen to be one of God's believing people having trusted in the Lord Jesus to save you from your sins, and you have a home in heaven to look forward to, be comforted in the knowledge that you are not going through this without the knowledge of the loving and merciful God who saved you by His grace, and you are definitely not alone.

You may not be sufficient, and you certainly may not be able, but God is! He is not allowing you to go through something like this for no purpose. In and through this you will learn things about Him that ‘peace time’ will never teach.

Trials and tribulations can at times feel suffocating and frightening when we lose focus on the One who loves us. The trial alone can be the distraction that turns our attention away from the Lover of our souls, until we realise that we are drifting, we’re in the dark, we’re floundering or even being enveloped.

‘Lord, save me!’, is the heart cry that He is waiting for, and as He did for Peter sinking beneath the stormy waves, so He will do for us; reaching out His strong arm with love and compassion and lifting us close to Himself. He is able to do this, and is just a heart cry away.

A man by the name of Job in the Bible knew firsthand what suffering was all about. A multitude of questions run through his mind as he looked for answers, wondering why the trial of his life had happened upon him. His body was covered with sores, combined with aches and pains all over. He was unclean from head to toe. He had been bereft of his precious family, his home, and his possessions. He had lost everything! This poor man was going through unimaginable suffering!

As he suffered in the darkness of depression toing and froing in his mind, perhaps we can associate in measure with his pain as we go through ours.

Nobody but the Lord himself was able to deliver him out of a trial like his, and as He did He gave meaning and reason to it. A conversation between God and Job settled his heart and ultimately he became a greater and wealthier man as the result of the trial that he endured.

There are many examples in the Bible of men and women who have reached their wits end in times of suffering and discovered that God was sufficient and able in all the circumstances to either deliver, strengthen, or protect in in their situation according to their character and His purpose for them.

When he allows us to go through times of tribulation He is still as able as He ever was to see us through. The grace that we so badly need is freely available in the One who promised to be with us always in all our circumstances.

‘All grace abounding’, grace without measure! ‘All sufficiency in all things’, sufficiency without measure also; more than adequately supplied in all circumstances. Oh, how wonderful is He! Something we can only discover and learn to appreciate when those essential needs are felt and met by the Lord Himself!

When Paul the Apostle was recollecting a particular element of suffering he had to live with, he also wrote about something so precious it is well worth mentioning.

He prayed about his uncomfortable trial a number of times until the answer came back to him from the Lord Himself, that he would be given something instead of relief from his suffering. God would give to Paul His grace so that he would be able to endure with patience his trial perhaps for the rest of his life.

Now, that sounds pretty tough, but this is what he wrote about this incident:

There is nothing like the presence of God in the life of His believing people, especially in a time of weakness, and vulnerability! Paul knew by experience that his weakness and vulnerability gave to God the opportunity to demonstrate His glory and His power.

It would be only natural to crumple under the weight of certain trials or impossibilities, but God has all the resources we need to richly bestow upon His precious people just for the asking!

Not only are His resources more than sufficient for our needs, but HE is more than sufficient!

We spend a lot of unnecessary time and energy trying to survive, understand, and endure our trials and tribulations when the Lord is at hand to bless and strengthen with His presence and resources.

And so, whatever it is that you may be going through at this precise moment of time, or even sometime in the very near future, remember this and be comforted; He is able either to deliver you out of the situation, or … deliver you in it!

He is able to strengthen you from within and anchor you on the solid rock of Christ himself, so that you can stand in quiet confidence resting in the One who promised to protect you from the inside out. You can stand in a confident assurance that He who knows what you are passing through will protect your integrity so that you will be able to live through your situation with Him inside of you and roundabout you. He is the One who gives the ability to live an impossible life so that you can confidently testify: "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4: 13

Until he chooses to deliver you from your trial, make the most of the moments giving Him the opportunity to prove Himself right where you are. Yield yourself to Him and allow the heat of the crucible to burn the dross away so that He can see His image in you. Yield yourself to Him and allow Him as the Master Sculptor to chip away at everything that doesn't look like Christ.

You are his workmanship and sometimes it takes a hardship to develop the kind of person that God wants you to be. Remember the outcome of all of this is worth far more than the joy of a million peace time days.

The only way to enable this to happen is to allow him to do so… he knows what he's doing, you can leave that with him.

Behold, He is at the door knocking … He is able and He is willing to strengthen and deliver … will you let Him in?