Bridge of Nevertheless
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Intro: Have you ever asked the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Sure you have and honestly you probably never really got an answer that satisfies nor comforts those in tough situations. Even if someone gave you an answer like, “It’s all in God’s big plan” or “these things happen so that we can grow in our faith and grow closer to God,” these answers don’t really comfort one who’s hurting, nor does it clarify why bad things might be happening to them. Remember Job?
The question “why” is not the right question to be asking. The reason bad things happen to good people is because we live in a fallen world where everyone is susceptible to bad things happening to them, though some more than others based upon their their life choices.
The question that needs to be considered is not why but, “When bad things happen to good people, how will we respond?”
The Bible talks about David as a good man;
22 And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’
David even prayed that God would;
8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
Yet in all the good that David did, bad things did happen to him. What I want us to do this morning is look at some bad things that happened to David and how he responded.
Text; Psalm 31:22
22 For I said in my haste, “I am cut off from before Your eyes”; Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications When I cried out to You.
Psalm 31 covers a lot of ground in David’s life. From the time he came into king Saul’s service, till the time of the rebellion of his son Absalom against his throne. During this time David experienced life’s ups and downs and here in this psalm he writes about those days.
1. David pleads for Protection from his Enemies; 1-8
1. David pleads for Protection from his Enemies; 1-8
David may be remembering the time of king Saul’s attempts upon his life [1 Sam. 18-29]
Saul tried to kill David by throwing a spear at him, tricking David into fighting the Philistines, commanding his servants to kill David, throwing a spear at him again, coming to kill David at Samuel’s house, even commanding Jonathon to bring David to supper so Saul could kill him. After that Saul chased David in the wilderness for years trying to trap and kill him.
Also during those times when he was hold up in Philistine territory the Amalekites burned his safe haven of Ziklag and carried off all the women and children and his own men wanted to stone him [1 Sam. 30]. Whatever the situation David felt cut off from the Lord.
Look at what he said; Deliver me in Your righteousness, bow down Your ear to me, deliver me speedily, be my rock and my refuge, lead me and guide me, pull me out of the net they have secretly laid for me. I am in trouble and I don’t know where you are!!
1 And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.”
Often in our haste we might feel and react the same as David, doubting God, especially when our government is bearing down on us, doing things that are wrong, stripping away the moral fabric of our society [family], calling evil good and good evil. We get upset and outraged over politics and the foolish policies/laws that are passed!!
We can make changes through voting but looking to men to resolve life’s problems is not going to happen. We need to remember what David did, “cry out to God!!”
5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.
Jesus cried out the same words at Calvary in death that we could be redeemed. David commits his spirit to God in life because he is redeemed, and David knows God cares for his own.
David says that God is; For You are my rock and my fortress, You are my strength, You have redeemed me, I trust in the Lord, I will rejoice in Your mercy, You have set my feet in a wide place [on a sure foundation].
When the oppression of our adversaries [government] weaken our faith that is when we need to dig in and cry out to God.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.
2. David pleads for Healing from Sickness; 9-12
2. David pleads for Healing from Sickness; 9-12
More than likely the ill health that David is alluding to here is from his sin with Bathsheba. “My strength fails because of my iniquity” [v.10]
When David sinned against God with Bathsheba, “a sexual sin”, it started a chain of consequences in his spiritual/physical body that very well may have stayed with him the rest of his life.
David says, “that the grief of his sin has troubled his soul and body for years.”
When we ask God to forgive our sin, God will do that without hesitation.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
On the other hand, the consequences of sin can linger for a long while.
Spiritual body- Even when we are forgiven, it’s hard to forget how we have hurt God and others by our sin. And Satan knows how to bring that up to make us feel bad and also to make us doubt our salvation and forgiveness in Christ.
Ephesians 6:16 (NKJV)
16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
To combat doubt, know that you are saved, and any doubt that comes against that, carry it to Christ/word, and ask “Is this of God or the devil?”
Physical body- often our physical bodies can carry the consequences of sin, even to the grave.
[v. 11-12] reproach, repulsive, those who see me flee, like a dead man, a broken vessel. Each one of these words possibly allude to the outward appearance of David having a form of leprosy [discolored skin patches, rash].
David, even though a king, would be considered unclean to be among his people. Leprosy in the Bible is a graphic illustration of sin’s destructive power.
David in his haste sinned, nevertheless he cried out for God to have mercy on him in his troubles.
8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
3. David pleads for Safety from his Family; 13-18
3. David pleads for Safety from his Family; 13-18
Often in life family may become your worst enemy.
David’s son Absalom had been removed from David’s house because he killed his half brother Amnon for raping his sister Tamar. After some time Absalom was able to return, but not to the palace. Absalom began to stealthily undermine David’s rule. He set himself up as judge in Jerusalem and gave out promises of what he would do if he were king. And then the coup was set in motion as Absalom went to Hebron to set himself up as king.
[v. 13, 17-18] David had to flee for safety from his own son, possibly because of his neglect of parental discipline in Amnon’s rape of Tamar.
If we don’t teach our children what is right, or neglect to live as a godly example before them, we will certainly suffer the consequences of those inactions from our own families and so will others.
[Fox News] An 18 year old shot and killed 19 students and 2 teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday.
There have been teens/juveniles from both Hawkinsville and Cochran in the past two weeks carried to court being involved in drive by shootings in our towns.
There was two shooting incidents last week in Hawkinsville where one was shot in the head at a party and a domestic shooting where a woman was shot in the eye as her kids witnessed the tragedy.
All these stem from poor family settings without proper love and discipline!
24 He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.
15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him.
13 Do not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.
14 You shall beat him with a rod, And deliver his soul from hell.
That rod is a shepherds staff that is used to guide, protect and when necessary to bring unruly sheep back in the fold. That rod is not for beating but correcting.
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
David, because of his lack of guidance and discipline to his family, in haste had to flee his throne, felt that he was cut off from the Lord, nevertheless he cried out to God for help in a time of need, and God answered and restored him safely back to his throne. Unfortunately it cost David the life of his son Absalom. It is never to late to cry out to God for our kids!
Close;
Too often in life’s ups and downs we too have gotten a little hasty and made statements just like David did, “God, where are you? I’m cut off from before Your eyes!”
Those statements dishonor our Holy God because He has made a promise to “never leave us nor forsake us.”
Those statements also show the weakness of our faith because we claim to “have put our trust in Him alone.”
So the next time you’re in one of life’s downs, instead of thinking that you are cut off from the eyes of God, before you make a foolish statement in haste, cross the bridge of nevertheless in prayer and cry out to God as a hurting child would to its mother, and watch God show up in a mighty way!