How to Pray When You Feel Like Giving Up

Psalm 11:1-7
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Pastor Colin discusses how to pray when you feel like giving up, drawing insights from Psalm 11.

He begins by examining the second line of Psalm 11, where David is advised to flee from his troubles. David’s friends, concerned for his safety, suggest that he should escape from imminent danger, citing the wicked plans against him and the destroyed foundations as reasons to leave.

Pastor Colin explains that such advice stems from fear and frustration, common human reactions when faced with overwhelming difficulties. Jesus himself faced similar advice from well-meaning friends and resisted, knowing it was not the path set by God.

He emphasises the importance of challenging these fearful and frustrating voices, recognising them as tests from God. David does this by taking refuge in the Lord, affirming God’s sovereignty, even in adverse situations.

Pastor Colin encourages believers to pray in four specific ways during discouragement: challenge the voices of fear and frustration, recognise God’s hand in the testing, affirm God’s sovereignty, and anticipate the joy of the final outcome. This act of lifting our hearts and minds towards God enables us to trust in His ultimate plan and perseverance.

Ultimately, Pastor Colin reminds us of the motivation for enduring difficult times: the promise that the upright shall behold God’s face, an assurance that reinforces our determination to persevere in our faith journey.

1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:07,760 Now, our title today is How To Pray When You Feel Like Giving Up. And I want to begin with 2 00:00:07,760 –> 00:00:11,460 the second line of the psalm. Of course we’ll get to the first, but I’m beginning at the 3 00:00:11,460 –> 00:00:24,360 second line where David says, How can you say to my soul, flee like a bird to the mountain? 4 00:00:24,360 –> 00:00:30,480 So what’s happening here is someone is speaking to David, and what that person or people are 5 00:00:30,480 –> 00:00:36,799 saying is going straight into his soul. It’s going in his ears and it’s going right into 6 00:00:36,799 –> 00:00:42,580 his heart, and it’s really got to him. And what is it that these people or this person 7 00:00:42,580 –> 00:00:50,220 is saying to David? Verse 1, Flee like a bird to the mountain. In other words, the advice 8 00:00:50,340 –> 00:00:57,860 that is being given to David is it’s time to move on. Why? Two reasons are given. The 9 00:00:57,860 –> 00:01:02,660 first, For, behold, the wicked bend the bow! They have fitted their arrow to the string 10 00:01:02,660 –> 00:01:07,419 to shoot in the dark the upright of heart. So what’s being said there, obviously, is, 11 00:01:07,419 –> 00:01:12,879 David, there’s going to be trouble. You’re the target. Better get out of here. That’s 12 00:01:12,879 –> 00:01:18,519 the first reason for saying flee like a bird to your mountain. 13 00:01:18,519 –> 00:01:26,019 What’s the second reason? Verse three, If the foundations are destroyed, what can the 14 00:01:26,019 –> 00:01:31,320 righteous do? David, you’ve been doing your best, but we’re now in a really difficult 15 00:01:31,320 –> 00:01:37,860 situation. The very foundations themselves have been destroyed. Nothing you can do is 16 00:01:37,860 –> 00:01:43,919 going to make any difference now. You’d better just get out of here, that is what is being 17 00:01:44,320 –> 00:01:51,320 said, and this is being heard by David, it goes right into his soul. 18 00:01:51,959 –> 00:01:55,980 This question in verse 3, one of the most famous questions in the Old Testament of course, 19 00:01:55,980 –> 00:02:01,019 you know, when the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? I think that’s 20 00:02:01,019 –> 00:02:06,099 a question that immediately will resonate with many of us. We look at what’s happening 21 00:02:06,099 –> 00:02:13,100 in our country today, we see that there used to be a sort of Judaeo-Christian consensus 22 00:02:13,600 –> 00:02:18,039 that widely across our culture there was a sort of acceptance that there is a God in 23 00:02:18,039 –> 00:02:23,199 heaven, that he gave ten commandments as a kind of rule to live by and we would print 24 00:02:23,199 –> 00:02:27,860 «In God we trust» on the money and so forth and so on. That may have been pretty thin 25 00:02:27,860 –> 00:02:32,600 for many, many people but at least it gave some kind of common consensus, foundation 26 00:02:32,600 –> 00:02:38,479 for life, and it certainly gave to us as Christians a marvellous opportunity to say well now there’s 27 00:02:38,479 –> 00:02:42,360 God, and that means that we have to think about where we stand in relation to God which 28 00:02:42,399 –> 00:02:48,139 takes you to sin, and our need of Jesus Christ as saviour. But you know and you don’t need 29 00:02:48,139 –> 00:02:53,139 me to tell you how very fast that is changing, how much of that is gone, how increasingly 30 00:02:53,139 –> 00:02:59,259 we live in a culture where people want to self-define God as whoever he, she or it may 31 00:02:59,259 –> 00:03:04,759 be as according to their desire. And there is a growing sense therefore that the very 32 00:03:04,759 –> 00:03:11,080 foundations of the culture are somehow being torn up, and what a challenge this is to the 33 00:03:11,080 –> 00:03:15,380 church. And so the question kind of speaks to us today. We hear this voice and it goes 34 00:03:15,380 –> 00:03:22,699 into our soul. Well, when the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? 35 00:03:22,699 –> 00:03:26,559 It’s worth pausing to ask the question, who is giving this advice to David? He’s 36 00:03:26,559 –> 00:03:31,380 obviously hearing this and it’s going into his soul. And we’re not told who was saying 37 00:03:31,380 –> 00:03:39,779 this to David. But almost certainly these were the words of a friend who cared about 38 00:03:39,779 –> 00:03:46,360 these words deeply. And at one level, this was entirely reasonable advice. 39 00:03:46,360 –> 00:03:52,820 David, uh, got himself into, uh, some pretty dangerous situations in the course of his 40 00:03:52,820 –> 00:03:59,220 life. If, you know the story, you’ll remember that he had been chosen and anointed by God 41 00:03:59,220 –> 00:04:05,020 to replace the old King Saul who had been an absolute disaster for Israel. In fact, 42 00:04:05,259 –> 00:04:11,440 time, it did seem as if the foundations were being plowed up. But Saul was not ready to 43 00:04:11,440 –> 00:04:16,739 make way for David. He fought against David, resisted God’s anointed King, all the days 44 00:04:16,739 –> 00:04:23,399 of his life and made life extremely difficult for David for a period of years. 45 00:04:23,399 –> 00:04:30,399 Saul was a man who was given to fits of rage, and temper. And the Bible tells us in 1 Samuel 46 00:04:30,920 –> 00:04:37,920 in chapter 19 about an occasion where Saul, in a sudden fit of anger, reached for a spear 47 00:04:38,440 –> 00:04:44,359 or a javelin, and he saw David who was serving at that time in Saul’s courts. And he threw 48 00:04:44,359 –> 00:04:50,779 the javelin, trying to pin David to the wall against which he was standing. David moved 49 00:04:50,779 –> 00:04:57,420 very quickly and he was able to avoid the flight of the javelin, but only just. 50 00:04:57,559 –> 00:05:04,299 But as if things were not complicated enough, David was married to Saul’s daughter—can 51 00:05:04,299 –> 00:05:09,720 you imagine this? Her name is Mickel. And when David goes back to his home that night 52 00:05:09,720 –> 00:05:16,119 after the javelin-throwing incident, Mickel says to him, you’d better get out of here, 53 00:05:16,119 –> 00:05:23,839 David. Because if you don’t, Saul is going to kill you in the morning. In fact, already 54 00:05:23,980 –> 00:05:29,399 Saul had sent agents into the house of David—just to guard, because he wanted make sure that 55 00:05:29,399 –> 00:05:34,480 he didn’t slip out, or anything like that. And so you can read this story. Mickel actually 56 00:05:34,480 –> 00:05:42,279 let her husband down out of the bedroom window on a rope, and then—this is genius—got 57 00:05:42,279 –> 00:05:48,820 a stuffed dummy, and put it in the bed, so that when the agents of Saul came in in the 58 00:05:48,820 –> 00:05:52,200 morning, they would see this dummy from a distance. Oh yeah, he’s still there, he’s 59 00:05:52,200 –> 00:05:57,220 still sleeping, and nothing has changed, and thereby allow David time to escape. Hey, the 60 00:05:57,220 –> 00:06:01,260 Bible is the most marvelous book, by the way. Did you know all that’s in the Bible? It’s 61 00:06:01,260 –> 00:06:07,579 great, you should read it, wonderful, absolutely marvelous. This is exactly what David did. 62 00:06:07,579 –> 00:06:14,459 He escaped and he fled to the mountains, and it was exactly the right thing to do at that 63 00:06:14,459 –> 00:06:18,220 time. And there are times when that is the right 64 00:06:18,339 –> 00:06:23,540 thing to do. Jesus said, do you remember, this is Matthew, chapter 10, and verse 23? 65 00:06:23,540 –> 00:06:32,579 He said, when they persecute you in one place, flee to another. Isn’t that interesting? So 66 00:06:32,579 –> 00:06:37,579 Jesus is not saying, you know, here’s someone who’s under threat of their life. You don’t 67 00:06:37,579 –> 00:06:41,619 just stand there and say, well, kill me. No, if you have the opportunity, move on to the 68 00:06:41,619 –> 00:06:48,440 next place. And there’s an example of Jesus himself doing this, John chapter 8, fascinating 69 00:06:48,440 –> 00:06:54,119 chapter. It begins with people picking up stones to throw at a woman who had been caught 70 00:06:54,119 –> 00:07:01,239 in adultery. They wanted to condemn her. Jesus intervenes beautifully on this woman’s behalf. 71 00:07:01,239 –> 00:07:06,119 Ministers grace into her life, brings newness of life, so that she’s able to go on in 72 00:07:06,279 –> 00:07:11,899 an entirely new direction because of the encounter with Jesus Christ. But if you read on to the 73 00:07:11,899 –> 00:07:15,899 end of the chapter, it’s quite astonishing. Again, you find the same crowd. They want 74 00:07:15,899 –> 00:07:19,239 to pick up stones, and this time, they don’t want to throw stones at the woman. They want 75 00:07:19,239 –> 00:07:26,239 to throw stones at Jesus. But Jesus’ time had not yet come, and so he does not stand 76 00:07:26,880 –> 00:07:32,279 there and say, Hey, throw stones at me. The Bible tells us, this is John 8 and verse 59, 77 00:07:32,320 –> 00:07:39,140 Jesus hid himself—Jesus did this. He hid himself, and then he slipped out of the temple 78 00:07:39,140 –> 00:07:46,140 because his time had not yet come. So we all face multiple situations of difficulty 79 00:07:46,140 –> 00:07:51,760 in all spheres of life. And we’re faced with the question—we all have this—you 80 00:07:51,760 –> 00:07:58,760 know, Should I stay, or should I go? And these are never easy decisions. But I would certainly 81 00:07:59,440 –> 00:08:04,079 say—I think you would agree with this—if someone’s been flinging a javelin at you 82 00:08:04,079 –> 00:08:07,920 and is pointing a spear in your direction, it’s probably a pretty good time to run 83 00:08:07,920 –> 00:08:12,100 for the hills. What do you think? I think that that’s what I would do. And I think 84 00:08:12,100 –> 00:08:16,019 that David was exactly right to do that in that situation. 85 00:08:16,019 –> 00:08:23,019 But. We all know that for all the times where some change in life is appropriate, there 86 00:08:23,660 –> 00:08:30,660 is many, many, many more times when we just find ourselves plain discouraged and distressed. 87 00:08:38,260 –> 00:08:45,260 And whenever you face a situation like that, I’m telling you, Psalm 11 is for you. As 88 00:08:45,539 –> 00:08:50,979 when I face these situations. Psalm 11 is for me. 89 00:08:51,380 –> 00:09:00,859 This is about how to pray when you feel like giving up. And it’s of huge importance. 90 00:09:02,179 –> 00:09:09,179 Now notice how David responds to the well-meaning advise of his friends. He says, and here’s 91 00:09:09,340 –> 00:09:16,340 the first line of the psalm, “‘IN the LORD I take refuge.’” So how can you say to 92 00:09:17,340 –> 00:09:24,119 my soul, flee like a bird to your mountain? How can you say to me when the foundations 93 00:09:24,119 –> 00:09:30,840 are destroyed, what can the righteous do? So what does David do when he feels that everybody 94 00:09:30,840 –> 00:09:35,739 is against him? When he feels he’s up against the impossible? When he feels that what he’s 95 00:09:35,739 –> 00:09:42,020 doing isn’t accomplishing anything? Well, here’s what he does. He takes refuge in 96 00:09:42,020 –> 00:09:49,400 God. And the question, of course, is how do you do that? What did it mean for him to do 97 00:09:49,400 –> 00:09:55,299 that? And therefore, how can I do that when I find myself filled with frustration or with 98 00:09:55,299 –> 00:10:00,599 fear, and feel like giving up? That’s what the psalm is about. This is why it’s in 99 00:10:00,599 –> 00:10:06,159 the Bible, and it’s there for us, and we need it, often. 100 00:10:06,159 –> 00:10:09,780 So let me suggest to you, from this Scripture—and you’ll see, it’s just straight off what’s 101 00:10:09,820 –> 00:10:14,479 there in front of you, if you have the Bible, there—four ways to pray when you feel like 102 00:10:14,479 –> 00:10:19,440 giving up. And I promise you that if you will pray in this way, it will greatly help you 103 00:10:19,440 –> 00:10:26,859 to find new strength to persevere. Four ways to pray when you feel like giving up. 104 00:10:26,859 –> 00:10:35,799 Number one, challenge the voice of fear and frustration. You’ve got to do that. Challenge 105 00:10:35,900 –> 00:10:43,619 the voice of fear and frustration. Now, you see, that’s what he’s doing in verse one. 106 00:10:43,619 –> 00:10:52,440 How can you say to my soul, flee like a bird to your mountain? He’s challenging the voice, 107 00:10:52,440 –> 00:10:57,679 challenging what’s being said right into his soul. He’s coming out against it. And you 108 00:10:57,679 –> 00:11:02,440 can see that this is fear and frustration. Look at what’s being said. Behold, the wicked 109 00:11:03,039 –> 00:11:06,919 bow, they’ve fitted their arrow to the string. That’s fear. David, you’re going to be harmed 110 00:11:06,919 –> 00:11:12,919 if you stick around here. That’s fear. And then if the foundations are destroyed, what 111 00:11:12,919 –> 00:11:18,359 can the righteous do? That’s frustration, obviously. Oh, what good can I do? That’s 112 00:11:18,359 –> 00:11:23,580 fear and it’s frustration. And so what David is doing here is he is challenging these voices 113 00:11:23,580 –> 00:11:29,299 that are going into his soul and might well take his heart captive. He’s pushing them 114 00:11:29,299 –> 00:11:31,440 out. He’s resisting them. He’s challenging them. 115 00:11:31,440 –> 00:11:38,280 And he’s saying how can you say these things to my soul? Now notice just by the way, he 116 00:11:38,280 –> 00:11:45,340 is not addressing God directly in the psalm. He doesn’t say, in you, O Lord, do I take 117 00:11:45,340 –> 00:11:51,780 refuge? He says, in the Lord, I take refuge. So this is what we might call a didactic psalm 118 00:11:51,780 –> 00:11:58,640 or a teaching psalm. What he’s doing is he’s teaching us a framework, a sandbox 119 00:11:58,739 –> 00:12:05,599 if you like, for praying when you feel like giving up. And here’s where it begins. 120 00:12:05,599 –> 00:12:14,559 There are times when we need to learn the art of speaking to ourselves in the presence 121 00:12:14,559 –> 00:12:23,640 of God. It’s what he’s doing. He’s challenging the thoughts of his own soul in the presence 122 00:12:23,640 –> 00:12:29,880 of God. Very important to do that if you’re going to be given the grace to persevere. 123 00:12:29,880 –> 00:12:33,520 Now once you see this, you’ll recognize this is actually something that occurs many, 124 00:12:33,520 –> 00:12:40,280 many times in the Psalms. This speaking to yourself, taking yourself in hand, challenging 125 00:12:40,280 –> 00:12:47,299 your worst thoughts or the worst advice that’s been given to you in the presence of God. 126 00:12:47,299 –> 00:12:54,159 For example, Psalm 103, bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Praise 127 00:12:54,159 –> 00:12:59,599 his holy name. David speaking to himself there isn’t he? And he’s challenging himself. 128 00:12:59,599 –> 00:13:03,799 Great prayer to pray when you begin, at the beginning of a worship service. Bless the 129 00:13:03,799 –> 00:13:10,320 Lord, O my soul. He’s challenging himself to be up for praising God. Or Psalm 42, you 130 00:13:10,700 –> 00:13:17,700 find something very similar, why are you downcast, O my soul? Why are you so disturbed, in turmoil 131 00:13:19,080 –> 00:13:25,799 within me? He’s challenging the disturbance within his own soul. And here quite clearly 132 00:13:25,799 –> 00:13:30,880 he is challenging the voices of fear and the voices of frustration that threaten to take 133 00:13:30,880 –> 00:13:36,500 possession of his soul. And that’s very important to do in the presence of God. Challenge the 134 00:13:36,500 –> 00:13:42,539 voice of fear and frustration. You know I like to quote from Mark Lloyd-Jones. I feel 135 00:13:42,539 –> 00:13:47,739 that I learned so very much, especially from his writings. I never had the joy of knowing 136 00:13:47,739 –> 00:13:53,820 him personally. But one thing that Lloyd-Jones said many times that’s been so helpful to 137 00:13:53,820 –> 00:14:00,820 me was this, one of the big challenges, he would say, in the Christian life is that we 138 00:14:01,619 –> 00:14:07,419 spend way too much time listening to ourselves, and not nearly enough time talking to ourselves. 139 00:14:07,419 –> 00:14:14,419 If you think about what he’s saying there, we spend way too much time listening to ourselves. 140 00:14:15,580 –> 00:14:19,419 And what happens is that out of your soul there comes all this questioning and doubting 141 00:14:19,419 –> 00:14:23,780 and complaining. All of this and that. You listen to all these voices and the more you 142 00:14:23,780 –> 00:14:28,760 listen to them you go down and down and down and down and down. And what Lloyd-Jones was 143 00:14:28,919 –> 00:14:33,840 saying, and he takes it right over the Scripture here, that what we need to learn is the art 144 00:14:33,840 –> 00:14:39,020 of speaking to ourselves, of taking ourselves in hand, of instructing ourselves. Sometimes 145 00:14:39,020 –> 00:14:46,020 we say it this way, preach the gospel to yourself. Declare the truth to yourself. 146 00:14:46,020 –> 00:14:50,820 And friends, this is a huge part of prayer. You’re missing a whole world in prayer if 147 00:14:50,820 –> 00:14:56,440 you’re not doing this, especially in times of discouragement. What better place to take 148 00:14:56,440 –> 00:15:05,979 yourself in hand as it were, than in the presence of God with Jesus Christ right beside you? 149 00:15:05,979 –> 00:15:10,320 What better thing when you feel like giving up than to come into the presence of God and 150 00:15:10,320 –> 00:15:16,000 to get out in His presence with Jesus Christ beside you as He is, all that you’re afraid 151 00:15:16,000 –> 00:15:21,119 of, all that you’re frustrated about, lay it at His feet and then challenge the voices 152 00:15:21,419 –> 00:15:28,419 of fear and frustration. In God, I take refuge. That’s huge. Bring your worst thoughts into 153 00:15:29,340 –> 00:15:34,979 the open and then take yourself in hand and challenge the voice of fear and the voice 154 00:15:34,979 –> 00:15:40,419 of frustration right there in the presence of God. 155 00:15:40,419 –> 00:15:43,700 And you may need to do this in regards to your own worst thoughts, and you may need 156 00:15:43,700 –> 00:15:48,599 to do it with some of the well-meaning advice that comes to you from friends who are thinking 157 00:15:48,820 –> 00:15:54,559 speaking for your best, but actually they’re merely sapping your will and moving you in 158 00:15:54,559 –> 00:15:57,599 the wrong direction. 159 00:15:57,599 –> 00:16:04,520 Now we always want to think about how these Psalms relate to our Lord Jesus Christ. And 160 00:16:04,520 –> 00:16:09,260 course you read the psalm, it’s immediately obvious. Verse 2, we read about someone who 161 00:16:09,260 –> 00:16:16,260 is upright in heart. And what’s the experience of the one who is upright in heart, there’s 162 00:16:16,900 –> 00:16:21,940 only one who is ultimately upright in heart isn’t there? Our Lord Jesus. And what’s his 163 00:16:21,940 –> 00:16:28,940 experience? The bow is bent and the arrows are pointed consistently always at him. That 164 00:16:29,299 –> 00:16:34,119 was the experience of his entire ministry life wasn’t it? The Herodians, the Pharisees 165 00:16:34,119 –> 00:16:38,219 right from the beginning, they got it in for Jesus trying to trip Him up in his words and 166 00:16:38,219 –> 00:16:43,539 so forth, conspiring against Him again and again and again until ultimately He comes 167 00:16:43,580 –> 00:16:50,020 to the cross? So you can see Jesus all over this, but let’s ask this question. Did Jesus 168 00:16:50,020 –> 00:16:57,020 ever have the experience of having to resist the well-meaning advice of a friend? Does 169 00:16:59,820 –> 00:17:04,119 Jesus know what it is to have to challenge these kinds of voices of fear and even of 170 00:17:04,119 –> 00:17:09,859 frustration? And the answer to that of course is absolutely yes he’s gone through all kinds 171 00:17:09,959 –> 00:17:15,959 of testings just as we have. I can think of at least two occasions when Jesus had to do 172 00:17:15,959 –> 00:17:21,640 this. To challenge the voice of fear and frustration from a well-meaning friend. One that’s perhaps 173 00:17:21,640 –> 00:17:28,640 less well known is in Luke chapter 13 in verse 31. Some Pharisees were told came to Jesus 174 00:17:28,780 –> 00:17:35,780 and they said to him, get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you. Isn’t that interesting? 175 00:17:36,680 –> 00:17:42,040 Of course, most of the Pharisees were enemies of Jesus, but not all of them. Some of them 176 00:17:42,040 –> 00:17:48,079 obviously were well disposed towards Him. Remember Nicodemus who came to Jesus at night. 177 00:17:48,079 –> 00:17:53,099 And here are some Pharisees who clearly value Jesus and value his ministry and their giving 178 00:17:53,099 –> 00:17:58,560 him some inside intelligence, they know that Herod’s after him. And they say, Hey, Herod’s 179 00:17:58,560 –> 00:18:02,300 going to kill you, you better get out of here and flee like a bird to the mountain, you 180 00:18:03,300 –> 00:18:09,459 And it’s the well meaning advice of friends, that we’re for you, Jesus, that’s why we’re 181 00:18:09,459 –> 00:18:16,859 telling you this. And of course, Christ had to challenge the voice of fear and of despair, 182 00:18:16,859 –> 00:18:22,420 and He said to them, go tell that fox, I, behold, cast out demons and I perform cures 183 00:18:22,420 –> 00:18:26,420 today and tomorrow, and on the third day, I will finish my work. I love that in other 184 00:18:26,420 –> 00:18:30,579 words, I’m not going to go anywhere. I’m just straight on with what I’m doing. 185 00:18:31,099 –> 00:18:35,459 I love the way He says, go, tell that fox. I mean, it’s hardly sort of appeasing your 186 00:18:35,459 –> 00:18:41,319 enemies. You know, tell, Herod. He’s a fox. But of course, the other occasion when Jesus 187 00:18:41,339 –> 00:18:44,760 had to challenge the well meaning advice of a friend, and you will have thought of this 188 00:18:44,760 –> 00:18:52,380 one, many of you already, much better known. Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, 189 00:18:52,380 –> 00:18:57,579 the Son of the Living God. And then Jesus begins to tell his disciples that he must 190 00:18:57,579 –> 00:19:01,900 go to Jerusalem. He must suffer many things. He must be killed. And on the third day, he 191 00:19:01,900 –> 00:19:08,380 must rise from the dead. And you remember what Peter said, far be it from you, Lord, 192 00:19:08,380 –> 00:19:14,719 this shall never happen to you. Jesus, you, crucified, he’s saying. We love 193 00:19:14,719 –> 00:19:19,439 you. We need you. That is the one thing that can never, never happen. And remember what 194 00:19:19,439 –> 00:19:27,079 Jesus said to him, get behind me. So Jesus experienced a temptation that was shot at 195 00:19:27,579 –> 00:19:34,579 him from Satan through the very words of a friend who wanted to be protective of him 196 00:19:36,619 –> 00:19:40,699 and had no real discernment as to what the actual calling of God was in regards to his 197 00:19:40,699 –> 00:19:46,520 life. H.L. Ellison, the great biblical scholar, has said this really, really well. He says, 198 00:19:46,520 –> 00:19:52,760 The love of your friends will often create your most subtle temptations. That’s worth 199 00:19:53,000 –> 00:20:00,000 remembering. The love of your friends will often create your most subtle temptations. 200 00:20:01,660 –> 00:20:06,880 There will be at different points in life people who care about you very, very much, 201 00:20:06,880 –> 00:20:10,099 and they’ll perhaps be the first to say, Well, now, what’s the point in carrying 202 00:20:10,099 –> 00:20:15,140 on? You know, this is taking a toll of you. Nothing good will come of it. And these words 203 00:20:15,140 –> 00:20:22,140 go into your soul. And you need to challenge the voice of fear and the voice of frustration. 204 00:20:22,140 –> 00:20:28,619 That’s what David does. He says, now, look, in the Lord I take refuge. So how can you 205 00:20:28,619 –> 00:20:35,000 say to me, dear friend, flee like a bird to the mountain? How can you say, since I’m 206 00:20:35,000 –> 00:20:39,819 taking refuge in God, how can you say if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous 207 00:20:39,819 –> 00:20:46,640 do? So here is the first way to pray. And it’s 208 00:20:46,640 –> 00:20:51,780 crucial. That’s why I’ve taken the largest amount of time on it. You have to learn, and 209 00:20:51,780 –> 00:20:57,819 there is an art in this, what it is to come into the presence of God, and with Jesus 210 00:20:57,819 –> 00:21:04,920 Christ right there beside you, to challenge the voices of fear and the voice of frustration. 211 00:21:04,920 –> 00:21:15,859 Second, and more briefly, recognize the hand of God in the testing. Now, when David’s 212 00:21:15,859 –> 00:21:20,599 going through all of this, he recognizes that God is testing him. It’s twice in this 213 00:21:20,959 –> 00:21:32,199 5, the Lord tests the righteous. Verse four, his eyelids test the children of man. Remember 214 00:21:32,199 –> 00:21:40,219 that when the foundations are shaken, the hand of God is in the shaking. That’s worth 215 00:21:40,219 –> 00:21:48,180 writing down and trying to remember, when the foundations are shaken, the hand of God 216 00:21:48,219 –> 00:21:57,780 is in the shaking. And in this he is testing the righteous. Remember Hebrews chapter 12, 217 00:21:57,780 –> 00:22:02,119 the end of the chapter, you can check out there God says, Once more I am going to shake 218 00:22:02,119 –> 00:22:07,300 not only the earth, but also the heavens. And what is God doing when he shakes things 219 00:22:07,300 –> 00:22:13,920 that are the familiar foundations of our lives? Well, when he does that he shakes the things 220 00:22:13,939 –> 00:22:22,939 that are so that the things that cannot be shaken will remain. Derek Kidner has a marvelous 221 00:22:22,939 –> 00:22:33,380 comment on this. He says, The collapse of what is built on sand may be distressing. 222 00:22:33,380 –> 00:22:39,479 And I’ll just pause there for a moment, so just take that in. Here’s this huge marvelous 223 00:22:40,479 –> 00:22:46,400 house, and it’s built on sand, and now this shaking comes and the whole thing collapses. 224 00:22:46,400 –> 00:22:50,599 That’s very distressing. It’s a beautiful house. 225 00:22:50,599 –> 00:22:58,040 He says, The collapse of what is built on sand may be distressing. But it can also be 226 00:22:58,079 –> 00:23:08,359 a beginning. That’s powerful. God shakes what’s built on sand that something may 227 00:23:08,359 –> 00:23:14,760 be built on a better foundation that would never have been built if that which was built 228 00:23:14,760 –> 00:23:22,859 on sand were allowed simply to remain. And you know in a very real sense that is 229 00:23:22,880 –> 00:23:33,459 God had blessed him in many ways and the infrastructure of his life was 230 00:23:33,459 –> 00:23:42,619 very blessed–money, children, family, home. And you remember that in one day, the whole 231 00:23:42,619 –> 00:23:46,959 infrastructure of Job’s life was hit with multiple disasters. Well, it all happened 232 00:23:46,959 –> 00:23:53,560 in a day. And his wealth, that was represented by flocks and by herds, was completely plundered 233 00:23:53,560 –> 00:23:59,800 as the Beans came, took all these flocks and herds off. In the same day, a mighty wind 234 00:23:59,800 –> 00:24:06,699 comes and this marvellous home is completely collapsed. And what is even worse is children, 235 00:24:06,699 –> 00:24:10,939 all of his children were inside the house at the time and every one of them died in 236 00:24:10,939 –> 00:24:17,760 the rubble. It’s the story of Job. And so suddenly all of the infrastructure, all of 237 00:24:17,760 –> 00:24:22,540 the good gifts of God that—on which we naturally depend, all of the things that we think of 238 00:24:22,540 –> 00:24:32,780 as being foundational to life in this world, home, family, business, income, is all gone! 239 00:24:32,800 –> 00:24:41,599 And Job’s wife says, why don’t you curse God and die? See what she’s saying? Now what’s 240 00:24:41,619 –> 00:24:45,459 the point? Everything that we’ve lived for here, everything that we’ve worked for here 241 00:24:45,459 –> 00:24:50,540 is gone. And so obviously God has it in you. His bow must be bent and his arrow must be 242 00:24:50,540 –> 00:24:56,300 pointing in your direction. What’s the use of faith? What’s the use of keeping on, 243 00:24:56,800 –> 00:25:04,479 righteous life? Job, you are a righteous man, but when the foundations are destroyed, what 244 00:25:04,479 –> 00:25:13,540 can even the righteous do? Curse God and die, and it comes from the person right next to 245 00:25:13,540 –> 00:25:20,020 him. And don’t you think when the person he loved said that, that it must have gone 246 00:25:20,839 –> 00:25:28,660 right into his soul? How can you say to my soul? Job was hearing the voice of fear. He 247 00:25:28,739 –> 00:25:34,599 was hearing the voice of frustration, the voice of despair. But you know what? He challenged 248 00:25:34,599 –> 00:25:42,079 it, and he took refuge in God. And here’s what he said. It’s a beautiful verse, Job 249 00:25:42,579 –> 00:25:49,859 23, in verse 10. He said, God knows the way that I take, and when he has, noticed the 250 00:25:49,859 –> 00:26:00,819 word, tested me, I shall come forth as gold. When he’s tested me, I shall come forth 251 00:26:00,819 –> 00:26:01,339 as gold. 252 00:26:01,339 –> 00:26:06,859 So not only does he challenge the voice of fear and frustration that comes from his wife, 253 00:26:07,280 –> 00:26:17,280 but he recognizes the test that God has brought about in these very circumstances of his life. 254 00:26:17,280 –> 00:26:20,880 And he says, now God knows the way that I take, and when, when I have been tested, I 255 00:26:20,880 –> 00:26:27,880 will come forth as gold. And surely Peter the apostle must have had that verse in his 256 00:26:27,880 –> 00:26:32,560 mind. When he takes that same principle and applies it to all of us and he says, now look, 257 00:26:32,560 –> 00:26:37,819 we’re brothers and sisters in Christ. We’re all going to experience many trials of different 258 00:26:37,819 –> 00:26:45,459 kinds. And when that happens to you, understand what is going on. It’s rather like gold 259 00:26:45,459 –> 00:26:52,199 that is being refined in the furnace. And what will happen as you persevere through 260 00:26:52,199 –> 00:26:56,859 that test, when I’ve been tested, I shall come forth as gold, is that the gold is going 261 00:26:56,900 –> 00:27:04,459 to be refined, your faith will be proved genuine, and more than that, it’s going to rebound 262 00:27:04,459 –> 00:27:14,339 to praise, glory, and honor, when Jesus Christ is revealed. 263 00:27:14,339 –> 00:27:19,420 So how to pray when I feel like giving up? I’ve got to challenge the voice of fear and 264 00:27:19,420 –> 00:27:25,500 frustration. I’ve got to recognize the hand of God in the test. God, this is a test, and 265 00:27:25,560 –> 00:27:34,599 I want to come forth like gold in this test. I want to be a quitter in this test. I want 266 00:27:34,599 –> 00:27:40,900 to come forth like gold so that that will rebound to praise and glory and honor when 267 00:27:40,900 –> 00:27:44,900 Jesus Christ is revealed, because when the gold was put in the fire, it was refined, 268 00:27:44,900 –> 00:27:51,339 and the faith was proved to be genuine. And then here’s the third thing, challenge 269 00:27:51,339 –> 00:27:56,699 the voice of fear and frustration. Recognize the hand of God in the testing. Third, affirm 270 00:27:56,699 –> 00:28:03,420 the sovereignty of God at the hardest times. This is huge. Affirm the sovereignty of God 271 00:28:03,420 –> 00:28:09,900 at the hardest times. Now notice how David overcomes his fear and 272 00:28:09,900 –> 00:28:15,780 overcomes the frustration that’s being spoken into his life. He does it by fixing 273 00:28:15,780 –> 00:28:21,839 his mind and his heart on God so that from verse 4 onwards it’s almost relentless, it’s 274 00:28:21,839 –> 00:28:26,420 just the Lord, the Lord., the Lord., the Lord., the Lord.. 275 00:28:26,420 –> 00:28:32,319 The Lord is in his holy temple, verse 4. The Lord’s throne is in heaven, same verse. 276 00:28:32,319 –> 00:28:36,280 His eyes see. The Lord tests the righteous, verse 5. 277 00:28:36,280 –> 00:28:41,719 His whole soul hates the wicked. Verse 6, let him reignes on the wicked, for 278 00:28:41,719 –> 00:28:45,280 the Lord, verse 7, is righteous. He loves righteous deeds. 279 00:28:45,300 –> 00:28:48,979 The upright shall see his face. So you see what’s happening, here’s how I 280 00:28:48,979 –> 00:28:53,579 take refugee in God. Here’s how I challenge the voices of fear 281 00:28:53,579 –> 00:28:56,439 and frustration. I recognize the hand of God in the test and 282 00:28:56,439 –> 00:29:03,099 I lift my mind. And I just fix it on God is on the throne. 283 00:29:03,099 –> 00:29:06,780 God is in his temple. Of course, there wasn’t a temple in the 284 00:29:06,780 –> 00:29:11,140 time of David in the sense of the temple that was built in the time of Solomon. 285 00:29:11,140 –> 00:29:15,239 So what he’s saying there is, God is on the throne and God is with his people. 286 00:29:15,239 –> 00:29:20,300 That’s what it means. And he’s with me. 287 00:29:20,300 –> 00:29:23,500 And I can’t put things right when the foundations are destroyed. 288 00:29:23,500 –> 00:29:26,979 I can’t rebuild all the foundations, but God can. 289 00:29:26,979 –> 00:29:32,079 I can’t deal with the wicked, but God can, and he will. 290 00:29:32,079 –> 00:29:33,479 And you know, here’s the most wonderful thing. 291 00:29:33,479 –> 00:29:36,760 Look at it in the last verse. The Lord is righteous, 292 00:29:36,760 –> 00:29:44,800 and he loves righteous deeds. See, the foundations of righteousness 293 00:29:44,859 –> 00:29:49,979 never lie in a culture. They don’t lie in our culture. 294 00:29:50,000 –> 00:29:55,900 They never did. The foundations of righteousness lie in 295 00:29:55,900 –> 00:30:04,339 who God is and in what God loves. The Lord is righteous, and he loves 296 00:30:04,339 –> 00:30:09,780 righteous deeds. And so as Christians, we may experience 297 00:30:09,780 –> 00:30:12,819 all kinds of change in the world around us. 298 00:30:12,819 –> 00:30:15,459 All we’ve got to understand is that the foundation of righteousness 299 00:30:15,459 –> 00:30:23,560 never rested in the culture. It rests in who God is, and what God loves. 300 00:30:23,560 –> 00:30:28,680 And God is still on the throne. And when I feel like giving up, 301 00:30:28,680 –> 00:30:34,180 I need to get my mind and my heart fixed on him. 302 00:30:34,180 –> 00:30:37,140 So here’s how to pray. You should look at how you’re praying 303 00:30:37,140 –> 00:30:40,640 in times of discouragement and say, are these things there? 304 00:30:40,920 –> 00:30:43,640 This is what I need, this is how strength’s going to come. 305 00:30:44,920 –> 00:30:47,760 Challenging the voice of fear and frustration, recognizing the hand of God 306 00:30:47,760 –> 00:30:50,760 in the testing, affirm the sovereignty of God at all times, 307 00:30:50,760 –> 00:30:58,459 and here’s the very last thing just briefly. Anticipate the joy of the final outcome. 308 00:30:58,459 –> 00:31:02,739 Anticipate the joy of the final outcome. I’m just looking at the last line 309 00:31:02,859 –> 00:31:06,099 of the Psalm and it’s the best line of all. 310 00:31:06,099 –> 00:31:15,199 The upright shall behold his face. 311 00:31:15,199 –> 00:31:23,540 The upright shall behold the face of God. 312 00:31:23,540 –> 00:31:29,099 Is there any greater motivation and incentive for persevering through difficult times 313 00:31:29,099 –> 00:31:31,500 than this? 314 00:31:31,500 –> 00:31:35,099 I’m going to see the face of God. 315 00:31:35,099 –> 00:31:40,520 To a Christian believer that means all the world. 316 00:31:40,520 –> 00:31:43,660 And here you’re giving me this advice, you’re saying flee like a bird to the mountain. 317 00:31:43,660 –> 00:31:46,660 You’re saying what can the righteous do and all this stuff. 318 00:31:46,660 –> 00:31:49,099 No, I’m going to take refuge in God. 319 00:31:49,099 –> 00:31:54,219 And I’m going to live my life with perseverance because here’s what the outcome of it is 320 00:31:54,219 –> 00:31:55,699 going to be for me. 321 00:31:55,780 –> 00:32:02,979 Whatever happens in this world, I’m going to behold His face. 322 00:32:02,979 –> 00:32:07,099 And if you’re a Christian, if you’re in Jesus Christ, that’s going to be the glory, 323 00:32:07,099 –> 00:32:12,160 the greatest joy, that’s the outcome, that’s the beginning of all the joys of eternity 324 00:32:12,160 –> 00:32:13,160 for you. 325 00:32:13,160 –> 00:32:18,660 I shall behold His face. 326 00:32:18,660 –> 00:32:21,180 One story, and then we’re through for today. 327 00:32:21,180 –> 00:32:23,219 And it’s a true story. 328 00:32:23,219 –> 00:32:25,540 And a beautiful one. 329 00:32:25,880 –> 00:32:32,339 There were a British man by the name, now get this, by the name of William Montagu 330 00:32:32,339 –> 00:32:33,339 Dyck. 331 00:32:33,339 –> 00:32:40,979 You know when you’re called Smith you sometimes think, well, William Montagu Dyck, that’s 332 00:32:40,979 –> 00:32:42,319 a name. 333 00:32:42,319 –> 00:32:45,359 Well, here’s the true story of William. 334 00:32:45,359 –> 00:32:52,619 He was blinded in a sad accident at the age of just ten years old. 335 00:32:52,619 –> 00:32:53,699 Very brilliant. 336 00:32:53,699 –> 00:33:00,920 He went to university, and working through the disadvantages of his blindness, he graduated 337 00:33:00,920 –> 00:33:03,819 with very high honors. 338 00:33:03,819 –> 00:33:08,339 While he was in school, William fell in love with the daughter of a high-ranking British 339 00:33:08,339 –> 00:33:13,719 naval officer, and the two of them became engaged to be married. 340 00:33:13,719 –> 00:33:20,979 And shortly before the wedding, a short time before, William had the opportunity of eye 341 00:33:21,020 –> 00:33:25,520 surgery that had the potential to restore his sight, but it 342 00:33:25,520 –> 00:33:30,699 was a one-shot deal, and he knew that if the operation should fail, he would indeed be 343 00:33:30,699 –> 00:33:33,819 blind for the rest of his life. 344 00:33:33,819 –> 00:33:39,300 He has this operation, and of course immediately after the operation, eyes swathed in bandages, 345 00:33:39,300 –> 00:33:45,839 and because it was only a short time until the wedding, William insisted on keeping the 346 00:33:45,839 –> 00:33:50,020 bandages on his face until the day of the wedding. 347 00:33:50,040 –> 00:33:57,699 If the surgery was successful, he wanted the very first person he saw to be his bride standing 348 00:33:57,699 –> 00:33:58,859 beside him. 349 00:33:58,859 –> 00:34:03,160 Well, the day of the wedding arrived, and the guests assembled to witness the couple 350 0:34:03,160 –> 00:34:05,040 taking their vows. 351 00:34:05,040 –> 00:34:11,060 William is standing next to his father, and next to his father is the doctor, the surgeon, 352 00:34:11,060 –> 00:34:14,879 who had performed the operation on William. 353 00:34:14,879 –> 00:34:19,879 The organ trumpets the wedding march, the bride walks down the isle at the front of 354 00:34:19,879 –> 00:34:20,879 the church. 355 00:34:20,879 –> 00:34:22,699 And, can you picture this? 356 00:34:22,699 –> 00:34:28,760 As soon as she arrives, the surgeon whips a big pair of scissors out of his pocket, 357 00:34:28,760 –> 00:34:31,820 and starts cutting away at these bandages. 358 00:34:31,820 –> 00:34:34,959 Can you imagine the tension in the cathedral? 359 00:34:34,959 –> 00:34:40,840 And everyone in the room holding their breath, waiting to see, would William actually be 360 00:34:40,840 –> 00:34:46,620 able to see the woman who was standing in front of him? 361 00:34:47,120 –> 00:34:54,219 And as he stood face to face with her, a whole crowd in the congregation heard one sentence 362 00:34:54,219 –> 00:34:59,620 just echo through the whole place, as William said, 363 00:34:59,620 –> 00:35:06,620 You are more beautiful than I had ever imagined. 364 00:35:07,219 –> 00:35:14,620 Friends, one day you are going to behold the Lord’s face. 365 00:35:14,620 –> 00:35:21,159 And having walked by faith, not by sight, the bandages are going to be taken off for 366 00:35:21,159 –> 00:35:23,280 you. 367 00:35:23,280 –> 00:35:28,379 And you are going to see that his glory is greater than anything that you had ever imagined. 368 00:35:28,379 –> 00:35:35,379 And when you stand in his presence on that day, and you behold his face, 369 00:35:35,379 –> 00:35:43,300 you will be so, so glad that you persevered. 370 00:35:44,280 –> 00:35:47,100 Let’s pray together. 371 00:35:47,100 –> 00:35:51,719 I shall behold his face. 372 00:35:51,719 –> 00:36:02,959 I shall his power adore and sing the wonders of his grace forevermore. 373 00:36:02,959 –> 00:36:11,959 Dear Lord, until that day, help us to challenge the voices of fear and of frustration. 374 00:36:12,260 –> 00:36:19,260 Help us until that day, dear Lord, to recognize your hand in the testing. 375 00:36:20,939 –> 00:36:27,939 Help us till that day, dear Lord, to affirm your sovereign rule in all things. 376 00:36:28,600 –> 00:36:35,739 And help us, dear Lord, to anticipate with joy the final outcome 377 00:36:35,739 –> 00:36:43,840 through Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, and everyone together said amen.

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Colin Smith

Trustee / Founder and Teaching Pastor

Colin Smith is the Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He has authored a number of books, including Heaven, How I Got Here and Heaven, So Near – So Far. Colin is the Founder and Teaching Pastor for Open the Bible. Follow him on X formerly Twitter.

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