Psalm 13 Turning Toward The Lord

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Good morning everyone and welcome! Today’s message is titled “Psalm 13-Turning Toward the Lord. I am excited to spend time with you this morning in the thirteenth Psalm, because I am convinced that the truths found in this short Psalm are life giving. In fact, I believe these truths have the potential to impact our relationship with the Lord in rich ways. If you have your Bible go ahead and turn to Psalm 13. This is a psalm of lament attributed to David, which he likely wrote while fleeing from King Saul. At only six verses long, David managed to share both his deep distress and great comfort with us. It is this outpouring of David’s heart, and subsequent praise of God’s unfailing love, that we are going to focus on today. Our aim is to carefully observe David as he turns from himself and his circumstances, and turns towards the Lord. My hope is that we do not walk away today with a formula to follow. We must guard against our fleshly desires that seek steps instead of the Saviour. My prayer for us all is that we grow in our appreciation of the salvation given to us through Christ’s finished work on the Cross. That like David, we too would respond to God with hearts full of hope and praise for who He is and what He has done for us! And that, our knowledge of and love for the Lord Jesus Christ, will be what compels us to turn toward the Lord. Let’s pray and ask the Lord to help us grow in these ways.
I chose to focus on this Psalm in part, because like David, I too know what it is like to experience distress. And, I am certain that every one of you have experienced distress to varying degrees. But, my biggest interest in this Psalm comes out of need. I personally need to grow in the practice of meeting with God in the midst of my suffering like David does, and my guess is, you do too. Therefore, we need to better understand what it looks like to meet with our Lord while in distress. This is extremely important for us to grow in, because I know that the alternative is to live in fear. And when our fear is not shared with, and entrusted to the Lord, anxiety is sure to follow. Anxiety is the outward expression of fear, and fear is the inward expression of the heart. Fear works itself out through various expressions of anxiety. Fear is what actually fuels anxiety, and fears develop when we recognize our inability to control our life, others, and the world at large. Anxious feelings of stress, worry, agitation and nervousness are experienced as we fight for control that is not ours to possess. This is a serious problem that many of us deal with in varying frequency and degree. It is no wonder that “do not fear”/“fear not” is the most repeated imperative in the Bible stated some 365 times, I suppose, so we have one reminder for every day of the year. God knows we are a people who struggle with fear, worry, and anxiety, which is why He addresses these struggles so often in Scripture. He also gave us Psalm 13 so we can know what it looks like to turn towards Him when dealing with fear.

Turning Toward The Lord

Let’s move now from our human condition of living in fear, and see what we can learn from David in Psalm 13 that will help us turn to the Lord when in distress. Follow along as I read the thirteenth Psalm. I want you to recognize three distinct sections. 1) David’s questions in vs. 1-2; 2) David’s requests in vs. 3-4; and David’s affirmations in vs. 5-6.
Now remember, David is being hunted down by King Saul and his army. David is in great distress spiritually, personally, and circumstantially.
Psalm 13 (NIV)
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.

Turning Toward The Lord

Were you able to recognize the three ways David turned toward the Lord? In the middle of great turmoil spiritually, personally, and circumstantially, David managed to keep a Godward orientation through his questions, requests, and affirmations. Let’s look closely at each verse to see how this all unfolds.
Psalm 13:1 NIV
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
We recognize David struggling spiritually in the first verse when he asks the Lord “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
David longed for the Lord, because he felt ignored by God and forgotten. He desperately wanted to experience God’s presence, but his unchanging circumstances made him feel like God was absent. Have you ever experienced this? Do you find yourself at times crying out to the Lord, “How Long O Lord?” “Will you forget me forever?” I know I have been in that state at particular times while in unchanging stressful circumstances. I walk alongside others who feel this way in their marriages, in their parenting, and with their health. What we see here is a normal initial response to God in the midst of distress. Our feelings about God are influenced by the feelings caused by our circumstances. This inner conflict is expressed when David says,
Psalm 13:2 NIV
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?
In verse 2, David is seen struggling personally. “How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?”
David had doubts in his mind and sorrow in his heart. He wrestled at the level of his soul concerning doubts about God. It was those very doubts that caused him great sorrow . Have you ever wrestled inwardly like David? Maybe you doubted God’s goodness, God’s nearness, and that caused your heart to be full of sorrow. I can really relate to this inner battle, and have come to realize the damaging effects turning inward can have over time. Fortunately, David moves from this first section in vs. 1-2 of questioning, into the second section in vs. 3-4 of requesting.
Psalm 13:3–4 NIV
Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
This transition into the second section of the Psalm is a crucial turning point for David. Instead of questioning God, David now turns to the Lord in prayer and asks Him, “Look on me and answer, O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; my enemy will say, ‘I have overcome him,’ and my foes will rejoice when I fall.”
David, in an incredible act of faith, prays to the Lord and asks Him for help. Specifically, David asks the Lord to give light to his eyes. David was aware of his need for hope that could only come from God concerning truths about God. David knew that if he remained fixated on his circumstances, experiencing God only through how his distress made him feel about God; that he would be defeated. If David would have stayed in his state of upward wrestling with God, and inward wrestling with self, he may have never turned toward the Lord in prayer and received comfort, peace, and hope. Thankfully, we see David turning from himself and his circumstances, and turning toward the Lord through expectant prayer. This turning point for David was the catalyst that brought clarity, help, and hope! It didn’t change his circumstances, but it did correct his view of God as we will soon see.
Psalm 13:5–6 NIV
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.
As we move into our third and final section of the Psalm, David affirms what he knows to be true about God. Vs. 5-6. “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.” I believe God literally answered David’s prayer and gave light to his eyes. The Lord enabled him to see God unhindered by distress, and his understanding of his Lord radically changed from feelings of being forgotten and abandoned, to the real truth about who God is and what He has done. There is a great contrast that begins with the word “but.” David is essentially saying that, despite all that is going on in my life, I am going to keep my eyes fixed on my Lord’s unfailing love. A huge example of the Lord’s unfailing love is identified when David rejoices in his salvation that was received from the Lord. All of a sudden, David’s heart desires to sing to the Lord as he remembers all that the Lord has done for him. It is now God’s goodness that David is operating out of, instead of being led by his desperate thoughts and sorrowful heart.

Turning Toward The Lord

In this Psalm we have seen David’s turning to the Lord begin with him questioning God, “How long O Lord?” Then David turns to the Lord in prayer with requests for help. Finally, David experiences God in very real and personal ways as he turns from trusting his feelings based on his circumstances, to trusting in God’s unfailing love. So what does all of this mean for us? How can we functionally live out our faith and turn to the Lord in times of great distress? I believe we can benefit from David’s interaction with the Lord in the following ways.

Questioning God is Reasonable in Distress

First, understand that questioning God is a reasonable response during times of suffering. Questioning God is not a problem; however, demanding an answer from Him is a problem. We must maintain a proper respect and reverence for the Lord always. He is our holy, righteous, and loving Saviour. When we question the Lord, we maintain a Godward orientation, and that means we are still turning towards the Lord. We must take care to not remain in this state of questioning too long however. It is necessary to transition from questions to requests, because

Prayer is a Necessary Act of Faith to Receive an Answer From God

Pray David’s prayer, “Give light to my eyes.” This plea for hope asks the Lord to reveal His goodness, which He does for His glory and our better good. When you pray, pray expectantly, knowing that you are praying to the God who sees and hears. Then when He gives light to your eyes, and you recognize God’s goodness through what He says about Himself in Scripture,

Affirm God’s Goodness!

Praise Him! Remember how the Lord has been good to you! Trust completely in His unfailing love for you, and His promises to you. Meditate on these things, turn toward the truths of God, and rejoice and be glad in your salvation, remembering that Jesus is the only One who perfectly turned toward the Father making your salvation possible . While hanging on a Cross, Jesus questioned God the Father when He said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46. Again while on the Cross, Jesus prayed to the Father, not for Himself, but for those who put Him on the Cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not now what they are doing...” Luke 23:43. Jesus also, while hanging on the Cross, affirmed God’s goodness when He told the thief next to Him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43. Hear this, Jesus is the One who, once for all, ultimately affirmed God’s goodness through His substitutionary atonement on the Cross! Now, as beneficiaries of His grace, we are compelled to affirm God’s goodness with heart’s filled with appreciation. Therefore, we are now free to turn toward God with confidence, knowing that Jesus turned to Him first, perfectly, on our behalf.
Hebrews 4:14–16 NIV
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
This passage pretty much says it all, Let us then turn toward the throne of grace with confidence. Thank you Jesus! While David showed us helpful ways to turn towards the Lord, he also showed us a few things to guard against.

Be Aware of Thoughts, Feelings, and Emotions

We must be careful that our feelings/emotions that are caused by our circumstances do not blind us to realities about God. We also need to guard against our tendency to slip into hopelessness and despair due to doubts in our minds and sorrow in our hearts. This morbid introspection prevents us from turning to God, because we are turned inward toward self. Understand, I’m not saying that feelings, thoughts, and emotions are unimportant or unnecessary responses to our life experiences. I am saying however, unlike our circumstances, thoughts, feelings, and emotions which are in a constant state of flux; God, who is unchanging, must remain the One true constant which we interpret all of life.

Be Aware... Make The Turn

Finally, beware of turning only to your circumstances, because where you look is where you land. I have a personal illustration that may help us remember this valuable lesson, and it’s based on a principle called target fixation. I first learned about target fixation while taking a motorcycle safety training course before getting my motorcycle license. The instructor warned us about fixating on a particular danger when riding a motorcycle. For instance, if there is a dangerous turn you come upon, do not look at the actual curve/corner in the road. Instead, look through the dangerous curve to where you want to end up, because where you look is where you land. Soon after receiving my motorcycle license I had the chance to put this principle into practice.
One day while riding on an unfamiliar country road, I came to an intersection and I stopped at the stop sign. Immediately I noticed several dangers, the left turn I needed to make was met with a blind hill. The road was narrow, so I needed to make a very sharp turn from a dead stop. This normally would not be so hard, except I thought it “wise” to buy an 800 lb motorcycle as my beginner bike. In addition to these dangers, there were many cinders along the shoulder of the road that I needed to avoid. I was focused only the dangers, and as I began to pull out all I fixated on were the cinders at the side of the road. Instantly I was heading toward the side of the road with my eyes fixed on the cinders. I knew I had to keep up speed in order to turn hard enough so the bike would not lay over, so I increased the throttle. That shot me off the road and into a field where I was thrown over the handlebars and flipped flat on my back. Now, here are some interesting facts. I studied and understood motorcycle riding theory, and I practiced riding on a motorcycle safety course. And yes, I passed and received my motorcycle license, I understand why you may question that... I even practiced riding my 800 lb motorcycle many hours on parking lots with particular obstacles in place that I navigated through. I knew about target fixation! I knew how to ride my motorcycle! So why didn’t I just look past the dangers towards safety? Why didn’t I just put all my hours of motorcycle theory and riding practice into action? Because the particular dangers captured my thoughts and emotions, and I operated out of my fear, rather than my training. We need to be aware of what we are focused on before making the turn. What is your target?

Target Fixation…Make Jesus The Target

I tested the theory of where you look is where you land, and it held out to be true. Target fixation is a very real thing, it can be really dangerous, or it can be life giving. It is dangerous when we focus only on impending dangers and turn toward them. However, safety is found when we look beyond the danger towards where you want to end up. This same principle holds true spiritually for us believers. We just witnessed David’s spiritual target fixation in Psalm 13; and like David, when in great distress, we too must continue turning toward the Lord Jesus Christ with questions, requests, and affirmations. We need to recognize the dangers that cause us fear, and intimately share those fears with the Lord. We must look beyond the threatening curve in the road of life, and focus on where we want to end up, safely in the care of our Lord’s unfailing love. Then we too will rejoice in the midst of great distress as we remember God’s goodness, and the salvation made available to us through the Lord Jesus Christ.
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