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Psalm 34
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.”

The Psalmist starts out this Psalm with praise and blessing which he is going to give at all times, whether good or bad. This is a good way to begin as it sets the mind up on the Lord.

There is a recurrent theme in this Psalm:

“I sought the Lord,
and He heard me,
and delivered me from all my fears.” vs 4
Notice the use of the word ‘all’. God delivers from all his fears. And what was the result?
“They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.” vs 5

The theme comes again in verse 6 from a little different angle:

“This poor man cried out,
and the Lord heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.”

Again note he was saved out of ‘all’ his troubles. But this time it gives a glimpse into the process.

“The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.” vs 7
After this section comes the resultant praise.
“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” vs 8

 The next sequence occurs in verse 17:
“The righteous cry out,
and the Lord hears,
and delivers them out of all their troubles.

But instead of the usual praise following after, there comes a little different theme:
“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” vs 18

So this time a specific affliction is mentioned – a broken heart, and even there the Lord still saved. He is in the business of saving no matter what the afflictions are. He caps this section off with:
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” vs19

There is that word ‘all’ again. How can the Lord deliver out of all our afflictions when we still seem to have them? Let’s go back to a verse we skipped over that may shed some light:
“Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” vs 10

We shall not lack any good thing. How can that be in the midst of a trial? We won’t lack any good thing if He fills us with Himself and is taking us up to glory in the process. The key is to look up at what He is doing, where He is going and what is to come as a focal point that keeps you stable in the current waves. With the focus on God as a rock, the waves can’t drown you. God is in the process of delivering from trial, sometimes it is immediate, sometimes it waits a bit, sometimes it even waits a long time to happen. But it comes, and often it comes when things seem the darkest. And in that ‘deliverance process’ God is giving more of Himself as a blessing.

That final deliverance only comes when we are set free from our mortal bodies and enter into His glorious kingdom because this world is not all we have. In light of all that, yes we don’t lack any good thing when we have God, because with God comes all that is His, and He delights to give us what is His when we need it.

And in the end, when that ultimate victory comes to fruition, all our troubles will cease. But in the meantime, He takes our hand in the midst of the troubles, never leaving us in the process and delivering in His way and in His timing. All that we have to know is that He is with us and He is doing something good with it. And if we can’t see the why or the good of it now, we just have to trust in what we do know, that God is good.
Remember, true peace doesn’t come from the changing of a situation, but from the resting of the mind on Christ
“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength.” Is 26:3,4

“…For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.”Heb. 13:5

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Ps 23:4