WOE IS ME

Read Jeremiah 15:10-21.

Self-pity is not a particularly attractive attitude, but an understandable one, given difficult circumstances we may find ourselves in.   The prophet Jeremiah was fairly wallowing in it as we come to the fifteenth chapter of this book—and can we blame him?

All he has tried to do is to be faithful to God’s call and proclaim his message.  The result was that people despised him and fought against him on every hand.  His sermons not only failed to bring sinners to their knees, it caused them to seek the man of God’s life!  And he was fine with dying.  He wished he had never been born.  It was that bad.

You may be shocked at that.  We want to elevate Bible characters to a legendary level—making them virtual demi-gods.  Reading Scripture shows us the opposite—that they were real men and women, plagued by doubts and fears, who knew heartache and pain like all of us—and sometimes much more than any of us!

The prophet spoke the truth—hard medicine to swallow—and yet the bitter pill of the call to repentance was an act of great compassion.  It was the only hope for the Jews—and they rejected it.  What would remain would be God’s fire and fury.

Back to the scorned preacher—he was not that way!  God knew his heart.  He didn’t loathe the Word of God; he loved it—voraciously devouring its message—and responding joyfully to those wonderful words of life!  He was not ashamed to identify himself with the name of the LORD.  He refused to sit in the seat of the scornful.  The result was that he was alone, broken-hearted—and becoming bitter.

It was then that he approached a line, none ought to cross.  He accuses God of wrong—that the Lord had been unfaithful to him. Like the promise of water in the desert, he came to God and said, “It is only a mirage.”

God answers his man—and calls him to repentance.  Jeremiah is headed down a path where he will join his countrymen in judgment, if he doesn’t turn around.  He thinks he has reached the end of his rope and God informs him that His power is available when Jeremiah’s resources fail.  He will not change his circumstances, but He will enable him to stand in the storm.  God won’t take away the enemy, but He will give the victory.

May God fortify our feeble faith.  The enemy is real.  The pain is not imaginary.  The test is severe—but our God is greater!

DESPERATE FOR GOD

Read Psalm 3

All of us at some point will find ourselves in a situation where we desperately need God.  Maybe you’re at that point today.  That’s why you’re reading this—hoping to find some help in your desperate state.  I have good news.  King David, writer of this psalm, found himself in such a spot (see superscription).  Can you imagine heartache so great as knowing that your own child is trying to kill you? Perhaps you’re in this desperate place because of bad choices—David was reaping what he had sown.  Or you’ve done nothing wrong in particular, but still you find yourself in a mess.  Whatever the cause, the truth remains, that you are desperate for God.

We can face DISTRESSING TROUBLE  (v.1-2)  This is a “psalm” of David.  For the first time the word “psalm” is used.  It comes from the Heb. Mizmor a term meaning to prune or cut away extraneous branches.  Have you ever spoken to someone beating around the bush, giving all sorts of unnecessary details and you say, “Cut to the chase!”  That’s what David did!  He got directly to the point.  There may be a time when turning a flowery phrase and rising to heights of oratorical splendor may be fine, but when a man is drowning he doesn’t say, “O great lifeguard who sits enthroned upon the beach chair, wouldst thou in an opportune season see fit to journey across the burning sands and plunge into these whitecaps, swimming against the current that you may bring me safely to shore, for I am perishing in this riptide.”  NO!  You’ll drown.  You cry, “Help!”

David does so because of the dimensions of the trouble (v.1)  David had always had his enemies.  Those who follow the Lord will always face fierce foes.  Jesus said that the servant isn’t greater than his master.  If they treated Him with hatred, how do we expect better treatment? But the sheer size of the opposition was overwhelming to the king whose crown had been taken by his own son.  I would remind you that the majority are not always right.  In fact, we most always are going to find the devil’s numbers much larger than our own.  Do not be desperate to have the world’s approval, but be desperate for God’s.  If you please God, you will often displease people.  You may not find yourself on a battlefield running for your life like David, but you will face battles from time to time—count on it.  I look at the prayer cards each week and I read the pleas of desperate people who are facing financial disaster, health concerns, family issues--the dimensions of the troubles is vast.  What do we do?  What David did—cry out to God!

If we do not gaze into God’s face with faith then we are going to succumb to the discouragement from the trouble (v.2)  The enemy of our souls will seek to undermine our faith with fear.  He will whisper, “Why, even God has forsaken you.”  In response, David writes, “Selah” for the first of 3 times in this psalm and many times in others.  It is a musical notation and Bible scholars don’t know what.  What we do know is that it had the thrust of causing the audience to stop and consider carefully what was said.  David says, “Stop for a moment.  Reflect.  Don’t judge anything by appearances alone.  Get God’s perspective.”

DISTRESSING TROUBLE can bring us to DETERMINED TRUST  (v.3-6)  He refuses to be overwhelmed by his trouble, but looks beyond it to God.  Are many against Him?  He knows that if God be for us who can be against us!  Does the accuser say that God has abandoned you?  He knows God will never leave us nor forsake us.

We find courage rooted in God's Person (v.3-4)  “But YOU” is emphatic.  In contrast to the fickleness of man, He rested in the faithfulness of God!  God is our protector “a shield” and promoter “my glory” and peace “who lifts up my head.”  David offered passionate, prevailing prayer “I cried to the Lord.”  It was the persistent pattern of his life.  He recalled the countless times God had heard him before.  In this same wilderness he had fled from Saul and been preserved.  The God who gave him the crown the first time, would restore it again.

We have confidence resting in God's provision (v.5-6)  Stressful days are often followed by sleepless nights.  But David didn’t have to reach for medication—he relied on meditation.  He didn’t count sheep, but contemplated the Shepherd and slept like a baby.  When he woke still alive he knew the Lord was watching over him and a new hope dawned.

So David moves from DISTRESSING TROUBLE to DETERMINED TRUST that yields DECISIVE TRIUMPH  (v.7-8)  We are more than conquerors!

Remember the source of triumph (v.7a, 8a)  This is the battle cry of Israel! Our champion is undefeated. “My God” is concerned about you!

Note the scope of triumph (v.7b, 8b)  Satan has had his teeth knocked out—the worst he can do is gum you!  When God blessed the leader the scope of blessing extends to the people.  So pray for them!

Salvation is of the Lord.  That is our greatest need.  If we can trust God with meeting that need--and He has through Jesus--can we not trust Him with lesser ones?

DEALING WITH DISCOURAGEMENT

 

In the LORD I put my trust;

How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain”?  (Psalm 11:1) 

Discourage—let’s break the word down.  Dis: a prefix meaning, “to take away.”  Courage is the state of mind that enables us to encounter difficulties and dangers with firm resolve.  So, to discourage is to take away that state of mind.  Discouragement is one of the chief weapons in Satan’s arsenal.  You may feel disheartened and downcast even now.  You are not alone.  All of us struggle at times.  None are immune from this withering feeling—not even a champion of faith like David could avoid seasons of gloom.  In the eleventh Psalm, David describes the discouraging conditions that arose from hearing disheartening communications.  Thankfully, we also learn from his example how to deal with discouragement. 

Either foes who meant harm, or friends who wanted to help give David bad advice—to flee (v.1-2).  It is the natural reaction to potential problems.  When we feel hemmed in, we look to fight or take flight.  David might have responded either way, but he chose neither—he chose faith.  He would run—not to the mountains, but the Master.  His refuge would not be in the darkness of a cave, but in the arms of the Creator! 

We are not certain of the circumstances of David’s difficulty, but it would fit the period of his life when the young hero was part of King Saul’s court.  David’s fame was growing, even as Saul’s was fading.  The envious monarch would try to kill David with a javelin several times.  For David to flee—as might seem best to do—would be tantamount to an admission of guilt.  Even worse, it would convey that God could not be trusted to care for him.  There would come a time when David would be directed to abandon his post and hide in the wilderness, but not now.  We must commit ourselves likewise to listen to the Word of God and trust in His direction, rather than heed the voices of men who counsel us with earthly wisdom. 

Now a second question is posed, “If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?”  (v.3)  The foundations of a nation are the moral pillars that enable it to stand as a civil society.  When those are undermined, the nation falls.  King Saul had abandoned those principles and God had abandoned him.  The young nation was in peril from a leader gripped by madness and given to malice—a dark, demonic spirit abiding in him.  How much like our discouraging days!  What can the righteous do?  We can respond with flight—many advocate that—to withdraw into our church culture with isolation.  We can react and fight—others advise that—to war against the Christ-less culture with indignation.  To respond like David is to choose the way of faith.  Our task is to remain faithful—that means full of faith—standing on Christ the Solid Rock.  That foundation will never crumble! 

Faith chooses to focus on God (v.4a).  He resides in His holy temple and rests on His heavenly throne.  He is Sovereign over all.  His all-seeing eyes take note of all that happens (v.4b).  We need to seek His perspective.  Pure silver is separated from the dross by the refiner’s fire (v.5-6).  This is what God is doing when He permits fiery trials to come our way.  God loves righteousness and will watch over His own (v.7).  Trust in Him.  He cannot fail and we need not falter!

ARE YOU A THERMOMETER OR A THERMOSTAT?

Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God. (Psalms 43:5)

A thermometer shows the temperature, but a thermostat sets the temperature.  As a child of God I can reflect the climate of the circumstances I am in, or I can choose to see the situation from God's perspective and set my heart accordingly.  In Psalms 42-43 we find a man in great difficulty and tempted to be a thermometer reacting to his environment with despair.  Instead, he decides to be a thermostat by rejoicing in the hope he has in God.  Here is how it is done.

Let sorrow give way to song (Ps.42:1-5). You can be DEDICATED THOUGH DISTRESSED IN TEARFUL TIMES.  Imagine a deer relentlessly pursued by hunters--the hounds hot on its trail--panting for water and strength to escape.  That describes the writer of this psalm.  Maybe it's how you feel today.  Trouble is chasing you and you need help.  One of the dangers at this point is to try to find wisdom by drinking from the world's polluted streams.  The Psalmist chooses to seek God--who alone can satisfy the thirst of our soul.  There is where hope is found.  Each stanza ends with that affirmation (42:5,11; 43:5).

See storms give way to sunshine (Ps.42:6-11).  You can be DETERMINED THOUGH DEPRESSED IN TROUBLED TIMES.  The psalmist is sinking fast.  Troubled times have come--like waves relentlessly breaking over him, threatening to drown him in despair.  Yet, he speaks of "Your waterfalls" and "Your waves," recognizing the sovereignty of God in the storms. God has a purpose (see Rom.8:28).  If the problems are permitted then we know He has a higher good in mind.  The same sovereign God commands His lovingkindness to come, as the writer cries out for help.  God is the Rock he can stand on.  A shaft of sunshine--radiant hope--breaks through the clouds.  Despite how he feels, he makes a choice, "I will remember" (42:6); "I will say" (42:9); "I will go to the altar...I will praise" (43:4).  Where there is a will there is a way.

See strife give way to serenity (43:1-5).  You can be DELIVERED THOUGH DISTURBED IN TOUGH TIMES.  The sacred writer uses the language of the courtroom to plead his case (v.1).  Still, it seemed God was oblivious to his plight (v.2).  He knew that only the light of truth could be a beacon to bring him out of the darkness of despair (v.3).  In John Bunyan's, "Pilgrim's Progress," Christian is imprisoned in Doubting Castle, held by a giant named Despair, when he escapes by using the key of promise.  Such is the power of the Word to free us!  The light on his path would lead the way to the house of God, where he would offer sacrifices of delight and songs of deliverance (v.4).  There hope is found despite the situation (v.5).  The house of God is the place to calibrate your thermostat (read Heb.10:24-25).  If you stay away, you may be sure the world will set your temperature, and you will cool off spiritually.

Will you be a thermometer or a thermostat?