How we deal with Crisis

Psalm 13

a. Complaint amid crisis (13:1-2)

b. Petition for deliverance from crisis (13:3-4)

c. Faith amid crisis (13:5-6)

1. INTRODUCTION

a. I was able to talk about worry last week and I thought it would be helpful to continue talking about that topic. This message isn’t primarily about worrying, but it speaks about how we deal with crisis. As you know, the reality of life is that of crisis. Unfortunately, everyone in this room will deal with some sort of crisis and the sad reality is, to some degree, everyone has dealt with some form of crisis even in your own lives.

b. I know some of you have experienced loss, the loss of a loved one. This is one of the hardest crisis we can encounter in our lives. On another hand, a crisis could be difficult situations in life, whether it be the loss of a job, divorce, a relationship breakup. All of these things are considered crisis. Obviously, there are other types of crises or trouble in life.

c. The unfortunate and sad reality is, everyone will face trouble. Well this is where the Bible is helpful because in today’s Psalm, it deals with the very idea of crisis. It helps us understand how believers are to respond to crisis. Can I remind you that when you say you want to follow Jesus Christ, that simply means, I will obey Him. How can you obey Him? You must know His word. You must know what the word calls you to do, so that you can follow Him. You can’t follow someone that you don’t know or trust. This is why the Word is so important and practical in the way you live your life. The beautiful thing is, God gives us enough so that we obey Him and follow Him.

d. So with that in mind, we come to Psalm 13. Psalm 13 is an individual lament Psalm. Most of the Psalter is understood individually, but sometimes, they are organized together and are understood through categories. Some scholars argue how many different genres of the Psalter exist, but we can say that normally, it’s between 5-8 genres. For the sake of convenience, we can say there are 5 major genres.

i. First, there are Hymn Psalters. It is a Psalm that are simple hymns or songs of praise. Psalm 8 is an example.

ii. Second, Lament Psalm or Complaint Psalm. These Psalms express sadness to God or complaint against God’s enemies. Psalm 13 is an example of this.

iii. Third, Royal Psalm. Royal Psalm were read in the presence of kings. Psalm 18 is an example.

iv. Fourth, Thanksgiving Psalm. These Psalms express thanksgiving from individuals and speak of thanksgiving to God. Psalm 34 is an example.

v. Lastly, Wisdom Psalms. These Psalms focus on the theme of wisdom and speak of the fear of the Lord or offer words of wisdom. Psalm 1 is an example of this.

e. Now there are other categories but these are the major Psalms within the Psalter. So as I said, Psalm 13 refers to a lament Psalm. It could also be a psalm for help. Psalm 13 helps us to remind us how we are to deal with our problems. Psalm 13 helps us to give us reminders on what we are to do in the midst of trials. So I have a breakdown of the Psalm.

i. Complaint amid crisis (13:1-2)

ii. Petition for deliverance from crisis (13:3-4)

iii. Faith amid crisis (13:5-6)

2. BODY

a. Complaint amid crisis (13:1-2)

i. One of the things I really appreciate about this Psalm is the honesty of David. That’s one thing we can appreciate about the Psalter. It’s not filled with poetry, but the experience of real life people. This is David crying out to God in the midst of trouble. We don’t know exactly when this Psalm was written in his life, but what we can know is that, David suffered through trouble, and this shows us how he dealt with crisis.

ii. David starts the Psalm with 4 questions. In verse 1, David starts by asking how long O Lord? In the first 2 verses, he asks this question 4 times. What we see from this question is David’s relationship with God. What we recognize with David’s question is that, when we face troubles in life, it is primarily a spiritual and theological issue. What ultimately we see from David is His relationship with God. This gives us insight with our problems as well. When we face hardship and crisis in our own lives, it is also primarily a spiritual and theological issue.

iii. What is helpful here is David’s question to God. He asks How long O Lord? Will you forget me forever? Then he repeats by asking the same question again followed by a How long will You hide Your face from me? What was David’s concern here? We know that hardship in our lives are difficult but what we see from David’s prayer here is, when we face hardship, the primary issue is God. What about God? How long will you stay quiet? How long will you leave me to myself?

iv. The rhetorical question, “will you forget me forever” is significant because the Psalmist thought that God had completely forgotten about him. The Bible is replete with when God remembers and comes to their aid. But here, as David asks, will you forget me forever, he is asking have you forgotten your kindness to me? Why have you turned your face from me? The fact that David asks forever signifies this idea of will you ever change your view of me? Will you continue to forget me or will you remember me?

v. What we understand from this expression here is David’s constant plea for help. The fact that David asks this 4 times helps us to recognize that this wasn’t an overnight issue. This was an ongoing pain and struggle he was going through. This is made clear by how long will you hide your face from me? How long will you stay silent while the troubles of life run wild in his life? How long will you just watch me wither and die?

vi. As I read this, I realized how wrong I am in my thinking. Yes, my circumstances can become difficult. My problems can be overwhelming. But David’s focus here, is not the problem per se. David’s stress was God’s absence. The most severe suffering for David was that God’s presence was withdrawn.

vii. David’s second question in verse 1, Will you forget me forever helps us to understand the pain he was facing. David was suffering from God’s absence. What does this mean? How are we to understand this today? Are we missing hearing God’s voice? As I thought about this, what is David doing here? David is asking in his prayer. He is laying everything out before God. He was unabashed about his insecurities and his worries. He is openly honest with God and complaining and expressing his malcontent in this hardship. How long O Lord? How much longer will you leave me to this? What does this mean?

viii. Well if you’ve had hardship in your life, I am sure you have prayed. I am sure you’ve spent time praying to God and you are asking Him for mercy. That is the same for David here. But as David was asking God for mercy, God was not answering his prayer. David was begging, pleading God for help and God was not answering his prayer. Rather, as he was praying, the results were becoming worse. Verse 1 sets the framework for a situation where we are begging God to give us something that we need. We are pleading, we are crying asking Him for help. And even in the midst of our tears and pleading, God is absent. How long O Lord? How much longer will you hide your face from me?

ix. Verse 2 continues with David asking, how long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day? David here is asking, how long must I take counsel? How long do I have to try to figure out this problem alone? We see from this question that this question reveals to us that his efforts to get out of this problem alone has been unsuccessful because of his questions.

x. This struggle to rid the problem by himself has a consequence. David writes, the fact that I am trying and trying and can’t figure out how to get out of this alone, it is causing sorrow in my heart all day. What we gather from this expression is that this problem is causing David inner sorrow. Now many commentators have described this as not physical pain but more emotional and spiritual, he was filled with sadness to the point that he was immobilized. I would add though, when we face much sorrow, it’s not simply an emotional or spiritual pain. There is actual physical pain involved. It wasn’t emotional pain to the point that he was immobilized but, from my experience, he was having pain in his heart. He was having difficulty breathing. He was constantly short of breath, he couldn’t eat, he couldn’t do anything. He was constantly fixated that every facet of his life was affected.

xi. David concludes verse 2 with a final question, how long will my enemy be exalted over me? Now, there is no clear delineation to determine what time in David’s life this was. But as I think about this question, it seems clear that it is speaking of 2 Samuel 15:1-37. In 2 Samuel 15:1-6 Absalom would stand in the city and ask what city are you from (2 Samuel 15:2). There they would respond one of the tribes of Israel. Eventually (15:4) says if you make me king, I will listen to all your problems and justify you. As Absalom continued to do this, he stole the hearts of the men of Israel (2 Samuel 15:6). So Absalom tells his father David that he made a promise to God that if He brought Him back to Jerusalem, he would go and pay his vow to God for keeping his promise in letting him to return to Jerusalem from Geshur (15:8).

xii. David eventually lets him return and give his vow and, in this time, Absalom sends spies out throughout Israel and tells them the moment you hear the sound of the trumpet, that means Absalom is king in Hebron. Absalom doesn’t tell his followers who follow him unknowingly his plans and he heads to Hebron.

xiii. So eventually Absalom becomes king and returns back to Jerusalem from Hebron. It seems to me that this would be a time in David’s life where he was fleeing from Jerusalem that he was asking this question, “How long will my enemy be exalted over me?”

b. Petition for deliverance from crisis (13:3-4)

i. Verse 3, David begins his petition for deliverance. What is the answer to crisis? We saw David continually questioning and pleading to God in verses 1-2. What is David’s answer to crisis? The whole Psalm is about prayer. We must learn to pray in any and every circumstance.

ii. David’s answer in verse 3 is consider and answer me, O Lord my God. Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death. David’s petition to God is that of 3 things. Look at me, answer my prayer and give me the ability to see. What was David holding on to? David knew in his heart and mind that there’s nothing he could do to get himself out of this problem.

iii. David’s conviction was that only God is able to help him amid these problems. David knew he could do nothing to save himself. The only thing he could do is to throw himself before God and beg for mercy. This serves as a strong reminder for us as well. The way we are to think about our troubles in life is the way David is displaying here. Our worry should always be closeness to God. When we face problems in life, our greatest worry is, Lord, where are you? I can’t live without you being with me. It’s not the problem per se, but its living in communion with God. Our greatest problem is when we drift from God. Psalm 13 serves as a reminder that our greatest problem is when we are not near to God.

iv. The problem itself is a secondary issue. Our greatest worry should be, Lord don’t hide your face from me. Consider me, look upon me. Turn your face back to me. Look upon me and answer me. Don’t let your absence linger in my life. Answer my question of how long O lord? How long will you hide your face from me.

v. But lastly, enlighten my eyes. Help me to see the things that I can’t see. All I have is grief and sorrow in my life. But give me light in my eyes, restore to me in my life of prayer, to be able to continually look at you even though there are dark clouds covering the sun from me. Help me to continually look to you despite the fact that I don’t see you. If you don’t do this, my enemy will think he has prevailed against me. Please save me so that my enemies won’t think that I have lost. Please save me so that they might know who you are. Don’t let them think that you don’t exist.

c. Faith amid crisis (13:5-6)

i. Verse 5 gives us the Gospel to remind us, God is faithful. David expresses his unwavering confidence in God’s deliverance. Where does David draw his confidence? David says, I have trusted in Your lovingkindness.

ii. Now it might seem generic, but I want to remind you what David is holding onto. David is holding onto God’s character through faith. It’s easy to preach here the faithfulness of God. Yes, God is absolutely faithful. But we can’t miss the importance of faith. What is faith? Faith is being able to see God despite seeing Him. It is trusting in who He is, and holding on. It is to cling to Him. It’s not simply saying I believe in Him and then deterring away. No, it is to fixate on Him. It is to look to Him and to follow through with action. It is to not let go.

iii. Again, if I were to ask you, what does it mean to follow Jesus? When we talk about following Jesus, it must be understood by trusting in Him and not letting go. It is to believe that He is better than anything else in life and that I will hold onto Him above all else. It is to not let go. It is to never give up on Him. That is faith. Faith is not simply saying we believe in something. Faith must work. It must cause you to do something about what you say you believe in. It is to not let go or give up. Even when you are afraid and you don’t see what’s in front, it is to keep going despite the fact that you are afraid. How? It is to rejoice in your salvation.

iv. What does this mean? It is to remember how God has saved you. It is to reflect upon the finished work of Jesus Christ on your behalf and understand the Gospel. In moments of hardship, faith must look to the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Apart from Him, there is nothing else we can trust in. We must remember, not forget who God is and what He has done.

v. Psalm 13 reminds us continually that although we are being defeated, the only way to fight is to fight with faith. It is to continually believe even though we don’t see what’s in front of us. It is to see with the eyes of faith, and cling to Christ because of the salvation He has accomplished for me. Faith remembers and holds onto God. May Psalm 13 serve as a reminder, that when you are down and out, your faith works and clings to your savior.

3. CONCLUSION