A Painful Remembrance

Anybody ever been in deep turmoil, to the point of thinking that God does not hear, or if He does, He’s not interested in helping you out?

Apparently this psalmist was having one of those days…weeks…unknown time of distress

A Psalm of lament, one of many

There are both individual laments and communal laments; this one is individual

There’s a common trend in these Psalms of lament

They begin with a problem and a cry to God

They migrate to something of a complaint to God

…work through a process of resolution

…end in a statement of praise/worship

We’ll explore it in this outline—it can be outlined many other ways, but for today, this works

Despair of the Psalmist

Whatever the problem, whatever the length of time he’s been in distress, at least he knows the right thing to do

He starts by crying out, the underlying word carrying the sense of making an appeal

He strengthens his statement by saying he would seek the Lord

A bit of nerdyness here: in v. 1 God, Elohim; in v. 2, the Lord, but not the covenant name of God, but adoni, master

The verbiage in v. 2 seems to indicate and extended time: …hand stretched out without wearying, …soul refuses to be comforted

Language in v.3 draws out a continuation of agony of soul

We never see what is provoking the agony here

Directness of the Psalmist

He “gets real” with God

In v. 4 on to v. 6, he seems to be blaming God for the lack of peace he’s experiencing, God “holding his eyelids...” depriving him of sleep, the ability to speak coherently

He asks some bold questions—speaking about God in the 3rd person in vv 7-9; it is those questions we’ll answer in our application portion

He then moves on and in vv. 10-15 makes an appeal of a different kind; he digs into his history with God…the history of his people…of God’s people…digging into what he knows to be true

He wraps that in v. 15 and moves into a hymn of praise

Delight of the Psalmist

V. 6 to the end is a hymn of praise expressing delight in all God is and has done

Doesn’t take much imagination to see that it’s a picture of the Exodus, crossing the Red Sea and the events at Sinai

Dealing with OUR Despair

Biblical Principles

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Psalm 37:4 ESV

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:5 ESV

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.

Discontent that Brings Despair

Result of sin in our lives

Either the sin directly or the aftermath of the sin

Confront our own sin; confess it, repent of it; don’t dwell on it and DON’T let Satan keep throwing up in your face

A sub-heading here

Result of some form of idolatry

We don’t have idols of stone, wood or metal

Well, maybe we do…our homes can be our idols, our cars/boats/motorcycles or other toys can be our idols

Maybe it’s a matter of what defines us—in this season of our nation, it may be our politics

Understand that it might be God giving you some unrest to get you to shift your gaze away from your idol and onto HIM

Result of someone else’s sin that impacts our lives

This one can be tough…

“But Lord, he hurt me, caused me damage, ruined my reputation, cost me a lot of money...

First step…you know what’s coming here…forgive

The only way you’ll have peace is with forgiveness

Here’s a suggestion: start praying for the person who wronged you

Yes! it may be hard; but it will change you

Result of circumstances beyond our control

Many times it could be this

Could be any one of many natural disasters…nobody’s fault…but all within the sovereignty of the almighty God

Be Direct with God

It’s not like He doesn’t know what you’re thinking!

But put yourself in your proper place

1 Peter 5:6 ESV

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

Side note in there…you may have to wait until it’s HIS time, not when you think it’s time for exaltation

1 Peter 5:7 ESV

casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

A prayer might sound something like this: Lord, I acknowledge that you and you alone are almighty, all-knowing and all-powerful; it’s painfully obvious that I am not in control and I ask you to intervene in this situation; I place it all in your capable, loving hands

Worship God

In whatever way, recite His goodness to you, your family,..His people

He has saved you…if you are a believer

He will save you…if you are not yet a believer

Here’s the Problem

The Psalmist had a history—both a personal and a national history with God

Maybe we don’t—maybe someone we’re trying to help through a difficult time does not.

Your story—his/her story…history with God needs to start

The first point of the story is salvation

He redeemed you from the power of sin

Paid the debt you owed but were unable to pay

Adopted you into His family

Gave you the Holy Spirit

What a great starting place

Even if it appears that He has spurned you or is spurning you—it’s ultimately some form of discipline for your benefit

His steadfast love is here forever, we see that in may other Psalms

He will always be gracious and pour out compassion on His children

My Dilemma

This is where I have piles of Scripture I want to pour out Philippians 4:4–7 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Lamentations 3:21–23 “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”