PSALM 16 TRUSTING GOD IN DIFFICULTY2016 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Psalm 16 Trusting God In Difficulty

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2016.

This morning as we look at Psalm chapter 16, the title of the message is Trusting God in Difficulty. We can see that David is in a place of difficulty. He's in the midst of some kind of trial from verse 1, where he says, "...preserve me, O God, for in you I put my trust."

As he asks God to preserve him, we can see that there's something going on. We don't know the details. Sometimes they give us the context. Sometimes David shares, you know, what's happening when he writes this song. But in this case, we don't know what the situation is.

And I kind of like that because then it's open for us to also evaluate and consider in our own lives that as we go through difficulty, as we go through trial and affliction, we can call out to God like David did and trust him in the midst of difficulty.

Now, I grabbed this image of, it's a lighthouse that's over in France, built in 1874, if you can believe that. I can't imagine trying to build that, you know, 100 years ago. But they built this, and for 100 years, they manned it. And there would be four people manning this lighthouse, and they would have these storms that would hit.

And when the storms would hit, the waves would crash against the lighthouse in the way that you see here. And so there would be these massive crashes, you know, this water just pounding against this lighthouse. And it's a good picture for us of how we feel many times in the midst of difficulty. You know, that you're just standing there and these waves are coming and crashing and pounding and overwhelming you and what's happening in your life. Jesus was very clear as he told the disciples

the parable of the wise and the foolish builder, that storms happen to those who follow Jesus as well as those who don't follow Jesus.

The storms of life happen to all of us, whether we believe in God or not. And so we will experience these kinds of pressures and these kinds of things crashing down upon us. And so we need to learn how to trust God in the midst of that and learn how to look to Him and call out for Him to preserve us in the midst of that difficulty.

I like what David Guzik says in describing this psalm. He says,

The tone, he says, is not complaining. He's in the midst of trouble. He's in the midst of difficulty. Waves are crashing down upon him, but he's not griping and complaining. He's not, you know, sour and bitter over it. There's a settled joy that you can see throughout this psalm where David has a confidence in the Lord.

Now later on in the New Testament, we'll see that this psalm is also quoted and applied to Jesus. And Peter says in Acts chapter 2 that this talks about the resurrection of Jesus as we get down to the final verses in the chapter. And so Jesus also experienced great difficulty and pain and anguish. And yet in the midst of that, he had this similar settled joy.

The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus, seeing the cross that was set before him, despising the shame, but looking at the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross. He had this joy, trust in God, and the value of his sacrifice that he saw as he went forward through the things that he suffered.

And so David had a settled joy. Jesus had a settled joy. And from that, we can also learn to have a settled joy in our own hearts as we face trials and adversity and affliction in this life.

And so there's four points that we'll look at this morning as we talk about trusting God in difficulty. The first one is found in verses one through three. And point number one is remember your choice to trust God. Remember your choice. Now, in this whole psalm, David is stirring himself up to remember things that have taken place.

And I think that's something important to take note of. And all the points we'll be talking about, things that we need to remember within our lives and within our hearts. Remembrance is something important for us because usually...

especially as believers, as we face trials and difficulties, what we need in the midst of that is not some new information. Typically, we don't need some new secret formula to be able to get through this. Typically, what we actually need is to go back and remember some of the things that we've already learned and some of the things that we already know. And it's those things that have already been established in our hearts that

that sometimes we lose sight of, and we got to go back and grasp hold of again and remember the great truths that God has shown us. Pastor Chuck used to always say, never trade what you know for what you don't know. And sometimes in the midst of a situation where we don't know what's going on, we don't know why things are happening, we don't have answers to questions that we'd like to have answers to,

And so sometimes we get so caught up in what we don't know that we let go of the things we know. We forget that God is good. We forget that God loves us. We forget what God has done and we're just caught up and consumed with the things that we don't know. And Pastor Chuck would encourage us, no, hold on to what you do know. Remember the things that God has taught you.

And so as we go through this psalm this morning, I pray that the Lord would stir up some remembrance within you of those things that the Lord has already revealed. And first of all, remember your choice to trust God.

Now, verse 1 begins describing this psalm as a miktam of David. So we know the author is David. The word miktam can be translated a few different ways, but it's used only in the psalms to describe a type of psalm. So some Bible scholars will describe it as like an extra special, you know,

golden psalm is one way to refer to it. You know, it's surpassing excellence compared to others. Some describe it as like an engraving. And so it's, you know, set in stone and things like that. But ultimately, the definition of the word miktam is not pertinent to the understanding of the psalm. It's just a way that they would describe some of the songs that David wrote. But here's what David says to begin. He says, "'Preserve me, O God, for in you I put my trust.'"

The word preserve, it means to keep or to guard or to preserve. It's the idea of asking God to keep guard over you, to set a guard over you, to protect you. And that's what David is doing. He says, Lord, you protect me. You preserve me. He says, because I trust in you. And the word trust that he uses there, it means to flee for protection to something or to seek refuge.

And so David says, look, I'm running to you, God, and I'm seeking refuge. I'm fleeing to you, and I'm asking for you to be my protection. Now, as he runs to the Lord, as he invites God to protect him, he then goes on to stir up some remembrance within himself. In verse 2, it says, oh, my soul, you have said to the Lord, you are my Lord. My goodness is nothing apart from you.

Here David begins to talk to himself. He says, You see, he's reminding himself of some choices he's already made, of some commitments that he's already made to the Lord.

And as he is reminding himself of these things, he's talking to himself. And, you know, that's a good practice, I would say. I know maybe you think, well, if you're talking to yourself, maybe, you know, something's a little wrong in your head. It's not quite right. But, you know, many times we need to talk to ourselves. Sometimes you have to talk to yourself because the things that we face in life are seriously difficult.

We don't just face light fluffy stuff, you know, like Candyland game or whatever. Like, you know, it's just like a little bit of trials here, tiny little issues there. I mean, sometimes we face serious battles. There's battles on the outside pressing us in. And then also there's battles within our own hearts and within our own lives. And one thing that we can do to help us in the midst of that is to remind ourselves of the things that we know. Oh, my soul.

You'll see David do this a lot throughout the Psalms. He speaks to himself. He reminds himself, hey, why are you downcast, oh my soul? I'm going to yet praise the Lord. He's convincing himself. He's encouraging himself to continue to trust God. And here he reminds himself, hey, remember what you've said to the Lord. Remember the things that you've chosen. What did David remind himself about? He says there in verse 2, you are my Lord.

Hey self, hey soul, remember what you said? You said to God, you are my Lord. He speaks to himself and he says, you told the Lord that he is your Lord. Now, the word Lord, it's the word Adonai in the Hebrew. It means master. He says, you talked to God and you said, God, you're my master. God, you're in charge of my life. You're the one who is on the throne and I'm going to be submitted to your will and your plans.

And so he goes back and he reminds himself of this decision that he made, this decision that many of you also have made, that you've chosen to say, God, you're in control. You're the master. And I'm going to submit to your will and your plans. But then storms come in and storms will challenge our convictions and test our choices. And we start going back and forth because now we're in the midst of a storm. And well, maybe I should just do what I want. That seems like an easier way out of this storm.

But then as we're talking ourselves about that, then we're, no, no, no, no. I'm going to obey God. I'm going to obey God. But then, oh, but that looks like a nice escape. And there's this kind of battle that takes place within us. And in the midst of that, as David is experiencing that, he says, wait, wait, wait, wait. Oh, my soul. Why are you vacillating between these two things? Why are you going back and forth in your own heart? Here's what you said. Here's what you've chosen. You've chosen for God to be your master. And he goes on to say, my goodness is nothing apart from you.

David here reminds himself and recognizes, Lord, I've submitted to you as my master, and I've recognized that I don't have any goodness apart from you. I don't have anything of value without you. It can be tempting to run away from you at times. It can be tempting, and I've considered it, and I'm kind of wrestling with it, but Lord, I'm remembering. I'm reminded now. I've made the choice. I've made the commitment. You're going to be my master, and I realize and I recognize that

I have nothing of value without you. And this can be a hard truth for us to accept, but it is a truth that we need to learn to say. You know, so often in trials, we think to ourselves, I don't deserve this. Yeah, you're having a rough go there in your marriage and you think, I don't deserve this. I deserve better than this.

having difficulty at work, and I work hard. I'm doing what I don't deserve, this kind of trouble or affliction or whatever it might be, and we think, I don't deserve this, but the reality is there's no goodness in us. We have nothing good, nothing of value apart from the Lord. The prophet Isaiah made this point as well in Isaiah chapter 64 verse 6. He says, but we are all like an unclean thing.

Isaiah here points out, he says, we're all an unclean thing. And to describe that even a little bit more, he says, all of our righteousnesses, that is the best that we can do.

The best husband that you can be or the best wife that you can be, the best morality that you can have, the best things that you can do, the best thoughts that you can have, the best attitude that you can have, the best that we have to offer. He says, that's like filthy rags. It was a few years back, back when I was young and single, living at Pastor Tom's house in Norco. There was a mission trip headed to Idaho, California.

and I wasn't going, but the group stopped by the house on their way out. And so I was praying with them. We were talking and just talking about the trip and such. And Ronnie was with the group, and he was on his way with them out to Idaho. But in the midst of the conversation, it dawned on Ronnie that he had not packed a towel. So he's on this mission trip. He's going on the road. He's going to be gone for a week or two, and he didn't bring a towel with him.

Being a young man, I didn't have a lot of resources, you know, I didn't have a lot of, you know, a whole pantry filled with towels to give him, but I thought, you know, I do have that one clean towel. So I ran upstairs, I grabbed that one towel, and I came down, I offered it to Ronnie, I said, look, you know, it's not pretty, but if you want it, it's clean, and it's yours. Ronnie opened up the towel, looked at it, and gave it back to me and said, no thank you. It was the towel that I used when I would be working on my skateboard.

And so it had grease stains all over it. You know, it was all torn and matted and weird, you know. Now, it was clean. I'd run it through the washer. I mean, it washed it, dried it, and probably several times since the last time I'd worked on my skateboard. But it looked horrendous. And so Ronnie looks at that and says, no, thank you. You know, that's kind of how it is. Our righteousnesses are like a filthy towel. We try to present that to the Lord and say, look, Lord, I'm pretty good. And God says, it's filthy. It's dirty. It's dirty.

It's stained. It's not usable. So David reminds himself, look, I've said, Lord, you're my God, and I don't have anything good apart from you. My goodness is nothing apart from you. Now, David goes on in verse 3 to remind himself of something else that he decided along with this. In verse 3, it says, as for the saints who are on the earth, they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.

As he reminds himself about God's position in his life and his position in relationship to God, that he has no goodness apart from him, he also reminds himself about the people of God. He says, as for the saints who are on the earth. Now, many times as we think of the word saint, we think of some super special, incredibly holy person like Jeff McMillan, right? I mean, just like flawless, perfect, he works miracles. But that's not how the Bible uses the word saint, right?

The Bible uses the word saint for all believers in Jesus. We're all saints. We're all children of God and followers of God as believers in Jesus Christ. And so there's this idea of saints today. That's not the way the Bible is talking about it. And so when David said, as for the saints who are on the earth, he's just talking about the rest of the people who are walking with God and believing in God. And he says, these fellow believers are

He says, they're the excellent ones in whom is all my delight. David here is recognizing it's a package deal. When I chose to make God my master, I also chose to have fellowship with fellow believers. I chose to delight in them. I chose to have them in my life. Now, this is important to consider and reflect upon because we may not like this all the time.

This may not be our favorite topic all the time, especially when we're in the midst of a trial. Because sometimes in the midst of a trial, well, we just went through the book of Job. You remember how Job's friends comforted him, right? Not at all. In fact, they added to his misery with all the nonsense that they poured out against him and upon him. And so sometimes...

We could think, forget the people. All I need is just me and Jesus, just me and God. That's all I need. You know, forget the people. But it is a package deal. Here's what John tells us in 1 John 4, verse 21. He says, These are permanently attached, intertwined, inseparable. To love God, for God to be our master, also means that we're going to delight in one another.

I think it's interesting at the end of the book of Job, after the friends pour out all the nonsense and add to Job's misery instead of helping him, God rebukes the friends, but then he tells them, okay, friends, you got to go talk to Job and you got to ask Job to pray for you so that I don't bring the judgment on you that your words deserve. And so the friends had to humble themselves and go to Job and ask for forgiveness and ask for Job to pray for them.

That was important for them to do. They needed that. They needed to humble themselves and recognize the wrong that they had done and ask for forgiveness for that. But then on the other side, Job needed this also because Job needed to extend that forgiveness to his friends. And so God set it up so that

It was dependent, and it was essential for both sides because, well, Job had been wounded and hurt by them. It would have been easy for Job just to write them off and say, forget you guys. I hope God judges you. I hope you get what you deserve because of the way that you treated me. But God said, no, no, Job, you need to forgive them and pray for them, and I'll forgive them too. There are many times where we hurt one another, where we damage one another, right?

Because we're fallen human beings. We are sinful creatures. And so sometimes we may not like the package deal. You know, we want to unbundle it. Can I just get God without the people? And God says, no. If you're going to love me, here's the command. You must love your brother also. David says, they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.

This is a good reminder because sometimes people hurt us in the midst of the trial, and so we need to remember that they're part of God's people, and we need to remember to delight in them. But also, this is a good reminder because sometimes in trials, it's not that the people are hurting us, but that we pull away from the people in our lives.

And we try to, because we're dealing with such pain, we're dealing with such hurt, we're dealing with these things. And sometimes we try to handle it on our own without allowing the rest of the body of Christ in on what's going on and to help us and to pray for us through those things. And so many times good fellowship is what's needed and helpful for us, but we're running away from it.

You know, there's been many times in my life where there's maybe a church service or some type of conference or event or something, and I know it's what I need. I know it's good for me. But then at the same time, I'm like, I just really don't want to go. It's going to be hard. There's going to be difficulties. And yet, if I go, I'm always blessed. Always blessed. I would encourage you to remember to delight in the people of God.

Remember to make it a priority to gather together with the saints, to enjoy life with the saints, to gather together even when you're in the midst of great difficulty. It's part of your decision to trust God. And God's placed them in your life for your benefit, and he's placed you in their life for their benefit. And so as we talk about trusting God in difficulty, first it begins with us remembering our choice to trust God. Now,

Perhaps you're here today and you haven't made that choice to trust God. You haven't made that statement where you've told God, God, you're my master. I'm going to submit to your will and I'm going to submit to your plan. Well, it's not too late to start. And so, although I'm asking you to remember your choice to trust God, also recognize if you need to make this choice, it's not too late and you have the opportunity to trust God for him to be your protection, for him to be your refuge.

Well, moving on to verses four through six, here we have point number two, and that is remember that God is your inheritance. Remember that God is your inheritance. We start in verse four and it says, "'Their sorrows shall be multiplied "'who hasten after another God. "'Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, "'nor take up their names on my lips.'"

In contrast to the saints that we've been looking at in verse 3, the saints that we delight in, in contrast to that, he looks now at those who do not follow God. And he recognizes something about those who do not follow God. He says, their sorrows shall be multiplied. Those who hasten after another God, those who chase after someone besides God, he says, they're going to heap up. They're going to multiply the sorrows in their life.

This is the reality. When God, talking about the creator of the heavens and the earth, the heavenly father who sent his only begotten son to die upon the cross for your sin, when he is not your Lord and master, it means that you're hastening after another God. Idolatry is still an issue today. It may look different. You can see how it looks different there in verse 4.

David says, Now David here is not talking about drinking blood, but a drink offering is something that they would do as they would worship a God. They would pour out, sometimes it'd be wine, sometimes it'd be oil, or sometimes it would be blood of a sacrifice.

And so they would worship these false gods and they would offer these drink offerings by pouring them out before this God. And David says, I'm not going to do that. Those who are pursuing other gods, I'm not going to engage in the worship of those gods with them. So much so, he says, I'm not even going to let the names of those gods be on my lips. I'm not going to talk about those gods. I'm not going to, you know, lift up or

discuss or celebrate or sing about those gods, their names are not going to be on my lips. And so he makes this choice. He remembers the sorrows that are multiplied for those who chase after other gods. And he says, I don't want to have any part of that. Well, that's how it looked for them. They had these statues that they would bow down before and offer sacrifices to and they would worship them in this way.

But today we have the same types of idolatries, the same types of things that was going in the heart, going on in the heart of the people who had worshipped these false gods, but we express it differently. Now many times people today think, I'm not religious. Now religion's fine for you, I'm glad it works for you, that's good for you, but you know, I just choose not to be religious. But

That's not actually a choice that you can make. It's really a false concept that you can choose to worship a God or you can choose not to. This morning you had a choice. You could choose to wear a hat to church or you could choose not to wear a hat to church. Now, looks like most of you chose not to. There's Matthew. He chose to wear a hat. And Adam took his off, so you can't see his Pikachu hat that he likes to wear. But having a God is not like that.

You can't choose to have a God or choose, eh, I don't feel like having a God. It's not that kind of choice. Here's the reality. Everyone has a God. Not only does everyone have a God, but everyone worships their God. Again, the expressions may change. Maybe you don't bow down before a statue, but we all have a God and we all worship that God because your God is whatever the master passion of your life is.

The master passion, the thing that you're devoted to, the thing that you're pursuing, the thing that's most important to you, that's your God. And for some of us, that's our own self. Sometimes we can become our own God. It's our own selves that we're most concerned about, most consumed with, most passionate about. Some people, it becomes their career. And that's the thing that they live for. That's what it's all about. That's what everything, you know, that's why I wake up. That's why I eat. That's why I sleep because of this, you know, path that I'm on, this career that I want.

Some people begin to worship their family. Now, all of these are good things, right? Your career is a good thing. Family is a good thing. These are good things. But when they begin to take the place of God, when they become more important to you than God, then it enters into the realm of idolatry. And you begin to put an undue attention to these things.

And people can worship education or intelligence or fun, entertainment, and just enjoyment. People can worship an object or money. The list is pretty much endless, but it's whatever the master passion of your life is. And here's what David says, their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another God. And so if you give the attention and devotion that God deserves, if you give that attention and devotion to something else,

David says, I'll be heaping up sorrows unto myself, multiplying the sorrows in my life. Now, remember, David's experiencing some kind of difficulty right now. But what he's considering, what he's realizing is, life is difficult as I trust God, as I walk with God. But life would be even more difficult if I was chasing after another God. Again, the storms come either way. We're all going to face the storms.

But there's more trial. There's more difficulty. There's more hurt. There's more sorrow when we are not trusting in the true and living God. Well, David goes on in verse 5 to say, And then verse 6, Yes, I have a good inheritance.

here as he talks about his inheritance and the lions falling what he's referring to is when the nation of israel first went into the promised land where israel dwells today god had promised them that land but they were in egypt for a few hundred years as slaves and god brought them out and said i'm going to take you to the promised land and as they went into the promised land and conquered the promised land

The way they divided up the territory was by the tribes of Israel. So there was 12 tribes. And then they divided up the land that was given to each tribe within the families of each tribe. And so it was divided by a lot. And so they would say, okay, here's this portion of land, you know, and that's appropriate for this size tribe. This is okay. Now you guys divide it up. And so then that was divided by a lot. And so the heads of the families would get their allotment and say, okay, here's your territory. Now go check it out.

And so you would get this map perhaps or this description of the boundaries of your land and you go look at it and you really wouldn't know what you got until you went and checked it out. And so maybe you'd show up on your land and say, well, I wonder what we got. Did we get a waterfall on our property? You know, did we get a good stream or a spring there? Is there fields or forest or vineyards or hills or flat? What kind of inheritance did we get as this land has been given to us?

That's kind of what David is picturing here and describing as he talks about this inheritance and the line falling to him in pleasant places. He says, well, I've received an inheritance. I've checked it out. Man, it's a good inheritance. These are good boundaries. These are good land that I've been given. But he's not talking about land. He's just using that as an illustration. What's he actually talking about? What is his inheritance worth?

Well, again, in verse 5, he says, David here reminds himself, he stirs up within himself the understanding that what I have from God is not so much the property, not so much the riches or the wealth or the treasures. What I have from God is him. God gives himself to me. He is my inheritance.

I get to have fellowship with God. I get to have access to God. If you came up to me and said, you know, Grandpa Jesus died this week. I would extend to you my condolences. Oh man, I'm sorry to hear that. But then if you say, but you know, he put me in his will. Oh really? Well, what'd you get? Can I have some? Did you get a couple thousand dollars? What'd you get? Here's what I got. Fellowship with God.

I got access to God. I got the presence of God. You see, that's what happened. As Jesus died upon the cross for our sins, he put your name in the will. He says, okay, when I die, Richard Bueno, he gets access to God. And Chico, he gets fellowship with God. He gave to us the same access to God that Jesus has. He gives that to you as part of your inheritance.

The fellowship with God that Jesus has, he gives to you as part of your inheritance. The presence of God that Jesus experienced, he gives to us as part of our inheritance. Lord, you are the portion of my inheritance. That's a good inheritance is what David is saying. Think about what Jesus said in John chapter 17, verse 3. He says, this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God in Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

Jesus says, this is what eternal life is. Here's what eternal life is all about. Knowing the Father. Knowing God. And knowing Jesus, whom the Father sent. That's what eternal life is all about. That's the inheritance that's given to us. And so all the other things of this life, we may get blessings from God. And God many times does bless us with abundance and things in this life. But in the midst of affliction and trial, sometimes those things are lost.

You lose the job. And now you're trying to figure out what's going on. You're hurting. You're desperate. You're stressed. Well, stir up this remembrance within you. Your inheritance from God was not the job. It never was the job. Your inheritance from God is God. And you haven't lost that. That's what David's doing here. He's remembering. I may have lost land. I may have lost territory. I may have lost stuff. I may lose those things in this life.

But my inheritance is a good inheritance. I have God. I have fellowship with God and access to God. And so David is able to trust God in the midst of difficulty, remembering that God is his inheritance. There are many false gods that you can chase after. And sometimes in the midst of difficulty, that can be very tempting. But David remembers, if I go that route, I'm going to be adding to my sorrows. It'll feel like relief for a moment.

But I'm actually going to increase my sorrows and multiply them. And so he reminds himself, you've chosen God. He's your master and he's your portion. He's your inheritance. You have the presence of God. And again, I would say, if you haven't made that choice, if you haven't trusted in God and received that inheritance, you don't have access to God. You don't know what it's like to have a relationship with God. It's not too late to start now. You're able.

to trust in God, to believe and receive the forgiveness that Jesus offers, to be able to have the access to God that Jesus has. And you can do that by believing in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Moving on to verse seven, now we have point number three, and that is remember what God has spoken to you. Verse seven, he says, "'I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel. "'My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.'"

David says, I'm going to bless the Lord. I'm going to praise the Lord. I'm going to speak well of him. I'm going to rejoice in the Lord who has given me counsel. Now notice, as he says that he's received counsel from the Lord, he's speaking in the past tense. He has given me counsel. What David's doing here is he's remembering some of the things that God has spoken to him in the past. He's

As you read through 1 and 2 Samuel and you see the life of David, one of the highlights, one of the hallmarks of David's life was that he always practiced this inquiring of God. Time after time, you see it over and over again. He asked the Lord, hey, Lord, should I go over there? Should I go over here? Should I save that city? After he saves the city, Lord, should I leave the city? Because Saul's on his way. Are they going to deliver me into Saul's hand? And God says, yep.

Lord, is it time for me to go back to Israel when he was in the land of the Philistines? He's always inquiring of the Lord, checking in with God, seeking God for instruction and counsel. And God was faithful to give him the instruction that he needed. And so as David here is stirring up these reminders within him of his commitment to trust in the Lord and that the Lord is his inheritance, he also remembers some of the things that God has spoken to him in the past.

And it causes him to say, you know what? I need to praise the Lord. God's spoken to me. He's been faithful thus far. He's led me and he's guided me. He's given me the instruction that I need. And so he goes back to some of those things that he had heard from the Lord and rejoices in those things. Now, I see that as something very good and important because in times of difficulty, I'm sure you've experienced this. It can be very hard to hear from the Lord. When you're in the midst of the storm, you're like,

You're wanting desperately, maybe a little bit like Job. I keep referring back to that because it's so fresh in our minds. You know, Job was like, what's going on? He's asking like, where's the Lord? What's going on? I want to know what's happening and why won't God, you know, answer me? It's different than what I've experienced before. Why isn't God speaking to me? And so many times in the midst of our difficulty, the pain that you're experiencing, the turmoil that's going on, it drowns out

the voice of the Lord. And it can be difficult to hear the Lord in the midst of those trials and afflictions. I was thinking about many years ago, I was probably, I don't know, 13, 14 years old. I was in South Dakota with my grandfather. He had a summer home out there on a lake.

And so we were out there. We'd always have a fun time on the lake. And we had this little one-person boat that my grandpa kind of restored for me a little bit. And he attached a little trolling motor on it. And so for those of you guys who know what that is or don't know what that is, it's a motor that hangs down into the water, just a little tiny motor. It's not real big, but it is a little bit heavy. And so we were out there.

And then what would happen is you would have it in the water and you know, the propeller's going and so you drive around and be fun. But then when you're done, you would lift up the motor and it would lock in place like this. And so there was one day where me and my grandfather were working on stuff and getting ready to put in the water and we bring down the motor, but my hand was in the wrong place. And so as the motor came down, it squished, it crushed my pinky finger.

Now, it doesn't come down gently, right? So it just like, boom, drops down and locks in place. And it latches. It locks. So it doesn't move. And so it's locked in place. It's crushing my finger. All I see is white. Like, I can't see anything at that point. I mean, I'm screaming. And, you know, I haven't passed out because I'm still screaming. But I remember my grandpa trying to talk to me because he didn't know what happened. All of a sudden, all he knows is all of a sudden I'm screaming. But he doesn't know why. He's trying to figure out what's the problem.

And I could hear him shouting at me, but I couldn't discern or understand anything he was saying because I'm screaming and I'm in pain and all I can see is white. Sometimes that's how it is in the midst of the trial. The things that we go through, we do go through hardship. There's waves crashing and just like, boom! And it could be really hard to hear. What's the Lord saying in this? And in those times, it's so valuable to be able to go back and remember some of the things that God has shown you in the past.

And many times we can go back and those things are anchors for us to hold on to in the midst of a storm. I've often shared with you that in the midst of a trial is the hardest time to try to start hearing from the Lord. If you're not walking with the Lord and hearing from the Lord when you're in the midst of the trial, that's the hardest time.

to start to begin to have, you know, some type of relationship with the Lord. I would suggest that's like trying to learn English while my finger's stuck in the boat motor so that I can begin to communicate with my grandfather what the problem is. The best thing for us to do is to walk with God right now before the storm hits. Now, if you're in the storm right now, I'm not saying it's too late. Sorry, you lost your chance. But if you're in the storm right now,

Because look at what David continues on to say there in verse 7. He says, As he talks about the night seasons, he could be talking just about, you know, every day there's the time where the sun goes down and then it comes up and there's that night season that happens between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. or somewhere around there. He could be talking about that, but he also could be talking about these seasons of difficulty. And there are those times where

In the difficulty, sometimes God speaks more clearly than you've ever heard him before. And sometimes in the midst of the storm, God will reveal himself to you in a new way, a clear way, a way that is remarkably different than other times. And so it can happen both ways. Either way, we need to look to the Lord, to remember what he has spoken, to hold on to his words and

Because his words are life. And so remember what God has spoken to you. And again, it's not too late to start now. And so if you haven't heard from the Lord and God isn't speaking to you, you still have that opportunity, even in the midst of a storm. And God is still able to break through and to reveal himself so clearly to you as you call out to him. Well, the final point is found in verses eight through 11. Here, point number four is remember that God promises you eternal life.

Now, these verses 8 through 11 are quoted by the apostle Peter in Acts chapter 2, where Peter is talking about the resurrection of Jesus. And he quotes from here and he says, that's what David's talking about. He's talking about the resurrection of Jesus.

And so as we look at these things, we can know that there's this prophecy contained within that's talking about Jesus. And yet at the same time, David is talking about himself and what he's going through. And many times prophecy works that way, where God's using the current situation and the things that David is sharing to also be a foreshadow of what is going to take place later. And so David is talking about himself.

but he's also talking about Jesus. And this morning, I would also suggest he's talking about you as a believer in Jesus. And so verse eight says, I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. David says, I've set the Lord always before me. He has my full attention. He's first in my life.

I've let him be my protector. That's what the idea of being at my right hand means. He's my protector. And so he says, I shall not be moved. When you set God before you, when you set your attention upon him, when you obey him, when you're letting him be the Lord of your life, nothing can move you. A wave might crash hard against you,

But the Lord is your strength and you can stand in the midst of the storm. Now, of course, we wish God would just calm the storm, but usually he prefers just to help us not be moved by it rather than take away the storm. He prefers to help us stand strong, to withstand the impact of the waves. And so he calls us to hold on to the Lord, to keep on holding on to the Lord and to set him always before us.

so that we are not moved. Verse 9, Now this is remarkable. Consider verse 9. David's not out of the difficulty yet. He's still in the midst of the storm. But as he's stirring up these reminders within him,

As he's reminding himself of his commitment to the Lord, his choice to trust in the Lord, and he's reminded himself about the inheritance that he has, which is God himself, and he reminds himself of how the Lord has spoken to him and revealed himself to him. As he reminds himself of these things, it puts him in a place where even in the midst of the trial, where he's saying, preserve me, oh God, where he's calling out for help, yet at the same time he can say, my heart is glad. My heart is glad.

He's able to have joy in the midst of the trial. He's able to rejoice in the midst of it. He says, my glory rejoices. There's a rejoicing within me. And not only that, but I have rest. I have rest in hope. Hope in the way that the Bible uses it is not a, you know, maybe perhaps, hopefully, you know, I'll win the lottery type of hope. But hope is a strong confidence in the things that are to come. He says, I'm able to rest.

I have the strong confidence. My heart's glad because I have the Lord. I'm not going to be moved. No matter what happens, no matter how bad this storm gets, no matter how tall these waves are, I'm able to trust and rest in the Lord. Paul the Apostle encouraged us in a similar way in Philippians chapter 4. In Philippians 4, 6, Paul says, "'Be anxious for nothing.'"

Paul says, be anxious for nothing. And we say, yeah, sure, that's easy. No, we know. We get anxious for all kinds of things. We get stressed, especially in the midst of difficulty.

But in the midst of that, Paul says, present those things to God. Let your requests be made known to God. And isn't it interesting? That's what David did at the very beginning. Preserve me, O God. In you I put my trust. He presented himself before the Lord. He let his requests be made known to God. And then Paul says, here's what will happen when you do that. The peace of God which surpasses all understanding. Now, the idea that he's conveying there is

You'll have a peace that doesn't make sense. So that in the midst of the trial, you can say like David, therefore my heart is glad. So that even in the midst of the storm, even though it's still hurtful, there's still pain, there's still uncertainties and still difficulty, but there's still a joy within. There's still the glory that rejoices and the rest that comes from hope.

He says in verse 7 here of Philippians 4, David began asking, Lord, would you guard, would you preserve me? And Paul says, when you present your requests to God and let your requests be made known to God, bring them to God. And the peace of God will guard your mind and guard your heart. There will be a protection that God provides. Well, David goes on here in verse 10,

Back in Psalm chapter 16, and he says, for you will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. The word Sheol is a word in Hebrew that is what they use to refer to the grave. And so it was whether you are righteous or whether you are wicked. When you died, you went to Sheol. That was just the way that they described the grave. And so he says, you will not leave my soul there in Sheol or the grave. He says, you won't allow your Holy One to see corruption.

Now, this specifically is what Peter highlights in Acts chapter 2 as he talks about Jesus. And he says, he's talking about, David's talking about the resurrection of the Christ. His soul was not left in Hades or Sheol or the grave, and his flesh did not see corruption because Jesus died upon the cross. But then on the third day, he rose again. He wasn't left there in the grave. He resurrected. And what David is saying here is, you're not going to let me go.

stay in the grave either. He's seeing the life beyond this life. He's recognizing there's more to life than what we have here on the earth, and there's going to be a resurrection. Speaking about himself, but also speaking about Jesus, the New Testament tells us that Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection. That means that the followers of Jesus are also resurrected as Jesus was resurrected, that we have the same promise of life that Jesus had.

Because we are believers in Jesus. In verse 11, he says, you will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. You're going to show me the path of life. I'm not going to stay in the grave, but there's going to be life ahead. It's going to be in your presence. And in your presence is fullness of joy. Know this, your joy is directly proportional to your relationship with God.

There's a direct relationship. The better your relationship with God, the better you'll have joy, the more joy you'll have. The more time you have in the presence of God, the more joy you will have. And in the presence of God is fullness of joy. Now that speaks to this life, that we are able to walk with God in relationship with him by faith in Jesus Christ. And there's a joy that comes from that.

But then it also speaks of the next life. He says that your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Looking on into eternity when we have the uninterrupted, unfiltered access to the presence of God. And there will be joy to its fullness, to its uttermost in eternity with God. And so as David stirs up these reminders within him, he reminds himself, God promises eternal life.

As difficult as things get here in this life, as hard and as painful as they might be, this life is not the end. And there's much greater things that God has in store as we enter into eternity with him. And so David, in the midst of great difficulty, as I shared at the beginning, has a settled joy. He's not griping and complaining. He's not pretending like there isn't pain and difficulty. He's acknowledging it. But as he looks to the Lord, there's a joy there.

that is established in his heart as he remembers his choice to trust god as he remembers that god is his inheritance and he's the one who satisfies him as he remembers the things that god has spoken to him and as he remembers the promise of eternal life and those are things that you and i can remember as well and be encouraged to trust god in the midst of difficulty

Now, if you can't remember those things, if you don't have that kind of relationship with God, if you've not received the forgiveness that God offers, it's not too late. And the way to receive it is very simple. The Lord makes it simple for us so that we all have opportunity to know God and receive his forgiveness. It comes by faith in Jesus Christ, recognizing that Jesus, being God, became man to die upon the cross for us.

Because we have sinned and all of our righteousness, the best that we can offer is like filthy rags. So there's no way we have access to eternity with God on our own merits. We have no goodness. But Jesus died in our place and received the penalty for our wickedness so that by believing in him, by accepting the forgiveness that he offers to us, we can be washed. We can have a new relationship with God. We can be born again, the Bible says, and have a new spiritual life that's given to us by God.

And then have the promise of eternity and all these other things that come with it. And so I'd like you to know that. It's not too late to start. You can believe in Jesus right now. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray for each of our hearts this morning. Lord, we all come in this morning from different places. And some are in the midst of trial and some are coming out of a trial or haven't been in the trial for a season. But we all experience these things. And so I pray, God, that you would teach us to trust in you.

And help us, Lord, to remember these things, that you would remind and stir up within us these things as we face these temptations and the difficulties of this life. Thank you, Lord, that we can hold fast to you. Thank you that you can provide joy in the midst of these difficulties. Thank you, Lord, that you provide us access to you and fellowship with you, which is the thing that we need the most. And Lord, I pray for any who have not received that. And I pray that you, Lord, would do a work.

in opening their eyes, Lord, to show them your love for them, Lord, that they would see your desire for them to be redeemed and forgiven and to have everlasting life with you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.