Confidence in the Midst of Turmoil

Please turn to Psalm 13 this morning as we consider how we as believer’s can have Confidence in the Midst of Turmoil.

The Lord, who knows everything that there is to know, has a mysterious way of doing things. Take our text for this week as an example. I had announced last week that we’d be taking a break from our series in 1 Thessalonians, and doing a brief Thanksgiving theme. But I had not yet picked out a text. I came to this text because I saw a Facebook post which quoted a comment from Charles Spurgeon’s sermon on this text. “A rejoicing heart soon makes for a praising tongue.” And from the quote itself it seemed to be an appropriate text for Thanksgiving. So I looked up the sermon and found out what passage it was based on and began to study it.

It didn’t take very long for me to figure out why the Lord brought me to this text — because this text reflects where I am at right now. The beginning of this short psalm reflects a heart that is in turmoil, which is where I’m at right now. And then end of the psalm reflects a heart that has confidence in God, which is also where I am at as well.

We do not know the occasion for which David wrote this psalm. It could have been while he was trying evade capture by King Saul. It could have been while he was fleeing from his son, Absolom who had usurped the throne. Or it could be during a long, drawn out illness. The Lord, in His wisdom, chose to not give us the specific details of the occasion, and so doing the application can be broadened to fit many circumstances.

This psalm breaks into three, two verse sections. The first section deals with David’s complaint, the second section deals with David’s petition, and the third section deals with David’s confidence. When believers honestly pour out their hearts before the Lord, the Lord will change their disposition from despair to confidence.

Let’s read this psalm together.

Psalm 13 NASB95PARA

For the choir director. A Psalm of David. How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken. But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Let’s look first at

David’s Complaint

Look again at verses 1-2.

Psalm 13:1–2 NASB95PARA

How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

Note that:

It is better to ask questions of God, admitting your ignorance of His ways, than to represent Him wrong.

I’m thinking of Job’s friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, whom I often refer to as The Three Stooges!

Have your ever felt like God has forgotten you? Like God has closed His ears to your prayers? That appears to be how David felt as he began penning this psalm.

How long will I be forgotten?

This has to do with the withholding of practical help

How long will Your face be hidden from me? (favor be taken from me)

In his sermon on this passage, Charles Spurgeon said:

Are you crying, to-night, “Lord, how long will You hide Your face from me?” I am glad you cry about it; the ungodly do not cry for God’s face to be revealed to them, they wish that God would always hide his face from them. They do not want either his face or his favor. But if you are longing to see his face, it is because that face is full of love to you.

How long will I take counsel in my own soul (or wrestle with my own thoughts)?

I don’t know about you, but when I wrestle with my own thoughts I often think of the worst possible scenario

Wrestling with my own thoughts lately has led to a lot of stress eating

How long will my enemy prevail?

Who was David’s enemy?

Who is our enemy? Right now for us it is cancer!

David’s Petition

Look at verses 3-4.

Psalm 13:3–4 NASB95PARA

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

Note that:

The key to changing our disposition is to bring our petitions to God in prayer.

The hymn writer Joseph Scriven said it well in his classic hymn, What a Friend we Have in Jesus:

What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge; take it to the Lord in prayer. Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer. In His arms He’ll take and shield thee; thou wilt find a solace there.

Paul reflects on the importance of bringing our stresses before God as petitions to be answered: Phil 4.6-7

Philippians 4:6–7 NIV84

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

In our text David actually gives three imperatives as a part of his petition.

Consider me

Since David’s feels like God has hidden His face from him, David requests God to look on him

The “look” of God or “considering” of God is evidence of God’s gracious attitude toward an individual

Answer me

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 5: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs II. Expression of Prayer: Give Me Light! (13:3–4)

The answer is a positive message of God’s favor by which the Lord frees his servant from the causes of the anguish of soul.

Enlighten me

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 5: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs II. Expression of Prayer: Give Me Light! (13:3–4)

the psalmist believes that only by God’s favor will he receive “light” for his eyes. This idiom expresses the effect of God’s blessings. A man relieved from troubles and blessed with God’s protection, peace, and favor shows his inner spiritual condition in his outward appearance

Maclaren wrote:

God’s honor is identified with His servant’s deliverance, a true thought, and one that may reverently be entertained by the humblest lover of God, but which needs to be carefully guarded. We must be very sure that God’s cause is ours before we can be sure that ours is His.

David’s Confidence

Look at verses 5-6.

Psalm 13:5–6 NASB95PARA

But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Note that:

Based on God’s faithful dealings in the past we can have confidence in His faithfulness in the present and in the future.

Calvin, in his commentary on this psalm wrote:

David does not as yet feel how much he has profited by praying; but depending upon the hope of deliverance, which the faithful promise of God enabled him to entertain, he makes use of this hope as a shield to repel those temptations with the terror of which he might be greatly distressed.

Past experience of trust

Past joy

Present confidence

In his commentary titled Treasury of David Spurgeon wrote:

The Psalm closes with a sentence which is a refutation of the charge of forgetfulness which David had uttered in the first verse, “He has dealt bountifully with me.” So shall it be with us if we wait awhile. The complaint which in our haste we utter shall be joyfully retracted, and we shall witness that the Lord has dealt bountifully with us.

My friends, I’m confident that I am not the only one who is struggling this morning. Our struggles may be for different reasons, but they are real. I don’t share my struggles because I want to minimize your struggles. I share them because I believe that God allows us to go through these times, not just for our personal growth, but so that we can be an encouragement to others. Paul wrote:

2 Corinthians 1:3–5 CSB

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

Believer, my prayer for you is that when you have questions about where is God in the midst of the turmoil of your life, that you will not be afraid to pour out your heart before the Lord. Implore Him to consider your request, to answer your request, and to enlighten your eyes. Meditate on God’s faithfulness to you in the past, and then you’ll find that He will change your disposition from despair to joy.

For those who have never placed their trust in Christ, you need to acknowledge that there truly is a God to whom you are accountable. You need to acknowledge that you are a sinner and that your sins is a horrendous offense to God. You need to understand and acknowledge that God the Son became man so that He could pay the price which is demanded for your sin — death on the cross. You need to acknowledge that this Jesus who died as a sacrifice for sins did not remain in the grave, but was raised from the dead. You need to embrace His persona and His work. You need to receive His gift of grace. You will NOT find comfort from God until you have done so.

As I contemplated this passage, I was reminded of a song that I learned many years ago. And since my joy over the good news regarding Gail’s situation with cancer was overflowing, I ended up putting an Avatar which my son created for me on the screen. Perhaps it is a bit too much! But this song truly expresses how we as believers can continue to have confidence in God, even in the midst of turmoil.

Singer/Songwriter Brian Doerksen wrote:

I don't know what this day will bring Will it be disappointing, filled with longed for things? I don't know what tomorrow holds Still I know I can trust Your faithfulness

I don't know if these clouds mean rain If they do, will they pour down blessing or pain? I don't know what the future holds Still I know I can trust Your faithfulness

Certain as the rivers reach the sea Certain as the sunrise in the east I can rest in your faithfulness Surer than a mother's tender love Surer than the stars still shine above I can rest in your faithfulness

I don't know how or when I'll die Will it be a thief, or will I have a chance to say goodbye? No, I don't know how much time is left But in the end, I will know your faithfulness

When darkness overwhelms my soul When thoughts and storms of doubt Still I trust You are always faithful, always faithful

Certain as the rivers reach the sea Certain as the sunrise in the east I can rest in your faithfulness Surer than a mother's tender love Surer than the stars still shine above I can rest in your faithfulness

I don't know what this day will bring Will it be disappointing, filled with longed for things? I don't know what tomorrow holds Still I know I can trust Your faithfulness

Let’s pray.

Closing Song: #139

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Numbers 6:24–26 NASB95PARA

The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’