Not Alone

Reed Lessing tells the story of a Native American ritual for training young braves:

"On the night of a boy’s thirteenth birthday, he was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone. Until then he had never been away from the security of his family and tribe. But on this night he was blindfolded and taken miles away. When he took off the blindfold, he was in the middle of thick woods. By himself. All night long. Terrifying! How out of his element the young brave must have felt. How very un-BRAVE, in fact.

Every time a twig snapped, he probably visualized a wild animal ready to pounce. Every time an animal howled, he imagined a wolf leaping out of the darkness. Every time the wind blew, he wondered what more sinister sound it masked. No doubt it was a terrifying night for many.

Connect: You may feel the same way this week. We’ve seen cancer take the life of a little girl. We have people we know and love in our church family and community suffering with terminal cancer. And in the midst of it all we have a young man who has lost his life in a tragic accident.

It’s dark. We have questions. We might have a hard time understanding God’s will in this. We might be angry, confused, frustrated, and afraid. We might even pray, but we honestly don’t feel like God is with us. Like the young brave in the woods, we are alone listening to all the sounds around us and all the despair and depression that is settling in our heart and mind.

Psalm 42-43 have always been taken together. We’re not sure why they were separated, but Israel and the church have historically seen a connection between these two Psalms. They’re not two separate thoughts, but one cry of a person who honestly can’t feel God in their life at the moment.

As we look at this Psalm this morning, I want us to see…

Despair doesn’t disappear on it’s own; it’s defeated by the truth.

Psalm 42–43 ESV

To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah. 1 As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” 4 These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival. 5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation 6 and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. 7 Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. 8 By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. 9 I say to God, my rock: “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” 10 As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” 11 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. 1 Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me! 2 For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? 3 Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! 4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God. 5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

Despair is normal.

Half of the problem with despair is we don’t expect it.

And not to be rude or heartless, but we almost have to not be surprised when tragedy strikes.

We live in a broken world. A world that is broken by sin.

Bad things are going to happen.

“why are you cast down…” 3 times…

bowed down as if carrying an overwhelming weight.

One sense of the word means to melt down.

It’s this idea of feeling completely overwhelmed, devastated, and broken down.

Moses and Elijah both reached a point where they were so discouraged and broken that they asked God to take their life.

These are spiritual giants of the Old Testament. If they struggled, you must realize that you will too. You will face overwhelming circumstances.

And that is okay. It is normal. Jesus even told us that we would have trouble in this world.

It’s okay to have despair in your life, but it is not okay to live in it and let it overwhelm you.

True Causes of Despair

Changes in our regular rhythms of life can cause despair.

Verse 4 — He used to be able to go into the temple and worship with others. Now he’s not for some reason. He’s not going to God’s house and he’s not worshipping with God’s people.

Verse 6 — He’s remembering God from a different land. He’s moved away from his normal place of worship and feeling God’s presence.

If you’re used to worshipping and feeling God move in a certain place or season of your life, then when that place or season changes, you may not feel God’s presence as much it at all.

Tim Keller points out that we often find ourselves experiencing God second hand. We experience God through certain people and places instead of just experiencing God Himself.

In some ways this is where despair is a good thing because it drives us closer to God as we seek Him without going through some place or some one.

So if your season had changed of you have recently moved and you are learning to worship in new way with new people, you are going to feel a sense of loss and despair for a period of time. But God is still with you and will lead you through that. Ultimately, He is leading you to Him.

Your physical condition can cause despair.

This is something we don’t often find pastors talking about.

Verse 3 — He’s not eating or sleeping. Martyn Lloyd Jones was a physician and a pastor. He remarked on how we often need to eliminate the physical causes of despair before we start looking for spiritual ones.

If you go to 1 Kings 19, Elijah has run away overwhelmed and discouraged and asked God to take his life. While Elijah is sleeping, God sends an angel to bring him or make him something to eat. He gives Elijah food and water 2 times. And then God sends Elijah on a journey to come see Him.

He doesn’t just say suck it up and get back out there. He is patient with Elijah. But God also makes sure Elijah is thinking clearly with rest and full belly.

Your lack of fellowship with God will cause despair.

“deer pants…soul thirsts…when shall I come and appear before God…”

He wants God. All of his deep longing is for God. To pant and thirst is to be deeply desperate for relief.

I got a small taste of this yesterday. My dad came to help me connect all the lights on both sides of the living room. So instead of three switches for three different light areas, we have two switches that control all the lights. In order to do that, I had to go into the attic.

AND I waited a little too late in the day to get up there. I was up there for about 20 minutes maybe and I was hot and thirsty. I came down and sat for about 30 minutes drinking water and cooling off. It took a minute. It wasn’t just a quick fix.

Sometimes we try that with God. We want a quick fix. I’m going to read the Bible real quick. I’m going to go to church this Sunday. And I’m not being ugly, you should do those things, but God is not a pill you take to make yourself feel better and then you stop taking the meds.

You don’t just need a daily rhythm of spending time with God.

Your despair may be from a lack of fellowship with the only One who can satisfy our thirst and hunger.

You can try other things, but they won’t work.

Those are the causes, what is the cure?

The Truth that Defeats Despair

You need to pray, even when you don’t feel like it.

The Psalmist can’t feel God.

v. 3 “Where is your God…”

v. 9 “why have you forgotten me…why do I go mourning….”

v. 10 “where is your God…”

43:2 “why have you rejected me…why do I go on mourning…”

Be willing to tell yourself what you don’t want to hear.

Notice all three of the times he asks, “Why are you cast down, oh my soul…”

“Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him…”

The “I” is intensified in all three meaning that this isn’t just going to be a verbal ascent. He is going to dig down deep into his soul and find what it is hoping in and replace that false hope with the hope in God.

Two things that ask yourself…(1) what are you hoping in? (2) are you willing to let that go and cling to God.

Remind yourself of God’s unfailing love for you.

Psalm 42:8 “8 By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.”

Do you hear what the Psalmist is reminding Himself to believe.

Every single day, God commands His faithful unfailing love over us. Now this isn’t necessarily theology, but it is a manmade way of understanding God’s love. His love is always commanded to be present in our lives.

Understanding God’s love involves you realizing that God’s love is His nature. He cannot help but love you because it is Who He is.

And at night, God is singing over you. You are on God’s mind.

Let’s go back to that story I told at the beginning. That young boy sat in the woods all night long no knowing if he would survive.

After what must have seemed like an eternity, the first rays of sunlight entered the interior of the forest. Looking around, the boy saw flowers, trees, and the outline of the path. Then, to his utter astonishment, he beheld the figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed with a bow and arrow. It was the boy’s father. He had been there all night long.

The Psalmist had no idea just how much God loves us. When He wrote of God’s commanding love, He knew nothing of the cross.

All throughout the Old Testament with the uncertainty of the judges, the kings, and the prophets and the exile. The people of Israel had no idea that God, the Father was standing in the background all along with Jesus, the Son and the Holy Spirit preparing the way for what would happen.

We get the blessing of being able to look back at God’s provision for our salvation.

He felt true despair. He was forsaken. He was thirsty. We never have to know the despair of truly being without God.

Conclusion:

What truth do you need to apply today to your despair?

Pray even when you don’t feel like it.

Be willing to tell yourself what you don’t want to hear.

Remind yourself of God’s unfailing love for you.

Despair doesn’t disappear on it’s own; it is defeated by the truth.