A Mere Breath

Originally we were going to deal with today, but a couple of weeks ago, a southern baptist pastor in California took his own life. Earlier that day, in what ended up being the second to last tweet he would write, he wrote

Loving Jesus doesn’t always cure suicidal thoughts

Loving Jesus doesn’t always cure depression

Loving Jesus doesn’t always cure PTSD

Loving Jesus doesn’t always cure anxiety

But that doesn’t mean Jesus doesn’t offer us companionship and comfort.

He ALWAYS does that.

And he was right. And I can’t really tell you why both his tweet and his death affected me, but I found myself unable to break my mind away from it as the night wore on.

And in the days since, my mind has returned over and over to him and his family, and something began to become clear in my mind.

We refute, and rightfully so, the prosperity gospel idea that faith in Christ is going to make us healthy, wealthy and happy. Often we go hard against this particular heresy.

We describe, and rightfully so, that the Bible promises us that the life of a Christian is not an easy one. It is full of dying to self, taking up our cross and following Jesus. The path of a believer is full of troubles.

But where I think the church has dropped the ball is how we rarely talk about the many passages of scripture where believers feel the weight of those troubles. Of what a faithful response is, and what it means to really rely on God when the fires are hot.

So this morning I want to look at one of those passages.

Psalm 39:1-

Psalm 39:1–13 ESV

I said, “I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence.” I was mute and silent; I held my peace to no avail, and my distress grew worse. My heart became hot within me. As I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: “O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool! I am mute; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it. Remove your stroke from me; I am spent by the hostility of your hand. When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him; surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah “Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers. Look away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more!”

Now first of all, I want to point out, that this was written by David. We know David’s life enough to remember that he had very high highs, and very low lows.

But the reason I want to point out David’s authorship here is because one of the lies that is thrown at people who deal with this kind of darkness or burden, is that they lack faith.

And yet, we can’t say that about David. In both highs and lows, David was a man of faith. Scripture describes him as a “man after God’s own heart”.

But as we see this Psalm here, David is crushed under his failing health. He sees death is close, and his distress due to his condition is such that it welling up within him.

1 Kings 1:1 ESV

Now King David was old and advanced in years. And although they covered him with clothes, he could not get warm.

David’s life has been full of pain and trouble since his affair with Bathsheba. He has been run out of his kingdom by Absolom, there have been many enemies lying in wait for his ruin.

And now, David is nearing the end of his life. And he is suffering.

But look at how he responds to it.

Verse 1 says he decided to carefully watch his mouth. He will not allow his pain to be used by evil men to cast doubt upon God.

Spurgeon wrote “If believers utter hard words of God in times of depression, the ungodly will take them up and use them as a justification for their sinful courses.”

If believers utter hard words of God in times of depression, the ungodly will take them up and use them as a justification for their sinful courses.

Here David is seeking to suffer well, to be faithful in his pain. This is testimony to his enduring belief in the goodness of God.

You do not protect the image of the one who you see as against you. In his pain, and in his reflection over his life, David is still faithful to the belief that God is for him.

This is our first lesson from the text. When we are tempted to forget, we must remind ourselves of the goodness of God, that He loves us, and is for us.

Notice in verse 2, David says I was mute and silent. He had made the decision to refrain from sin, and for a while it worked.

David knew that his distress was no excuse for sin, but we see here that David’s will doesn’t overcome the issue. Verse 2 says I held my peace to no avail.

This is the second lesson from the text. We cannot out will, or out stubborn our distress.

I think of all people on earth, Christians are the worst for this. So many times we are like David, trying to refrain from complaining, trying to keep from griping about God, and so we think, if I just hold it in, and I paint a smile on my face, it will pass. It will go away.

Ladies and Gentlemen, that is a lie concocted by Satan himself.

I want to remind you this morning that trying to white knuckle your pain, trying to hold it all together when you feel it falling apart is not a virtue. It’s not a spiritual discipline.

When you face burdens and distress, depression and anxiety, the biblical answer is in no way “Just grin and bear it”.

That’s not reality. It’s falseness. Falseness doesn’t come from God, falseness comes from Satan.

So David is trying to fight to keep his mouth closed, and his distress is getting worse! Verse 3 says his heart became hot within him. He can’t take it anymore.

But notice, in verse 4, who is he is addressing? God Himself.

In his distress, he calls out to the Lord.

So much of our problem when we face these kinds of issues, when the darkness is thick around us, is that we forget to call out to the one who reigns over everything.

We are so consumed with our circumstances, we are so focused on the darkness, that we neglect to submit ourselves to the one who is the light.

Spurgeon wrote, “It is well that the vent of his soul was toward God and not towards man. Oh! if my swelling heart must speak, Lord let it speak with thee; even if there be too much of natural heat in what I say, thou wilt be more patient with me than man, and upon thy purity it can cast no stain;”

We can be honest with God about our pain. We can be honest with him about our distress. Scripture says that God knows the heart of man. There is no misunderstanding when we talk with our God.

Jesus experienced a burden that we will never come close to understanding. The stress was so great on him that He literally began sweating blood.

Luke 22:44 ESV

And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Literally a medical condition where under extreme physical or emotional stress, the capillaries burst into the sweat glands.

Jesus is not ambivalent to great stress or heavy burdens. Jesus is not unfamiliar with asking the Father to remove the circumstances. But in that great stress and carrying that burden, Jesus says “Your will be done”

We do not serve a savior that calls us to ignore the darkness. We serve a savior who walked through that darkness and in the midst of our struggle, says focus on me, I am the light.

Just as Jesus asked for the cup to be removed from Him, we see in verse 4, David asked the same.

He calls out to God and asks for God to show him how much longer this will go on. His suffering makes his life feel prolonged, and every day is a battle. He is asking for God to take him quickly.

And then, He goes in the completely opposite direction. He begins to talk about the shortness and the fleeting character of life. He describes his life as a few handbreadths, one of the smallest natural measurements you can use.

Even though his days seem to never end, David steps back to acknowledge that man’s life is like a vapor before the Lord. All of mankind is but a breath!

Some see this as his complaint about the shortness of life, some see this as him reasoning with God, “Since life is already so short, go ahead and take me”

I think it may be part of that, there may be some foolishness in what David says here, But I think David is reaching out to God for perspective.

I think he is asking God for help in understanding his pain will end. When we are in the middle of such a struggle, it can seem as if the burden will never be lifted, that God has abandoned us to this darkness.

David is looking for that light at the end of the tunnel. This will not last forever, God will relent and allow the distress to lift.

Spurgeon wrote, “That there is no end to its misery is the hell of hell; that there is an end to life's sorrow is the hope of all who have a hope beyond the grave.”

David knows that he belongs to God. And that at the end of his life, he will be with God, where there is no distress, no tears, no pain. And in the desire to end his suffering, he longs to be reminded that this will not go on forever.

Here we pick up our third lesson from the text. Remind yourself of what you know.

If you have been a Christian for a long period of time, it is easy to overlook things we think are basic.

In our distress, we can rail against being reminded of things we think we already know. “I don’t need to hear that right now, I know that already.” We want new information, we want new encouragement.

But the problem is that the haze that we experience in our distress separates what we intellectually know from what we experientially know. Its not enough to intellectually know that God is good. I need to be reminded, so that it is in front of me, so that I can experientially know that He is good. To be reminded of all the ways He has been gracious to me when I was undeserving. How He has never left me or forsaken me. And because he never changes, neither will he leave or forsake me now.

This is why when we are in the midst of distress, it is so critical that we envelope ourselves with the Word. To remind ourselves over and over and over of who God is, and how He loves us.

Lets look at how David is affected by his prayer.

In verse 6, David is reminded again of the brevity of life, and how the lifting of his burden will come.

He sees the vanity of the work that man does. He says surely for nothing they are in turmoil. He isn’t saying that there is no need for the work, or that man wastes his time by working, what he is saying is that we are so up in arms about this and that, and in the scheme of things, none of it really matters.

We get so wrapped around the axel about schedules, about deadlines, about projects, and not even 20 years from now, not a soul on earth is going to know anything about any of it.

Even us, next year we won’t remember things that seem such important matters right now. We will be focused on what we think is important then.

And that’s what David is saying. It is for nothing that we get all worked up. All your wealth is going to be squandered by your kids or grandkids. It gains you nothing in the scheme of things.

And here in verse 7, we see David’s heart purged of its ills, and he again is comforted by the fact that His hope is in the Lord.

Here we see the release of his soul, all the vitriol that he was holding onto.

Now this is the peace that David enters into, his situation has not changed.

Verses 10-13 is David continuing to ask God for mercy and to remove his distress from him. The situation has not changed, but David has changed.

He is now no longer trying to hold onto all of his distress, he has given it over to God.

And here we find our last lesson from the text. Do not attempt to be God or to do what only He can.

We cannot handle our distress on our own. Because we were never meant to. The one who created us created us to be dependent on Him. No matter how “together” you think you have it, you are always and completely reliant on Him.

And watch what happens when we rely on God.

Verse 9 says “I am mute; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.”

David still is guarding his speech. But now, instead of the stressful practice of trying to white knuckle his obedience, he now is relying on the Lord to give him the strength.

David’s problems are still there. His actions are the same. And yet, gone is the burning of his heart, David is at peace with his God as he walks through his distress. His life is the same, but David is different.

And if you are a believer in Christ, the same is true for you this morning. God may not lift the darkness, but He will comfort and walk with you through it.

Psalm 23:4 ESV

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

As a believer this morning, you have access to the God of the Universe. The one who created and sustains all things.

And maybe this morning you aren’t sure if you have that access. You can’t say that your hope is in the Lord. All you see is the Darkness.

Well this morning I want to tell you that there is one who has walked that road, and who lived a perfect life and paid the price for your sin. He died, was buried and rose from the grave 3 days later.

And He sits at the right hand of God today, ruling over all creation. He will save you from your sin and give you peace.

If you aren’t sure you know

If you want to know more, please come talk to me after the service. Id love to tell you about the reason Christians have access to God.

Let’s Pray

Jared C. Wilson wrote “ but it is in our deepest despair - in our inability - that we can find the surety of the Lord. I know well the feeling of hanging on by a thread and seeing it as my clinging to the hem of Christ’s garment. Sometimes that’s all we can do. But HE can do things. And through him so can we.

We can sing the old song

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Look full in His wonderful face.

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace