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"In the Day of My Trouble"
Introduction: I'm not certain who first made this statement, but wise counsel was given when he or she said, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle." In a more recent article, this statement caught my attention, “I do not know a single Christian who is following God, that is not either in the middle of a trial, just ending one, or about to start a new one. That is how God draws us closer to Him…” When life hands us painful surprises, we start to ask questions as:
We wonder if perhaps we've been cheated; or
We begin to doubt that life makes any sense at all; or
We even begin to question the goodness and love of God; or
We discover that bad things do happen to good people.
When these bad things happen, our normal response is, "WHY?"
If that is how you are feeling at this very moment, listen to this little boy’s account of his day. He has back-to-back disappointments, and one continuous "nothing goes right downer day." This little guy can't win for losing. Here is his day, written in his style.
I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
So after a terrible day at school, a horrible visit with the dentist, and a no-good stop at the shoe store where it seemed we tried on every shoe in the store but nothing would fit, what I liked my mother would not buy and whatever she liked I would not be caught wearing, so we came home to supper.
And you guessed it my troubles continued. There were lima beans for dinner and I hate limas. There was kissing on TV and I hate kissing. My bath was too hot, I got soap in my eyes, and my marble went down the drain, and I had to wear my railroad-train pajamas. I hate my railroad-train pajamas. When I went to bed my brother took back the pillow he said I could keep and the night light burned out and I bit my tongue. The dog wanted to sleep with my other brother, not with me. I guess no body love me. It has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
Small wonder that this little fellow sighs at the end of this day and says, "I think I'll move to Australia."
Let's face it. Bad things not only happen to good people, but they also happen to a select group of "good people – GOD'S PEOPLE." The fact that we know God as our Father and Jesus Christ as our Saviour doesn't exempt us from the normal burdens of life or from those troubles that totally surprise us at times. Even in Psalms 34:19, we read, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delievereth him out of them all." Many are the problems, trials and circumstances we can talk about, such as:
A sudden, unexpected, health, financial, or personal problem that comes our way; or
A husband or wife walking out of a marriage for no apparent reason; or
A man or woman losing their job without warning; or
A daughter or son breaking parent’s hearts; or
A marriage crumbling because a partner has an affair; or
A relationship that has gone sour that leaves us wondering; or
A family crisis that just staggers the mind for which there is no explanation..
On and on we could go with story after story. At times, circumstances of life come upon us that totally mystify us and stagger the mind. At times we come to the place where:
There is no way out;
There is no way through; and
There certainly is no way around the difficulties or circumstances in which we find ourselves.
Now with all that in mind, please go with me to Psalm 77: 1-14 where we find one with whom we can identify and who is very capable of articulating his woes.
First: We have the Psalmist focused on his TROUBLE, verse 2-9.
Second: We have the Psalmist focused on His GOD, verse 10-14.
Follow me as I read verses 1-9 for you.
“I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me. (2) In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. (3) I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. (4) Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. (5) I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. (6) I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search. (7) Will the Lord cast off forever? and will he be favourable no more? (8) Is his mercy clean gone forever? doth his promise fail for evermore? (9) Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.”
In reading this part of the Psalm, no doubt you and I can say:
I can identify with that, or
I have experienced that, or
I know someone who has gone through or who is now going through that.
Starting with verse 1, this psalm indicates there is much sadness there. The Psalmist said literally "I was sobbing over a sorrow that has shaken me." Please hold that thought as I will return to verse 1. The real nuts and bolts of this passage is found in verses 2, 3, and 4 where we find the word "trouble" repeated three times:
Verse 2, "In the day of my TROUBLE I sought the Lord…"
Verse 3, "I remembered God, and was TROUBLED…"
Verse 4, "…I am so TROUBLED that I cannot speak."
The Psalmist isn't talking about:
Something that is petty in his life, nor
Something that would vanish in a day, nor
Something that is inconsequential.
Whatever this trouble was, it was something that totally devastated him. In verse 3 the Hebrew word "trouble" can be translated "violently agitated." As we read verse 4, we see that he was so violently agitated that he cannot even speak, which indicates he was in a state of shock.
Now back in verse 2 notice the phrase, "My sore ran in the night." The Hebrew word for "sore" means "hand." Perhaps you will understand this better if I read it this way, "in the day that I was violently agitated, I sought the Lord and at night I stretched out my hand." He sought the Lord throughout the night in a continual state of prayer.
Are there some here who can identify with that activity? You may be saying, “Pastor,
There is pain in my life,
There is trouble in my life,
There is a situation in my life that has mystified me, and
When my head hits the pillow, throughout the night I am crying out to God for relief.
The Psalmist was in such a state of shock that he literally stretched out his hands throughout the night in prayer. But there was another problem found at the end of verse 2 where he said, "My soul refused to be comforted." No one could provide comfort to this man.
No matter how MUCH he prayed;
No matter how MANY books he read;
No matter how MANY friends came to see him, and
No matter how many SERMONS he heard preached, he was not comforted.
Let me stop here and carefully say,
Just because you are a Christian, and
Just because you are a believer in Jesus Christ, saved, and absolutely sure of Heaven, and
You can't think of any un-confessed sin in your life, and
You don't believe you are out of the will of God, and
You are in fellowship with God, and
You are in fellowship with other believers around you,
Does not mean you are exempt from trouble, even trouble that staggers the mind and mystifies you. Please remember this,
THERE IS NO SHAME FOR A CHRISTIAN ADMITTING AT TIMES THAT HE OR SHE IS TOTALLY MYSTIFIED BY WHAT GOD HAS PERMITTED IN HIS OR HER LIFE.
It is easy for those who are strong and healthy to forget how many tears of sorrow and grief are shed every day by others. All around this aching world, perhaps in your own home or in your heart this very week, even unbeknown to the vast majority of us, sadness abounds. Tears fall. Grief has you in its grip, and IT CAN HAPPEN SO FAST!
Not only is this Psalmist mystified by the situation in his life, but he also begins to have doubts about:
the care of God,
the love of God,
the concern of God, and even
the existence of almighty God.
How could a loving God, a concerned God, permit these things to happen in his life? This was troubling to the Psalmist. In verses 6-9 as he stays focused on his troubles, he is saying, "Has God forgotten me, to the point that I don't even exist in his eyes?" He was so perplexed, so bewildered, and so troubled that he begins to question the ATTRIBUTES and CHARACTER of the God who once gave Him songs in the night.
Reading all the doubting questions the Psalmist raised in verses 7-9, you will discover that the answer to all these questions is NO!
Verse 7, "Will the Lord cast off forever?" No, for in Psalm 94:14, we read, "For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance."
Verse 7, "… And will he be favorable no more?" No, for in Lamentations 3:32 we read, "But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies."
Verse 8, "Is his mercy clean or completely gone forever?" Again No, for in that magnificent 136th Psalm we read 26 times, "for his mercy endureth forever." Thank God His grace, mercy, and love is unending.
Verse 8, "…Doth his promise fail for evermore?" No, for in II Corinthians 1:20 we read, "For all the promises of God in Him (that is in Christ) are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God." There it is. In Christ you can rest upon the promises of God.
Verse 9 "Hath God forgotten to be gracious?" Again No, for in Isaiah 30:19 we read, "…Thou shalt weep no more; he will be gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee."
Verse 9 "…Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies?" No, for in Lamentations 3:22-23 we read, "It is because of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning; GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS."
Reading through the Word of God, you will discover that we have:
A God who is conscious of you and I, and
A God who is concerned for you and I, and
A God who cares for our needs and heartaches, and
A God who is loving in mercy, and
A God who is always that way and will always be that way!
You may be in the shadows of some problem or trouble today. You may be in the shadows of a trial or maybe even a disaster some weeks or months from now, but through it all don't doubt the promises of God. As someone so well said, "Don't doubt in the shadows what God has promised in the light." Let me tell you a little story.
A pastor went to see a dear lady in the hospital who had had one operation after another. There in her frail and weak state she said, "If there is a God, why does he permit this in my life, why does He allow all this pain and suffering to come upon me." The wise pastor asked the woman, "Do you believe that suffering is real?" She replied, "Yes, I believe it is real; I know it is real; I have been going through it week after week; yes suffering is real." Then the pastor said something like this, "If doubting God makes the pain any easier, then keep on doubting God. But if it doesn't, then cry out to God in prayer, and submit to God's word and trust Him to bring to pass His purpose and will in your life. And you will find that God cannot be unfaithful to His written word.
Listen to the words of this hymn:
There is a peace in my heart that the world never gave,
A peace it cannot take away;
Tho' the trials of life may surround like a cloud,
I've a peace that has come to stay!
Constantly abiding, Jesus is mine;
Constantly abiding, rapture divine;
He never leaves me lonely, whispers, O so kind,
"I will never leave thee" Jesus is mine.
Matthew Henry the great Bible expositor said this, "The God of Israel, is sometimes a God that hides Himself, but never a God that absents Himself; sometimes in the dark, but never at a distance."
Frances Ridly Havergal the hymn writer said, "When we are perplexed, when we cannot tell what to do, when we cannot understand what is going on around us, let us be calmed and steadied and made patient by the thought that what is hidden from us is not hidden from Him."
In Isaiah 42:2-3 we read, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. I AM THE LORD, YOUR GOD, THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL, YOUR SAVIOUR…"
The Psalmist said in Psalm 42:11, "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? HOPE THOU IN GOD; for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God."
As I mentioned earlier, let’s go back to Psalm 77 verse 1 where we discover that the real focus should be on GOD. Here we read that this one "…cried unto God with his voice, EVEN UNTO GOD and He gave ear unto me."
In verses 2-9 the Psalmist focused on his TROUBLE. Now in verses 10-14 the Psalmist focused on His GOD, where we read “And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High. (11) I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. (12) I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. (13) Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? (14) Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.”I believe the answer to this man’s troubles and fears, and the sweet peace he was looking for came when he was willing to accept the phrase he wrote in verse 10, "THIS IS MY INFIRMITY."
Let’s face it. Everyone has their share of afflictions. Some people have a much larger dose than others. But there are NO EXCEPTIONS and there are NO EXEMPTIONS.
We are to expect what comes, since it comes from the very hand of the most-high God. And as we move through life, God has a set of circumstances for us to experience, every day, week and for every age of life. All the days of our years we will experience problems, because God has put them there.
So when they come, don’t be surprised, just look up to God and say, "THIS IS MY INFIRMITY," God you have put these circumstances here, and I accept that.
I am not going to fight it.
I am not going to question it.
I am not going to debate it.
I am not going to analyze it.
Rather, "THIS IS MY INFIRMITY," and I am going to accept it. When the Psalmist said that, GOD CAME INTO FOCUS. What is the character of the GOD of the Bible? If you really want to know, you need to read the BIBLE!
The God of the Bible is KIND.
The God of the Bible is COMPASSIONATE.
The God of the Bible is LOVING.
The God of the Bible is MERCIFUL.
The God of the Bible is TENDER.
The God of the Bible is SYMPATHETIC.
The God of the Bible is JUST.
The God of the Bible is HOLY.
Now those who have read and studied the Word of God have come to realize that the God of the BIBLE is all of these things. And the God of the Bible never deals with His people out of Character.
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-29, "Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, AND YOU SHALL FIND REST UNTO YOUR SOULS."
Again notice what happens in verses 10-13 when the Psalmist gets his focus on GOD. “And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High. (11) I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. (12) I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. (13) Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?” The Psalmist "remembers and meditates" upon the goodness of God, concluding in verse 13, "…Who is so great a God as our God?"
When you and I hurt deeply during the troubles of life, even over troubles at times we can't explain, what we really need is not an EXPLANATION from God but a REVELATION of God.
We need to see how GREAT God is.
We need to see the how GOOD our God is and praise Him.
We need to realize our light affliction on this earth is but for a moment in comparison to an eternity of peace with God.
The next time you are going through TROUBLE, TRIAL, or AFFLICTION reflect on Psalm 66:19-20, "But verily God hath heard me, he hath attended to the voice of my prayer, Blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayer or His mercy from me." In the hymn, "The Eternal God is Thy Refuge," the author wrote:
Are the waves of trouble overwhelming?
Is the sky with tempest overcast?
Flee to God a never failing refuge,
He will shield thee till the storm is past.
He will hear and heed thy cry appealing,
He will turn no burdened soul away;
Whatsoever thy trouble, He can help thee,
Wilt thou trust His mighty arm today?
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If God has spoken to your heart after reading the sermon “In the Day of My Trouble” then right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you.
Do you have the assurance that one day you will go to heaven? If you have no assurance that you know Jesus Christ, then I trust you will decide to accept Him as your personal Savior. The Bible tells us in
Acts 16:31, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”
Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
This prayer is here for those who need to ask Jesus to be their personal Savior: “I do want to go to Heaven. I know I am a sinner, and I do believe Jesus Christ died for me. I realize I cannot buy this great salvation, nor can I earn it. Knowing Jesus died on the cross and arose from the grave to pay my sin debt and to purchase my salvation, I do now trust Him as my Savior, and from this moment on I am completely depending on Him for my salvation.”
If you made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, let me know. Please send an e-mail to pdmikBBM@aol.com and I will send you some literature that will help you in your Christian life.
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In His Amazing Grace,
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