A Companion in Times of Trouble - Greg Laurie Devotion - October 21, 2026

Greg Laurie Daily Devotions

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By Greg Laurie, Crosswalk.com

Wednesday, October 21, 2026
A Companion in Times of Trouble

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 nlt)

In our last devotion, we talked about how God keeps us—that is, He protects us in times of doubt and fear. But don’t mistake the wording of Psalm 121:3. God will keep us, but that doesn’t mean that He will always keep us from trouble. You need only to look at the life of—well, practically any Bible character—to know that.

After the Israelites left Egypt, God could have kept the pursuing Egyptian army from catching up with them. Instead, He allowed Pharaoh and his forces to close in on the Israelites on the shore of the Red Sea. He allowed trouble to get close enough to threaten His people’s well-being. And He did it for their benefit. He wanted them to pray to Him so that they could see His power on display. He never left them. He positioned Himself between the Israelites and the trouble-making Egyptians. And He answered His people’s prayers by opening the Red Sea so that they could walk through on dry ground. God accompanied them through their difficulties.

God could have kept Daniel from the lion’s den. Instead, God kept Daniel in the lion’s den. God could have kept Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace. Instead, God walked with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. Jesus could have kept His disciples from storms on the Sea of Galilee. Instead, He accompanied them through the storms.

Maybe you’re in trouble right now. Maybe you’re frightened or unsure about your future. You don’t know what’s going to happen next. You need to understand that you’re not alone. God may not make your troubles disappear, but He will accompany you through them.

Sometimes we get lulled into thinking that we have the right to live easy, tranquil lives and then one day die peacefully in our sleep. We convince ourselves that the norm should be a nice, cozy, comfortable existence. But the Bible doesn’t promise that. Jesus said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 nlt).

You won’t find a passage in Scripture in which God promises to help His people find the easy way out. But you will find these words of Moses, directed to God’s people as they prepared to conquer the Promised Land: “The Lord will hand over to you the people who live there, and you must deal with them as I have commanded you.So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you” (Deuteronomy 31:5-6 nlt).

If you commit yourself to the Lord, you can expect trouble. More importantly, however, you can expect God to go through it with you.

Reflection question: When have you experienced God’s presence in the midst of trouble in your life?

Greg Laurie is the pastor and founder of the Harvest churches in California and Hawaii and of Harvest Crusades. He is an evangelist, best-selling author, and movie producer. His latest film ‘Jesus Revolution,’ from Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company, is now available on-demand worldwide.

For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
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