But I have trusted in Your faithful love; my heart will rejoice in Your deliverance.
Psalm 13:5 HCSB
When You Can’t See God’s Hand Trust His Heart
Whatever David’s situation it seems to have been around for a while. He’s feeling ignored, agitated, and a bit impatient. BUT … He doesn’t let these feelings shake his faith and resolve to trust God’s heart (who God is at His core) even when he can’t see His hand at work. The true beauty and evidence of this is displayed in the second statement of verse 5, “my heart will rejoice in Your deliverance”. So sure is David of God’s faithfulness he is already planning to rejoice when God delivers Him. Oh to have the Faith of David!
As I wrote the words above, I was reminded that David had demonstrated this faith when facing Goliath, the Philistine giant … I know you may remember the story – but do you remember why his faith was so strong in God or why he didn’t wear the armor Saul had given him? Take a minute to read the story again – and look at the essence of David’s faith as told by David in 1 Samuel 17:32-50.
His faith was strong because God had delivered him from the claws of the lion and the bear and he didn’t wear Saul’s armor, not because he trusted the sling and stones but because he trusted in the LORD who rescued him from the bear and the lion!
In response to Saul’s challenge that David couldn’t because he was only a boy – David replies, “The LORD who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”
And in response to Saul wanting David to wear his armor when facing the giant, David replies, I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again. He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.
1 Samuel 17:34-40
Walk by Faith
There will definitely be times of lament (disappointment, sorrow, frustration…) in our lives but we must not let them shake our faith in God. We must learn and resolve to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7).
Prayer Prompt
Father, I trust in Your faithfulness and I have rejoiced many times over in Your deliverance. I will sing praises to You my God. I will magnify Your name and continually see Your face, Your help, and Your strength. In the name of Jesus my Savior – Amen!
The sacrifice God desires is a humble spirit O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject.
Psalm 51:17
After Bathsheba
Following David’s affair with Bathsheba he was confronted by Nathan, the prophet about his sin. This Psalm is David’s prayer of repentance sometime after the confrontation. David calls on the Lord’s loyal love and compassion. He acknowledges his awareness and sorrow for the sin and pleads for God’s forgiveness and cleansing, and the joy of God’s deliverance. He seeks God’s sustaining power of obedience and rescue from the guilt of murder. David lived in the time of burnt offerings and blood sacrifices but would have been well aware that there were none acceptable for murder or adultery. He was also aware of what we know today this side of the cross and of what Isaiah proclaimed long before the cross. God is not interested in the tangible sacrifices of bulls and goats, or of incense and rituals, but that of the heart, humbled and repentant and yielded to Him and His will.
A great example
This truly is a beautiful prayer, one we would do well to learn from and to use as a model for our own whenever we sin. Note David’s contrition and awe of God. David knows that he is not deserving of the mercy and forgiveness he requests from God but bases the request on God’s loyal love and great compassion. He knows that his actions have been rebellious and sinful and he knows that God is right to confront and condemn him. I love that he demonstrates not just sorrow for the sin but a longing to be right with God, to tell others of God’s mercy, and to lead them to God.
Application
No amount of our good works or acts of services like serving in the nursery, singing in the choir, visiting the shut-ins, or attending every church event will ever be able to atone for our sins. What truly matters to God is our love and obedience.
We shouldn’t just go through the ‘religious acts ‘ with God but rather seek and invest in a relationship with Him.
We must keep in mind that what God desires and will not reject is a heart humbled and repentant (yielded) before Him.
prayer prompt
Father, You are a gracious and merciful God, willing to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. May we never forget that Your forgiveness comes at the great cost of Jesus’ blood. In remembering this – may we, as David, humble ourselves before You – offering not sacrifices of human hands but rather of our own repentant hearts – hearts that turn away from sin and toward You. – We ask not because we are worthy but because of Your faithful love and promises. Amen – in Jesus’ name.
But You, Lord, don’t be far away. My strength, come quickly to help me.
Psalm 22:19
The Bigger Picture
Oh how I hope you read the entire Psalm. It’s so easy to skip ahead to the soap verse, I know – because I almost did it (and have done it before). However, I have learned that reading “the verse” in it’s full context is always helpful and often the meat around “the verse” is juicier than “the main portion”. While I love the SOAP passage, I definitely think verses 1-21 enhance verse 19 and bring the fuller flavor or meaning of the verse to the surface. Don’t stop with the main course though or you’ll miss the wonderful dessert found when reading through to verse 31. It’s like icing on a cake.
DETERMINATION
David felt like he had been abandoned by God and so he began groaning and dwelling, it would seem, on thoughts of his circumstances which fed or encouraged raw emotions and disappointment. If we read carefully though we will see that while disappointment was a part of the picture David also displayed determination, particularly in verse 2 where even though God doesn’t answer him during the day David cries out to him without letting up in the night. When we read on to verses 3 and 4, we hear him cry out “You, (God) are holy” and “in You, (God),our ancestors trusted”. Why did David’s earlier cry of abandonment in verse 1 suddenly sound like hope? I believe it’s because he was determined to move beyond the way things felt to recalling and acknowledging that God is holy and was trusted by the ancestors of the Israelites. You see, as with, Asaph’s determination evokes hope and hope builds from recalling what God had done in the past.
BUT GOD
David knew he was dependent on God and began naming his trouble, both from others and from himself as well as his weakening physical state and emotions, verses 11-18. Peter taught that we are to cast all of our anxieties on God because He cares for us so clearly there’s nothing wrong with taking our cares to the LORD. However, when we do, we must be guarded that they don’t push us away from God but toward Him. Which appears to be exactly what happened in verse 19. David, in naming his troubles, realizes his desperation for God and cries out – “LORD, do not remain far away. You are my source of strength. Hurry and help me! Then he becomes more specific with his requests, “Deliver me from the sword”, “Save my life …” Rescue me…” and then there it is … “You have answered me.” It’s like icing on the cake – taking “verse 19” from savory to sweet.
The Move from petition to THANKSGIVING.
I picture myself sitting in the presence of King David, listening to him speak this Psalm. The inflections of anguished cries of – “Why have You abandoned me?” – covered over with the peaceful sigh of the realization that God had not abandoned Him but had answered him. Then watching and listening as He declares God’s name to “his countrymen”. He not only declares praise to the LORD but in doing so he incites the people to praise the LORD. Then, without warning I am giving God praise as well and find myself grateful for those who have faithfully told generation after generation about the LORD, of His saving deeds, and what He has accomplished. Because of their faithfulness I worship the God of David and know Him as the source of my strength, the One I cry out to in times of struggle – the One I know will help me – because time and again He has answered me.
The application
Take everything to God in prayer – even feelings/questions of abandonment
When you can’t see God’s hand, trust His heart
Be determined to pray even when it seems God isn’t answering
Remember ‘who’ God is and what He’s done
Never lose sight of how very dependent I am on the LORD
Watch and wait for His answers
When the answers come – turn my petitions into thanksgiving
Keep the message going to the next generation
Prayer
Father, what a beautiful Psalm! Thank You that you do not abandon your people and thatYou do not remain far off. Thank You that You do hear and answer our prayers and while you allow suffering to touch our lives – You faithfully work all things together for the good of those who love You and have been called according to Your purpose. Help me to faithfully cast all my anxieties on You so that they do not overcome me but draw me closer to You. And may my tongue declare Your name, making known Your saving deeds and what You have accomplished. praising You among the people and may the praise incite others to praise You as well – so that generation after generation will know You. – In Jesus’ name, amen.
Lord, why do You stand so far away? Why do You hide in times of trouble?
Psalm 10:1 HCSB
Where are You God?
Have you ever been going through a time of suffering or some kind of trouble and felt like God was no where to be found? You tried to pray but felt like He wasn’t listening or you waited for Him to show up or answer but it was like He didn’t even know you were in trouble? If we’re honest most of us have felt this at one time or another, and it’s exactly how David was feeling when he wrote Psalm 10.
So What Do We Do?
We may feel like David, we may even pray like David but the bottom line is – we trust. Like Asaph in Psalm 77, we resolve and choose to remember the faithfulness of God in times past and specifically, in this situation, the promise of God to never leave or forsake His children.
Prayer Prompt
Father, sometimes You have seemed “far off” or as though You’re paying no attention – when these times come God, when I can’t see Your hand please help me to remember your promises and to trust Your heart.
Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago.
Psalm 77:10-11 NET
Asaph’s Confidence
I love the heading for this Psalm in the Holman Christian Standard Bible, “Confidence in a Time of Crisis”. It is certainly fitting from start to finish of this Psalm of ‘lament’ by Asaph and I think an equally fitting way to start this study on “Trusting God in the Midst of Suffering” (by LGG).
Suffering is part of the believer’s life and to survive it we must learn how to deal with it in a godly way. While we most often learn best from experience it is beneficial and God’s plan according to (2 Timothy 3:16-17 to learn from the examples in His Word. Today’s reading provides one such example. Let’s take a look.
The Lament
Asaph’s lament begins in verse 1 with no clear reason what prompted it but clearly he is facing a crisis of some kind. Notice though from the get-go, even in the throes of the crisis his faith is active. He didn’t run from or turn from God but ran to Him and was resolved to cry out to Him in prayer and thought and faith.
I will cry out to God and call for help. I will cry out to God and he will pay attention to me. 2 In my time of trouble I sought the Lord. I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night. I refused to be comforted. 3 I said, “I will remember God while I groan; I will think about him while my strength leaves me.” (Selah) 4 You held my eyelids open; I was troubled and could not speak. 5 I thought about the days of old, about ancient times. 6 I said, “During the night I will remember the song I once sang; I will think very carefully.”
Psalm 77:1-6 NET
From Lament to a Song of God’s Extraordinary Deeds
However, don’t miss that the longer Asaph cried out with the problem that was causing him to “groan”, the more panic and heartache seemed to rise within him. In turn these created the threat of doubt and the fear that God would cease to be active in his life. This is where we find him in our focus/soap passage today. He couldn’t bare to think that God would become “inactive”, to the point that it “sickened” him. Yet, this is the very thing that turned his lament into a new song of God’s goodness and activity in times past. Asaph resolved to recall God’s greatness and power over all things. With this resolve, Asaph’s cry changed from “I will” to “O God, Your deeds are extraordinary … You are the God who does amazing things! You have revealed Your strength … You delivered Your people … You walked through the sea; You passed through the surging waves … You led Your people like a flock of sheep …”
The Change
It’s important as we move forward in “Trusting God in the Midst of Suffering” to notice the change came with Asaph’s resolve to remember and what he chose to remember. He made the choice to fix his mind – not on the ‘crisis’ or the rising doubt and fears but rather on “the works of the LORD …” and this seemed to change everything – well, perhaps not the ‘crisis’ (Scripture doesn’t make this clear) – but certainly his reaction to the ‘crisis’ changed. Perhaps this is an example of why Paul taught the Philippians to fix their thoughts on things that are excellent and worthy of praise, Phil 4:8.
What this mean for us: The Application
I believe this is where we find our application today, choosing to fix our mind on the things of God and not the things of the world that make us anxious and problem centered rather than God centered. This is not to mean that we can’t pray or cry out to God in lament. Actually, looking again to Paul’s teaching in Philippians 4:6-7, we see that when he warns the believers not to be anxious about anything he also says, “instead, pray about everything and thank God for what He has already done.” He says that when they do this they will experience the peace of God which exceeds anything they can understand. I can tell you from experience – when you apply the power of truth that is in these verses to your life it changes everything.
What’s Your Plan?
What is the resolve of your life? What will you do when the crisis comes? Clearly Scripture teaches us to have a plan that is rooted in God (Father, Son, and Spirit) and in His Word. Here are some helpful tips …
Know Him – this comes from prayer and staying in His Word daily
Don’t trust, lean on, or stay in your own emotions but trust in the Lord (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Sing of His goodness(what we listen to guides our thoughts)
Write down what He’s done (have journal or use your phone at the end of each day to write down 1-3 things that you saw Him do or remember He has done in the past … something as simple as a much needed parking space to His amazing gift of salvation, acts of grace or mercy, His forgiveness for the unspeakable things of your life, His love despite those unspeakable things, His Spirit’s power in You, your hope of eternity, and any number of amazing deeds you have witnessed from Him)
Prayer Prompt
Father, help us to turn our laments into songs of joyful praise. How often have I lamented before You – crying out for You to hear, waiting on You to answer, trusting You to not forget or become inactive. Like Asaph I have found myself clinging to You through the waves and heard You whisper – “Be still and know that I am God”. How many times You have used the words of Paul to cause me to choose to recall Your goodness, grace, and mercy and to resolve to fix my thoughts on things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Thank you for the history of Your goodness and the evidence of Your love and the faith on which I stand. In Jesus’ Name – Amen!
Love God Greatly
If you would like more thoughts on today’s reading please click the link for today’s blog post from the LGG Team.
Materials Now Availablefor Trusting God in the Midst of Suffering!
We are one week away from our next study, Trusting God in the Midst of Suffering! This is a 4-week study by Love God Greatly that I will be sharing/hosting here at Mefomthensideout.
Whether you’re joining me for the live study on Monday, May 2, 2022 or some date beyond that I’m so glad you are here reading this and hope that you will join me for the journey. The beauty of an online study is it can be done any time from any where, alone or be brave andask a friend, a neighbor, or family member to join you and see what God does. Who knows, you might be an answer to someone’s prayers! Scriptures are provided but I would suggest grabbing your Bible and the LGG study journal and come explore God’s Word with me as we embark on this journey where we will discover what it means to trust God, even in the middle of deep pain and suffering.
Here’s how it works … I will provide daily (M-F) readings, my thoughts, and links to the daily post from Love God Greatly. You can simply go solo, reading and journaling one on one with God, or you can gather with a group or participate here by leaving comments – which I will happily engage in. The choice is yours and I pray abundant blessings will be as well. Once you’ve finished this study be sure and check out the past studies or see what’s coming next.
Take your Bible study to a deeper level through the Trusting God in the Midst of Suffering study journal!
This is the disciple who testifies about these things and has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. 25 There are many other things that Jesus did. If every one of them were written down, I suppose the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
John 21:24-25 NET
The Things We Could Talk About
Sometime after Jesus revealed Himself to Thomas He appeared to them again and we could focus on the events that took place – like the miraculous catch of fish, or Jesus’ conversation with Peter about feeding His sheep, or the type of death Peter would face. Instead we will conclude our study with John’s conclusion of the Gospel and why it’s important to the quest of being secure in our eternity.
Through Their Testimony
As we have learned from this book, the words of Scripture are meant to lead us to know/believe in Jesus Christ and in the One who sent Him. This being true we naturally want to know that the sources of the word are trustworthy, how they are related to the Christ they profess. What we find here is that John wrote or dictated as one who was an eyewitness to the stories shared. He was loved and trusted by Jesus, which is perhaps most evident when, from the cross, Jesus placed His mother under John’s care, John 19:26–27. The point however, isn’t how much Jesus loved John or why but that John is a reliable source. Which, if we are staking our eternal security on words that were written centuries ago by those we do not know we want to know they are reliable. After all, Jesus Himself prayed in John 17:20, “I am not praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony …” Don’t misunderstand me, I do not mean to take God out of the picture nor am I inferring we must trust the reliability of man over trusting that the Bible is God-breathed, 2 Timothy 3:16, However, He chose to use humans, just like us, to write the words and so having knowledge of these people and why God might have used them or what role they played surely enhances the way we listen to or read their presentations. Perhaps John understood this and thus addresses it here to close his book.
“When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.”
John 19:26-27
He Knew THe Importance of Jesus
I love that John wanted to testify about these things so that others would know the man and the friend that Jesus was. However, I also appreciate that he couldn’t help but point out that the things he had shared were no where near all that could be shared about His friend, His teacher, The Christ. John was, as we should be, impressed with Jesus. He knew Jesus’ importance and the value of what He had to offer and believed in the dire need to proclaim it so that, as Jesus prayed, “the world will know that you sent me, and You have loved them just as You have loved me.” (John 17:23)
31 But these are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John 20:31 NET
From the second chapter of John the Scriptures make it clear that all of the miraculous ‘signs and wonders’ and all of the “I Am” statements were meant to help others believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, and have life in His name.
Jesus did this as the first of his miraculous signs, in Cana of Galilee. In this way he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
John 2:11 NET
As we near the end of John’s Gospel he makes it clear that not only were the miraculous signs done so that others could believe but they were recorded for the same reason.
The B.I.B.L.E. Yes that’s the book for me
Some would argue that the Bible is antiquated, others will say it’s awful that people have allowed the new systems of technology to replace the “Good Book”. However, the things written about Christ and what He did during His ministry are important and are to be valued in any means available. As Paul said in Romans 1:16, they have the power to save. So, having believed these Words and having received the gift of salvation we must now share them so others may also believe and be saved. Regardless of how we share them – whether from the pages of a well-worn Bible or from the latest ipad or phone – they must be shared. Consider this, while the new technology may be a distraction to some it enables people with poor eyesight, like me, who can’t see the words on the page of a Bible in a dimly lit room to see the words crystal clear on a screen.
Prayer
Father, thank You for these WORDS, all the words of Your book, but especially these that are written about Jesus. Thank You for Your Son and His signs and wonders done so that we might believe that He is the Christ, Your SON. Thank You that by believing we can have life in His name. Help me/us be faithful to share these WORDS – the Gospel of Jesus – so that others may believe and be saved. For this end Christ came to earth and lived and died and rose victorious.
Jesus replied, “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
John 20:17 NET
Go and Tell Them
While Jesus says to Mary, “Do not ‘touch me'”, He actually used the word haptou. This word is better translated as clutching or clinging to, inferring lingering. So it wasn’t that He didn’t want her to touch His resurrected body but simply that rather than cling to Him in her relief and excitement she needed to do the more important thing which was to “go and tell the others”. This is made evident in the other statements Jesus makes within this one verse. “I have not yet ascended to my Father” and then “Go to my brothers and tell them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father …” Jesus still had things to accomplish before He would ascend to the Father and He wanted the disciples to know He had returned, even for just a little while.
Brothers
In all the excitement over Jesus’ resurrection it would be easy to miss the fact that He told Mary to go and tell His “brothers” or that He referred to the Father as “my Father and your Father,” and “my God and your God”. Yet it seems to me a very important statement and one we must not miss. While there can be arguments made that Jesus had used term “brother” before when referring to the disciples – generally it was His habit to call them friend. However, at no other time had He referred to God as anyone’s Father but His own. If you ask me, the personal pronoun changes everything and emphasizes the work Christ had done on the cross and through the resurrection. This is no longer a ‘religion’ of rules and practices but of a relationship between God the Father and His children.
When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
( Galatians 4:4-5 )
The Father’s Business
Oh how nice it is to sit and cling to the Savior or to get lost in His Word and savor the quiet times but we must take to heart Jesus’s words to Mary – and not always ‘cling’ but to go and tell the others. In Mary’s case it was because Jesus would soon be ascending to the Father and no longer with them. There were things that needed to be said and done and they need to make the most of their time. For us and those who don’t yet belong to the family it is equally important because one day He’s coming back to take us home and only those who are prepared will get to go.
The urgency for Mary to "go and tell" was because He would be leaving. The urgency for us to "go and tell" is He will come again and people must be ready. - Me from the inside-out
Prayer
Father – help me to be about Your business – telling others about Your son – how and why You sent him – what He’s done and what He will yet do. Help me to bask in Your Presence – to glean from Your Word and cling to You but not to the neglect of those who do not yet know! Thank You for the empty tomb and for making me Your own!
Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
John 17:3
Eternal Life
When we talk about glorifying something or someone we typically are referring to making them known – drawing attention to them or to what they’ve done – and giving them the place of honor. In this first section of John 17, Jesus lifts up His request to the Father to make Him known – not that He may boast but that He may glorify the Father. However, there is a second reason that I see and that is found in our focus verse today (3). God’s purpose in sending Jesus was so whoever believed in Him would have Eternal Life. Jesus has been making Himself and the Father known during His time on earth both to the disciples and all who would listen to the message or saw the miracles. Having come to the end of His time on earth He points out to the Father, that He has been successful in what He was sent to do. His reasoning for deeming it successful was that the disciples had accepted the message God had sent Him to give and they knew with certainty that He came from God. And this, by Jesus’ definition, is eternal life – that they know both the Father and the Son whom He sent.
For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
John 17: 8
Our Mission
Our mission as believers is to keep the message going. It’s a mission made possible, according to Jesus, by the spoken testimony of the believers that God sent Jesus to save. The mission is accomplished with more than words though, it is to be the action of loving others as Christ has loved them, (John 13:34-35; 15:8, and 17:20). We accomplish the mission by living in a way that the world will know Him through us – just as He lived in a way that the world would know God through Him. Don’t miss the passion Christ had for the mission to save the world and to make the Father known. We’ve seen it throughout the book of John and we see it here as He prays and emphasizes His hope that the world will believe that God has sent Him. I believe it is clear from His words in this prayer that Jesus’ hope was that we would share in His passion.
my Prayer
Father I don’t have to feel like you are using me. I don’t have to know anyone is listening – I only have to live and love like Jesus, who kept the message going so the world would know You – the only true God and Him, who You sent to save us.
The Emotions of Jesus
One final thing I can’t help but point out – and that is how Jesus prayed and longed for those who had believed in Him. We can feel His excitement in verse 7 over them truly understanding His relationship with the Father and the Father’s real and present role in all that had been happening. I could also feel His true longing for those who belong to Him to be with Him. This is how He longs for all of us who are His. May we equally long for Him and for the Father; and may we pray for the lost to believe.
Me From the Inside Out 