No Grave Trouble Will Overtake the Righteous

Are you scared of some terrible, grave trouble? Do you need the Lord’s intervention on your behalf to fend off the trouble that pursues you? If so, I have an encouraging word from Scripture for you today: No grave trouble will overtake the righteous!

First, where do we find this promise in the Bible?

It’s in Proverbs 12:21. I love the Proverbs–not only because they are practical and filled with wisdom, but also because they get right to the point and leave no room for doubt. And this verse is no different. It’s a solid promise upon which to stand, and it leaves no room for doubting its meaning.

This verse says:

“No grave trouble will overtake the righteous, but the wicked shall be filled with evil” (Proverbs 12:21 NKJV).

Did you hear that? No grave trouble will overtake the righteous!

Friend, I’ve known God a long time, and you can hang your hat on what He says. God is not a man that He should lie. As it says in Numbers 23:19:

“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19 NKJV).

When God says something, He means it–100% of the time. His Word, the Bible, is inerrant (without error) and infallible (unable to ever be wrong). And God will always keep His promises to you.

No grave trouble will overtake the righteous.

Do you meet the qualifications for this promise? It doesn’t say that no grave trouble will ever overtake anybody; it says specifically that no grave trouble will overtake the righteous. So, who are the righteous ones?

Well, the righteous ones are those who have made Jesus Christ their Lord, Boss, Master, and Savior. If you have given your heart and life to Jesus, asking Him to forgive your sins and be your Master forevermore, then you have received salvation in Him. This makes you what God calls “righteous.”

As we learn in 2 Corinthians 5:21:

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV).

So when you accepted Jesus’ atonement for your sin (His sacrifice that paid the debt of death that you owed for your sin), you received His righteousness at the same time.

As a child of God, you are now the righteousness of God in Christ. And that means you are one of the righteous ones.

Now, no grave trouble can overtake you.

You have to believe it, and you have to claim this promise in prayer. Over and over, Jesus said to people, “According to your faith be it unto you.” But if some kind of trouble is pursuing you, it can’t overtake you or overwhelm you.

This doesn’t mean that grave trouble cannot chase you.

Everyone in the world experiences trouble of some kind. In John 16:33, Jesus tells us this:

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NKJV).

But the promise in Proverbs 12:21 is not a promise of freedom from trouble of any kind. It’s a promise of deliverance and safety from grave trouble.

Let’s look at this verse again:

“No grave trouble will overtake the righteous, but the wicked shall be filled with evil” (Proverbs 12:21 NKJV).

God does allow certain troubles sometimes to refine us, test us, purify us, grow us, and promote us.

However, the good news is that He’ll never send you out to battle unless He wants you to win something. God does not lose battles or wars. He always wins, even when that victory looks different than we want it to look.

So you might have trouble, but it will not be grave.

Also, grave trouble might chase you, but it cannot overtake you.

If some sort of grave trouble looms–and if you will believe and claim this promise, praying it back to the Lord–He will answer your faith and keep that grave trouble from overtaking you.

We do have to have faith, as it says here:

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6 NKJV).

And we also have to understand that God sometimes defines “grave trouble” differently than we do.

After all, we might think a death constitutes “grave trouble,” and death and loss are certainly very difficult and heartbreaking things to deal with. However, the Word of the Lord gives us this reassurance:

“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.‘

‘O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?’

The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:51-58 NKJV).

Friend, this is not a sensational teaching on total immunity from trouble–but it is the truth from God’s Word.

And the truth of God’s Word is that you are safe in the palm of Jesus’ hands. If you will abide in Him and cozy up to Him, taking shelter under the shadow of His wings, you do find an immunity there.

It may not be immunity from absolutely everything we want to be immune from, but we do have the promise that no grave trouble will overtake the righteous.

So what grave trouble are you afraid of today? God will protect you.

For example:

• Do you fear sickness? God is your Healer and Protector, and He wants to heal you right now.
• Do you feel financial difficulty? Our God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus!
• Are you afraid of losing your job? Even if you do, the Lord will give you a better job. He will always take care of you!

My friend, no grave trouble will overtake the righteous.

If you have given your life to Jesus, then this promise is for YOU today. Believe it! Then, claim it in prayer by lifting it up to the Father and asking Him to perform this for you.

He will deliver you from grave trouble. Even if some grave trouble pursues you, it will not be able to overtake you. You are safe in the palm of God’s hands!

Does this word bring comfort to your heart today? If so, please leave a comment below!