Lean On Me

I read the story about a dad who came to visit his daughter and her family and met them at Chick-fil-a for lunch as he came into town. After eating they decided to do some shopping and he decided to buy them a gas grill they had been wanting. But upon arriving back to her car they quickly discovered it was too large to fit into the trunk of her car or her dad’s. So they decided they would have to put it in her backseat. But it would mean having to take the car seat out for her toddler and then putting it in grandpa’s car. So the mom told her dad to take it out and put it on top of the car. Her 3 year old was watching all of this intently and then said, “But Mom, will you drive reeeal slow?” He trusted her enough to ride up there!

How much do you trust God?

Turn with me to Psalm 59 this morning and let’s begin this morning by giving our attention to Psalm 59:16-17 …

Psalm 59:16–17 NASB95

But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, For You have been my stronghold And a refuge in the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing praises to You; For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.

Here in this psalm we know that David wrote it out of the experience he went through when King Saul, his father-in-law had his men guarding David’s house and waiting to kill him. A rather troubling experience of life! But in this psalm, there are 3 significant things I want you to see this morning. First, I want you to see that…

1. HE TURNED TO GOD FOR HELP. (59:1-8)

- David found himself in a real pickle! His father-in-law is so jealous of him by this point that he wants to kill him!

- So David turned to God for help!

- So many times when David found himself in hard and difficult circumstances, he LEANED ON GOD! He didn’t lean on himself – his own strength, his own ingenuity.

- David knew in Whom his strength was and where his strength came from!

- He knew the giant Goliath hadn’t fallen by his own power and strength! He had fallen by the power and strength of Almighty God…whom he served!

- So David here prayed to God for deliverance from his enemies (Psalm 59:1-2 ).

Psalm 59:1–2 NASB95

Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me. Deliver me from those who do iniquity And save me from men of bloodshed.

- The word he uses here in verse 1 that is translated defend or protect in several translations means to set in an inaccessibly high place. David asked God to be like a high tower or wall to him, to protect him so securely that his enemies could not reach him!

- In verse 4 he prays: “Arouse Thyself to help me, and see!”

- David knew God was his only hope!

TS – Next, I want you to see that…

2. HE FOUND GOD TO BE EVERYTHING HE NEEDED. (59:9-10, 16)

- We see this in Psalm 59:9-10 …

Psalm 59:9–10 NASB95

Because of his strength I will watch for You, For God is my stronghold. My God in His lovingkindness will meet me; God will let me look triumphantly upon my foes.

- Then in Psalm 59:16 he says…

Psalm 59:16 NASB95

But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, For You have been my stronghold And a refuge in the day of my distress.

- David found God to be everything he needed!

- Psalm 23…“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…”

- It’s like the little girl in Sunday School one day when the teacher asked who would like to recite Psalm 23 and she jumped to her feet and blurted out “The Lord is my Shepherd, He’s all I need!”

- Boy she was right! He is all you need! He will be your everything!

- When you face difficulties in your life, it sure pays to remember what you know about God:

1) He can be trusted – He is true to His Word.

2) He loves you very much – so much so that He sent His Son to die for you!

3) When God is for you, Who can be against you!

4) He is always with you – will never leave nor forsake you!

5) He is your protector and shield.

6) He is your rock and fortress.

TS – And finally I want you to see that…

3. He Praised God. (59:16-17)

- Look at what he says again in Psalm 59:16-17 …

Psalm 59:16–17 NASB95

But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, For You have been my stronghold And a refuge in the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing praises to You; For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.

- Because he leaned on God…and found God to be everything he needed…it led him to praise God!

- He praised God for 1) His Strength 2) Love 3) Security (stronghold-fortress) 4) Refuge

- What do you praise God for? Even in the difficult times you experience – go through?

Conclusion

In 1873 Horatio Spafford, a Chicago Lawyer put his wife Anna and 4 daughters on a French luxury liner called the Ville du Havre to go to Europe needing to get away from the stress of losing their only son to scarlet fever and great financial loss due to the great Chicago fire which destroyed a lot of real estate he had invested in. At the last minute, some last minute business developed that he could not miss, so he persuaded his wife and 4 daughters to go on as planned and he would join them shortly.

On November 2nd, 1873 the Ville de Havre collided with The Lochearn, an English vessel and sank in only 12 minutes claiming the lives of 226 people. All 4 of the Spafford children were lost and Anna was one of the few survivors. 9 days later upon reaching land, Horatio received a telegram from his wife that simply said, “Saved Alone.” Horatio immediately boarded the next ship leaving for England to join his wife. And sometime over the days that followed, Horatio penned the words of the great hymn “It Is Well with My Soul.”

It begins with these words…

When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll, Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul.

This morning I simply want to close by asking: WHO DO YOU LEAN ON in the difficult times you go through in your life?