Trusting God in the Pain
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Motivation
The Psalms, Volume 1—Rejoice, the Lord Is King (Psalms 1 to 41) Grace > Chapter 6: How Long, O Lord? (Psalm 6)
A young woman went to her mother and told her about how hard things were for her. She wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed like God had it in for her.
Her mother took her to the kitchen and brought three pots to boiling on the stove. In the first pot she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed coffee. She let them simmer, and in twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She scooped out the carrots and placed them in a bowl. She pulled out the eggs and placed them in another bowl. Then she poured the coffee into two cups.
Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.” “Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.
“Feel the carrots,” her mother said. They were soft and limp, of course. Then her mother asked her to peel one of the eggs. The daughter tapped the egg on the counter and pulled off the shell, revealing a hard-boiled egg. Finally her mother smiled and handed her a cup of coffee. Then the girl asked, “What does this mean, Mom?”
Each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong and hard. After twenty minutes in boiling water, it was limp. The egg had been fragile and delicate, but now it was hard. The coffee was different. The coffee had released its fragrance and flavor in the water.
When God brings trouble into your life, will you go limp like a carrot, will you harden like an egg, or will you release the fragrance of faith?
Introduction
Job 21:7 “Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and grow mighty in power?”
Isaiah 57:1 “The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from calamity;”
Connection
The author is in deep sorrow.
A psalm of heartache and sorrow amid overwhelming grief and pain.
Take Home
We must bring our pain before God as a pathway to healing.
Expression of Anguish vv. 1-3, 6-7
Expression of Anguish vv. 1-3, 6-7
vv. 1-3
vv. 1-3
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.
We can relate to Jeremiah’s languishing
Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you be to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail?
My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O Lord—how long?
My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O Lord—how long?
vv. 6-7
vv. 6-7
I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.
Application
It is good to express your anguish to God, just don’t let it lead to anger.
There is therapeutic mourning and there is destructive mourning.
Implementation
Destructive mourning
Looks back to the past with regret.
Contemplates “What if”
Seeks to change the unchangeable
Fueled by imaginary outcomes and so it brings more harm.
Therapeutic mourning
Allows the memories to move you.
Experiences your emotions
It is okay to cry and it is important to experience your emotions. Emotions are God-given. They are a part of who we are.
Tears are the safety-valve that God built into us to help us at times like these. Jesus Himself said, "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted."
If you don’t experience your emotions, they will show up later, out of the blue, and you will have difficulty knowing why you are responding with irritability with your family/friends, dread toward future plans, cynicism toward people you used to love being around, or a flatness where passion used to be.
Appealing to God’s Character vv. 4-5
Appealing to God’s Character vv. 4-5
Aching of the soul can either make us better or bitter.
Bitter when we dwell on everything we consider a negative.
Better when we allow God to expand our understanding of Himself and His ways amid the hardships of life.
Turn, O Lord, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
It is in times of difficulty, like these, our own resources may be inadequate but we are able to depend upon the comfort of each other and that which only the Lord can supply.
God invites us to lean on him in the midst of sorrow. In the Psalm 34
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Turn, O Lord, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
God's love is greater than our deepest sorrow.
When we grieve we can feel isolated and alone but God is always with us.
Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.
back to our verse
Turn, O Lord, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
Steadfast Love: You can’t translate the Hebrew word with one English word because this word wraps up in itself a whole string of attributes. God is loyal, God is faithful, God is loving, God is gracious, God is kind, God is compassionate, [and] He keeps His word.
So great is God’s presence with us, we are reminded by the Psalmist in the 139th Psalm . . .
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
We also read from the Psalmist, “I bless the LORD who gives me counsel”. God brings us a peace which surpasses all understanding.
It is our human nature to want to understand everything now, but TRUST requires that we lean and rely heavily on God even when things seem unclear.
Rather, God gives us a peace we cannot describe by words or logically explain. A peace that does not entail a change in circumstances or external needs being met. A peace that comes from God speaking to our hearts through his empathy, compassion, and wisdom.
Application
It is the steadfast love of God that allows us to move forward in assurance that His ways are righteous.
Assurance of Comfort vv. 8-10; Psalm 77
Assurance of Comfort vv. 8-10; Psalm 77
Application
I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.
When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah
You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
Summary
Psalm 77:2 “In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.”
Implementation
I consider the days of old, the years long ago. I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.” Then my spirit made a diligent search:
4 questions to consider
Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
Transformed by the renewal of the mind
Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High.” I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?
You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side.
God’s power over creation
* idea continues
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook.
. . .
Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.
You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 23
The Holy Spirit, speaking through Isaiah reminds us,
Who God is
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
What God Does for Us
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
Results
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Sorrow will hit all of our hearts. Sometime it may seem like it come out of nowhere. But God has promised to be with us. God does not promise the hurt will go away, but He does promise to be with us through the hurt and to renew our strength.
Sentiment
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; . . .
my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Pleasure forevermore
Pleasure not stopped by death.
