There is one particular area in which the
Body of Christ has been trouble-minded for a
long time. We have taken one verse of
Scripture, lifted it out of context, and misused
it terribly. In Romans 8:28 the Apostle Paul
wrote this, “And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose.” You
have probably heard this quoted over and
over again in the light of trouble.

All the way through Romans 8, Paul is
talking about the difference between the law
of death and the law of life—that these are
two different laws. He tells us that we are not
governed by the law of death, we have been
delivered from it. “The law of the Spirit of life
in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law
of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). He shows us
the difference between being carnally minded
(or flesh-minded) and being spiritually
minded (or Word-minded). He says, “For to
be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually
minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). There
is the division between the two. You can’t be
trouble-minded and spiritually minded at the
same time. Trouble isn’t born by the Spirit of
God—it is born by Satan.

Now, look at Romans 8:26, “Likewise the
Spirit also helpeth our infirmities:
for we know not what we should
pray for as we ought: but the Spirit
itself maketh intercession for us.”
The Spirit of God is not interceding
for us—He is helping us to intercede.
That’s His ministry. The Holy Spirit leads us and
takes up where we fall short of spiritual knowledge.
The word translated helpeth actually is
three Greek words combined. It literally says
“takes hold together with us against.” This verse
literally reads, “The Spirit takes hold together
with us against our infirmities.”

For we know not what we should
pray for as we ought: but the Spirit
itself maketh intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered.
And he that searcheth the hearts
knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,
because he maketh intercession for the
saints according to the will of God. And
we know that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose.
For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his Son, that he might
be the firstborn among many brethren.
(Romans 8:26-29)

The Apostle Paul is talking here about
intercessory prayer—how it works, how it
operates. By being trouble-minded, we have
subconsciously read verse 28 like this: “For
we know that all bad things work together
for the good of those that love God.” But it
doesn’t say that at all! It wasn’t talking about
bad things—it was talking about good
things—about intercessory prayer.

He says in verse 29, “he also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of his Son.”
What tools does the Holy Spirit use to conform
us to the image of His Son? The nine
gifts of the Spirit, the Name of Jesus, the
blood of the Lamb, the Word of God, and
everything that the New Testament guarantees
the believer in this life and in the world
to come. When the believer begins to move
into intercession, when he begins to intercede
for the Body of Christ as he should,
then these tools come together and operate
against our infirmities, so we pray accurately
and powerfully by the anointing of the Holy
Spirit. In this way, all these things work
together for the good of those that love God.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

I’ve heard people say, “Well, look what God
did to Job!” What did God do to Job? He built a
hedge around him and blessed him with abundance.
At the end of the book of James, the
Word says that God was full of pity and mercy
in His dealings with Job.

For years now, we’ve read about Job and
have blamed God for Job’s situation, thinking
that God commissioned Satan to attack Job.
That’s not true! In Job 1, Satan came to God
and said, “Put your hand against Job, and he
will curse you.” He tried to get God to do it,
but God would not. He said, “Behold [look and
see], he is in your power.” Job was already in
Satan’s power by letting that hedge fall from
around him. He quit acting in faith, began
operating in fear, and that protective hedge fell.
Then he was vulnerable to Satan’s attack. The
sacrifices he made were not made in faith. The
Word says he made the same ones continually
(Job 1:5). He lost everything he had. Job didn’t
have the written Word of God to act on like you
and I do today. He said, “That which I have so
greatly feared has come upon me” (Job 3:25).

Then he began by trial and error to figure a
way to get back his faith again. He tried crying
about it, he tried cutting and hurting himself,
he sat down in the ashes—none of this did him
any good at all. Satan sent him some very religious
men, and they certainly didn’t help him!
They were the ones that said God had done it.
God Himself told these men, however, that
they had not spoken of Him rightly.

But the very moment Job moved back in
faith by praying for those men, he moved
back on the Word of God and God replaced
double everything he had lost. When Job
began operating in faith once again, his
deliverance was instantaneous.

We need to preach this instead of identifying
with Job’s sickness and failure. People say,
“Well, I’m just like poor old Job.” We’ll, if
you’re going to be like Job, then you will have
to get healed and delivered. Job wasn’t poor
either—he was the richest man in the East
when this began and then God doubled that!
All God has ever done and all He has ever said
has been deliverance, freedom and power for
His people.

I refuse to believe that my heavenly Father
would hurt me, even though I may not know
all the circumstances. It may look as
though He is behind it, but I refuse to fall for
that. I know He sent His Son to die for me, so
I’m not going to hesitate for one moment and
give Satan the opportunity to move in on me.

Trouble-preaching—being trouble-centered
and trouble-minded instead of being victoryminded—
will give Satan just the moment’s hesitation
he needs to defeat you.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Trouble seems to be as much of a part of life as
breathing. Everyone has trouble at some point in
his or her life. And human nature always wants
to place the blame for its trouble on someone
else. That started in the Garden of Eden. As soon
as Adam had to explain his disobedience to God,
he pointed the finger to his wife! When God
said, “Adam, have you eaten from the forbidden
tree?” Adam replied, “The woman that You gave
me, she gave me of the tree and I ate! It wasn’t
my idea!” (The paraphrasing is mine.)

When trouble arises, the most natural thing
to do is to place the blame for it on someone or
something. Sadly, for the most part, many
Christians have been falsely accusing God of
being the cause of their troubles. This is the
number one deception sown in the Church
today—that our problems, our trials and our
temptations are sent by God to teach us. This
lie says that trials and tribulations are God’s
tools of developing and strengthening our character.
The very extreme end of this deception is
that God Himself is the author of our troubles
or that God is the One Who makes us sick in order to
teach us something.

This is absolutely against the Word of God. Why?
Because the very basic principle of the Christian
life is to know that God put our sin,
sickness, disease, sorrow, grief
and poverty on Jesus at Calvary. For God to put
any of this on us now to teach us or to strengthen
our faith would be a miscarriage of justice. To
believe that God has a purpose for your sickness
would mean that Jesus bore your sicknesses
in vain. What an insult to His love and care and
compassion toward you!

In order to place blame where blame is due,
believers need a fresh revelation of who is our
true source of trouble. The only way we will
receive this revelation is by rightly dividing the
Word of Truth. James 1:8 says that a doubleminded
man is unstable in all his ways. Jesus
said in Luke 11:17 that a house divided against
itself will fall. Therefore, if a man thinks, imagines,
assumes or in any way has the idea that
God is behind his trouble—either by permission
or commission—he will never resist it.
And if he does not resist it, then he will certainly
fail, because his hesitation will give Satan
just the edge he needs to defeat him.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Psalm 20:1
KJV—The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble;
the name of the God of Jacob defend thee.

AMP—The Lord answer you in the day of
trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob
set you up on high [and defend you].

Moffatt—On the day of trouble may the
Eternal answer you, may Jacob’s God, whom
you invoke, protect you.

NIV—May the Lord answer you when you are
in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob
protect you.

Psalm 31:3
KJV—For thou art my rock and my fortress;
therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and
guide me.

AMP—Yes, You are my Rock and my Fortress;
therefore for Your name’s sake lead me and
guide me.

Moffatt—For thou art my crag and castle. As
thou art God, oh lead me, guide me.

NIV—Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

Proverbs 18:10
KJV—The name of the Lord is a strong tower:
the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

AMP—The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
the [consistently] righteous man [upright and
in right standing with God] runs into it and is
safe, high [above evil] and strong.

Moffatt—The Eternal is a tower of strength:
good men run in and are secure.

NIV—The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
the righteous run to it and are safe.

Joel 2:32
KJV—Whosoever shall call on the name of the
Lord shall be delivered.

AMP—Whoever shall call on the name of the
Lord shall be delivered and saved.

Moffatt—Every worshipper of the Eternal shall
be saved.

NIV—Everyone who calls on the name of the
Lord will be saved.

Zechariah 13:9
KJV—They shall call on my name, and I will
hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they
shall say, The Lord is my God.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Psalm 37:39
KJV—The salvation of the righteous is of
the Lord: he is their strength in the time of
trouble.

AMP—The salvation of the [consistently]
righteous is of the Lord; He is their Refuge
and secure Stronghold in the time of trouble.

NIV—The salvation of the righteous comes
from the Lord; he is their stronghold in time
of trouble.

TLB—The Lord saves the godly! He is their
salvation and their refuge when trouble comes.

Psalm 50:15
KJV—Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will
deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
AMP—Call on Me in the day of trouble; I
will deliver you, and you shall honor and
glorify Me.

Moffatt—Call to me in your hour of need, then
I will rescue you, and you shall honour me.

NIV—Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will
deliver you, and you will honor me.

Psalm 91:15
KJV—He shall call upon me, and I will answer
him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver
him, and honour him.

AMP—He shall call upon Me, and I will answer
him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver
him and honor him.

NIV—He will call upon me, and I will answer
him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver
him and honor him.

TLB—When he calls on me I will answer; I will
be with him in trouble, and rescue him and
honor him.

Psalm 107:6-7
KJV—They cried unto the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them out of their distresses.
And he led them forth by the right way, that
they might go to a city of habitation.

AMP—They cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and He delivered them out of their distresses.
He led them forth by the straight and right
way, that they might go to a city where they
could establish their homes.

Moffatt—They cried to the Eternal in their
need, to save them from their evil plight, and
straight he led them to a settled town.

NIV—They cried out to the Lord in their
trouble, and he delivered them from their
distress. He led them by a straight way to a
city where they could settle.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries