1 SAMUEL 22:1-5 PURSUING GODS HEART IN TIMES OF TROUBLE2017 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 1 Samuel 22:1-5 Pursuing Gods Heart In Times Of Trouble

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 2017.

1st Samuel chapter 22 and Psalm 142. So you might want to find a bookmark or something that you can kind of place in your Bible there. And we're going to be going back and forth between these two chapters this evening because Psalm 142 was written by David from the time of the things that he was experiencing in 1st Samuel 22. And so they go hand in hand. And

And this evening as we gather together and are going to be looking at these passages, we're going to...

change things up a little bit and have some worship time in the midst of the things that we'll be looking at in the passage. And I believe that God wants to just do an encouraging and refreshing work in our hearts as we look at these things. And so we want to spend some time looking at David and his example as a man who pursued God's heart, as a man who sought after and to know and to be pleasing to God and to know his heart.

we find some good examples for how to do that, and specifically in times of trouble and difficulty. And so we'll start here in 1 Samuel chapter 22, and let's read verses 1 through 5, and then begin to look at what God has for us. Verse 1 tells us, David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him.

And everyone who is in distress, everyone who is in debt, and everyone who is discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about 400 men with him. Then David went from there to Mizpah of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, Please let my father and mother come here with you till I know what God will do for me. So he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.

Verse 5, now the prophet Gad said to David, do not stay in the stronghold, depart and go to the land of Judah. So David departed and went into the forest of Horeth. Here in these first five verses, we are picking up the account where David is on the run from King Saul.

He has been on the run now for a couple chapters, and Saul has attempted several times to take his life. Last week, we saw in chapter 21 that David was so desperate in his fleeing from Saul that he thought, maybe I should try staying in the Philistine territory, and so he runs to the city of Gath.

And there, as he's caught and they recognize him, he ends up having to pretend like he's a madman. And he, you know, drools all over himself and scratches at the wall and acts like a crazy person to escape from there. And so he is greatly humbled in that. And it works, though. And so he escapes from the king of Gath. And

And here in verse 1, where we pick it up, now he runs and escapes to the cave of Adullam. And here as we follow this process with David and follow his flight from Saul, I've titled the message this morning, Pursuing God's Heart in Times of Trouble. Because what we find is that David here in this situation, he is...

running for his life, which he has been. He's been making bad decisions, but come back around and he's trusting in God again. But at the same time,

He is in what you might call a valley. He's in a great struggle internally, and there's great discouragement and trouble that he's facing and difficulty, and he is overwhelmed, he will share. And so if you'll turn to Psalm 142, there we find at the very top of the psalm, you have the introduction, and it gives us here the occasion of the writing. It tells us it's a contemplation of David, a prayer when he was in the cave.

And so this is specifically a psalm that David wrote while he's in the cave of Adullam, having run from Gath, having, you know, escaped that, just barely come back to, oh, that's right, okay, I need to trust the Lord, you know, I can't,

I can't live in enemy territory. That's not going to rescue me. Like the only thing that's going to save me is the Lord. And yet at the same time, it's not just like an easy thing for him, but he's really wrestling and stirring himself up to trust in the Lord. In Psalm 142 verse 1, it says, I cry out to the Lord with my voice. With my voice to the Lord, I make my supplication. I pour out my complaints before him.

Verse 5. Verse 6.

Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low. Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise your name. The righteous shall surround me, for you shall deal bountifully with me.

It's amazing how when we have the Psalms that correspond with the events in the life of David, it provides so much insight. It's not just about, here's the events that happened. And Dave went from this location to that location.

And then while he was there, these events happened. You know, it's not just the history, not just the list of events, but here the psalm gives us a sneak preview or a sneak peek into what's going on in the heart of David. Where's his mind at and how is he feeling as he is experiencing these events? And that's really important for us as we look at David, recognizing that God said, here is a man who pursues my heart.

As we look at David as a model, an example for us to be those who pursue God's heart, we need to be able to recognize that God

Well, in the different circumstances that we face and in the different situations that we have in this life, that there's going to be some things happening internally that we need to learn how to deal with as those who desire to be pleasing to God. And these things that happen internally are not, well, as Harvey was sharing, they're not unique and only to us. And we're not the only ones who struggle with these things, but they're common to all of us. And so David gives us some insight here so that we can recognize that.

the humanity of David, that he was a man just like you and I are men and women, that he was just like us. He didn't have a super amazing, you know, special connection to God more than you had. In fact, if anything, we have a better connection to God because we're on this side of the cross. And so we have access to God in a different way through faith in Jesus Christ. And so there is opportunity for us,

to be men and women who pursue God's heart, just like David, and perhaps even to a greater degree. And yet in the midst of that, recognizing that we will have struggles internally, and there will be things going on within our minds and within our hearts, and there will be times of trouble.

And so as we look at the example of David here and the things that he's processing internally, there's three points I'd like to walk us through looking at Psalm 142 and 1 Samuel chapter 22 verse 1. Jumping back now to 1 Samuel chapter 22, we have point number one, and that is cry out to God when you are overwhelmed. Overwhelmed.

And this is the pattern that we see in David, that as a man who pursues God's heart, what he does in the time and the situation is he cries out to the Lord. In verse 1, it tells us, He went from Philistine country back into the land of Israel, and he is now hiding out in a cave.

And it's there in this context. It's there, you know, there wasn't much to do for David. You know, he's there. He's hiding in a cave. I don't know if you've ever tried to hide somewhere. When I was young, I used to love to hide, especially, you know, at night. And so, you know, I would climb up. We had this, like, patio in front of our house. And I would climb up and, like, brace myself between the rafters and just, like, hide somewhere.

just holding myself in the air up inside the rafters and then, you know, drop down and scare people when they were there. But it required a long time of waiting. You know, when you're hiding, there's a lot of waiting. Have you ever played hide and go seek? And then you get so tired of just waiting there because they're not finding you, right? You probably haven't done that recently, but you understand. You know what that's like, right? And when you're hiding, there is not much to do.

And so David is there just kind of really stuck in this position and stuck with his thoughts and his emotions and his feelings. And in that, he is writing this psalm and crying out to God. Now, as you read through that psalm, you can see that David is trusting God, but he's also struggling with it. He's crying out to God. And I think the point, cry out to God when you're overwhelmed, is not something radical that we would never think of, right? Of course we cry out to God when we are overwhelmed, right?

But I think what the Lord wants to remind us of this evening is that when we cry out to God, we don't just cry out to him with our requests. I was thinking about Philippians chapter 4, verse 6, one of our favorite verses. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And then the promise that goes along with that is then the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.

And there is that need sometimes for us to be reminded, hey, make your requests known to God. Sometimes we don't present our requests to God. But at the same time, I think that sometimes, especially when we're overwhelmed, all we do is make our requests known. That our time of prayer is just...

here's what I want you to do, Lord. And here's what I need to happen. And here's, you know, how I'd like you to work this out. And here's the area that you need to work. And this evening, I think the Lord would have us to be reminded that when we are overwhelmed, it's okay to present our requests and we need to present our requests. But also let's not limit our time of prayer to our requests, but let's also share with God where we are.

And so here's Dave in the cave of Adullam and jumping back now to Psalm 142. I told you we'd be going back and forth, so hopefully you got a good bookmark there. Psalm 142, David says in verse one, I cry out to the Lord with my voice, with my voice to the Lord, I make my supplication. And notice what he says in verse two, I pour out my complaints before him. I declare before him my trouble.

David here is pouring out his complaint. He's not just saying, God, I want you to deliver me. God, I want you to rescue me. God, I want you to put me on the throne like you told me you're going to. God, I want you, you know, he's not just presenting his requests, but he's pouring out his complaint.

And I know that can be difficult for us. And maybe for some, it's even like, you know, don't complain to God. You know, that's horrible. And yet at the same time, what the Lord would want us to do is to be genuine with him regarding what's going on in our heart. And so if there's complaints in your heart, don't try to pretend like there's no complaints, but to pour out those complaints before the Lord.

And declare before the Lord your trouble. And let the Lord know and share with him how you feel and how you're doing with those things that are going on. And so it's not just the get me out of here. You know, here's what I want you to do. But Lord, this is how I'm feeling. This is what I am going through. The commentator Albert Barnes puts it this way. He was full of care and of anxiety. And he went and he poured this out freely before God.

And so it wasn't just, here's what I want you to do, God. But Lord, here's how I'm feeling. I am freaked out. I am anxious. I am stressed. I am overwhelmed. He says in verse three, when my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then you knew my path and the way in which I walk, they have secretly set a snare for me. So as he's crying out with the Lord and for the Lord, he's expressing himself. He's pouring out his heart out.

And in that, he is sharing with God where he's at and the state of himself internally as he is overwhelmed. This word overwhelmed is interesting. Albert Barnes had another note on that. He says, the idea here is that in his troubles, he had no vigor, no life, no spirit. He did not see how he could escape from his troubles, and he had no heart to make an effort.

what David is describing here in saying that he is overwhelmed, he's saying, I have nothing to be able to work out this situation. I don't even have the heart to make an effort. I'm so lost on how to fix this. I'm so lost on where to go next. I have no clue how I need to proceed or where I need to go or how I'm going to save my life or what's going to happen next or what you want in all of this. And

In his trouble, Albert Barnes said, he had no vigor, no life, no spirit. His motivation, his will, it's lacking. He's discouraged. He's depressed. He's lost.

And I think this is so interesting. You know, God is really interesting in the way that he coordinates and works things all together. And it may not always be obvious to, you know, each of us what the Lord is doing, but sometimes the Lord gives us glimpses how he's, you know, just like pulling all these threads and bringing all these things together. For me personally, my current condition, my current situation, I think is such that

Kim could maybe record some of the things that I say privately to her just by ourselves in our home, and it would read like Psalm 142. I read it to her last night, and I'm like, that's where I'm at. She's like, yeah, you're dramatic like David. And I can laugh at that, and that's great.

But at the same time, I would just be honest and share with you, listen, guys, I've been overwhelmed. And I've been like this, lost and have no heart to make an effort. I'm just, you know, every day my biggest goal is basically to not quit.

And if I survive the day without quitting everything, then that's a successful day, right? Like that's kind of the season where I'm at with the hours that I'm working and just the place where my mind and my heart and my body is from all of the things that have been going on. And I shared this, we had a board meeting on Monday and I shared this with the board also that it's just, it's where I'm at.

And then as I'm preparing for tonight, it's where David's at. Like, you know, so clearly God is doing something and that is encouraging. And so we need to in these times, and that's what I'm saying. So David went through these times and I go through these times and you go through these times. And in those times, we need to cry out to God when we're overwhelmed. And it's not just about our requests and what we want and what we hope and what we desire and what we want God to do.

But as we cry out to the Lord, especially in these times where we are struggling intensely and there's great battle and great discouragement, that in those times, that needs to be the content of our crying out to God, as well as the requests. That we need to be honest and come clean and just share with God honestly, Lord, this is what I'm struggling with. And this is how I feel. This is my complaint.

This is, you know, what I'm wrestling with. This is what's on my mind, and this is what's on my heart. Warren Wiersbe tells us, in the heat of battle, pour out your heart to the Lord and tell him how you feel and what you need. And then I like what he says, turn the cave into a holy of holies. This is what David did. In the cave of Adullam, a lonely, not a glamorous, it's just a cave. It's a hole in a hill, you know, it's just a cave.

But there it can become the holy of holies with the presence of God and communion with God as you pour out your heart to him and tell him not just what you need, but how you feel. It's part of the communion and the fellowship that God desires to have with us and that we need to have with him. And so we need to cry out to God when we are overwhelmed.

Ronnie's going to come up and lead us in a song and we're going to continue to do this and just spend some time in worship and get back into the message and spend some time in worship. And so prepare your hearts for that. Now we just want to take some time to process this and I don't know where you're at and what kind of overwhelming situations you might be facing, but let's take this time to cry out to God.

And to express, not just our requests, although express your requests, make your requests known. Cast your cares upon him though also because he cares for you. And pour out your feelings, your heart, what's going on in your mind and express to God the things that you're facing internally and the things that you're struggling with within. And so let's worship the Lord together and cry out to God in our overwhelmed condition. Once again.

I pour out my heart for I know that you hear every cry. You are listening. No matter what state my heart is in, you are faithful to answer with words that are true and a hope that is real as I feel.

Your time You bring a freedom to all that's within In the safety of this year I once again Lord I pour out my heart for I know that You hear every cry You are listening

No matter what state my heart is in, you are faithful, Lord, to answer with words that are true and a hope that is real as I.

touch You bring freedom to all that's within In the safety of this place Longing to pour out my To say that I love you Pour out my heart To say that I need That I'm thankful Pour out my To say that you're

You are wonderful. Cry for your hand of mercy to heal me. And I need your love to free me. Oh, my rock, my strength and weakness. Come rescue me. You are my

And your promise never fails me. And my desire is to follow you forever. For you are good. For you are good. Lord, you are good too. For you are good. For you are good.

I love you.

Lord, you are good. Lord, you are good.

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Lord, thank you that you are good to us and that we can cry out to you as we come to this place of being just completely overwhelmed by our circumstances, by our situations, and just lost in what to do and how to do it and even the desire to do it. Lord, thank you that we can come to you and that you are good and faithful to hear what's going on in our hearts.

We don't have to fear being offensive to you, Lord, but you desire most that we be genuine, that we be real with you about what's going on within. As we share our requests, we share our hearts. And Lord, you are good and faithful and you meet us in that place. Thank you, Lord. It's in your name we pray. Amen. And so we cry out to God when we're overwhelmed.

It's an important thing to do. It's a thing that we all experience. And I think the thing to note also as we get back into looking at the life of David here is that David was here not by his own failures. He's made some mistakes along the way for sure, but part of God's plan for him was to be on the run from Saul. This was all God's design. God brought him to this place of being overwhelmed. And so when we are in that place, it's not...

necessarily, you know, some judgment for, you know, some issue of sin. Sometimes we get involved in issues of sin, and still we can pour our hearts out before the Lord and cry out to God when we're overwhelmed. But then there's also times that are, it's just, you're right exactly in the center of God's plan, and He wants you to be there overwhelmed and crying out to Him.

And so this is what we find here in the life of David, and we need to follow the example and pursue God's heart in these kinds of times of trouble. Well, moving on to point number two for this evening, we need to cry out to God when you feel alone. We're looking at Psalm 142 now, verses four and five. It says, look at my right hand and see, for there is no one who acknowledges me.

Here in the psalm, David now expresses his loneliness.

And loneliness is something that every one of us can relate to. We've all experienced loneliness. And it hurts the most, of course, in times like this.

And it's in times like this that we feel the most alone. When we are struggling, when we are discouraged and down and in the valleys. And here is David in the cave, discouraged, depressed, fighting to just press on and not give up, but no idea how to do that or where to go. And he says, I look to my right hand.

Now, the position of the right hand, that's your person, the person that you would normally look to and rely upon. And so maybe for me, that's Ronnie. I'm in trouble. I call up Ronnie. I'm struggling. I need to talk. Who's at my right hand? That's the role and the position that he's talking about. I look to my right hand and nobody acknowledges me. I went to lean on somebody. I went to talk to somebody and everybody backed away. There was nobody there to

who cares enough about me to be there for me. I'm all alone. Now that's not exactly true for David, but David here is expressing how he is feeling. And that's one of the things that's really good about the Psalms and important about the Psalms is it reminds us of the emotions that we experience. And we can recognize that

My feelings may not reflect reality, but I still feel them. I may not be alone, but I still feel alone. And that is what David is experiencing here. We'll see that played out a little bit more in just a moment. But he's just sharing with the Lord, again, pouring out his heart. He says, no one acknowledges me. I feel all alone. And notice what he says, no one cares for my soul.

Nobody cares about me. Nobody cares if I live or die. If I die out here in the wilderness, in the cave of Adullam, this will just be my burial place, and nobody will even notice. Nobody cares for my soul. You remember he shared with Jonathan earlier, he said, there's just a step between me and death. And he's been on the run from King Saul ever since, and just a step between him and death. And in that

time, in that season, he feels like, and nobody cares. It's not just that there's a step between me and death. I'm right on the verge of death, and I'm just, you know, about to be completely just involved in a huge catastrophe, and nobody even cares. And I think we can all relate to that ache that David would have in writing this, and in crying out these things to the Lord, that he feels all alone.

But notice as he cries out to God in his loneliness, in verse 5 it says, I cried out to you, O Lord. And so as he's expressing these things and he's, I feel all alone, he's saying, nobody cares. What we see happen here is that God answers the prayer. Turn back to 1 Samuel chapter 22.

And in verse 1, it tells us, David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. There he writes the psalm we've been reading about. And then, so when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him. Suddenly, David is not alone. As David writes this psalm and he cries out to the Lord, God is so amazing and so good, he answers the prayer.

And David's family comes to meet with him and to be with him there in the cave of Adullam. But it's not just David's family. In verse 2, everyone who is in distress, everyone who is in debt, and everyone who is discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them, and there were about 400 men with him. So God says, David, I hear you. I know you're feeling all alone. I know you feel that loneliness, and it hurts, and it aches. And as you cry out to me, I know you're feeling all alone.

I just want to let you know you're not alone. Here's 400 people, you know, like boom, you know, and that cave suddenly is very crowded. You know, David, it's just me and my voice echoes. Hello, hello, hello. And then, you know, the next day it's just, you know, full of sound as there's all these people that God floods around him and says, David, not only am I with you, but here's some people who are with you as well.

Now, as David cries out to the Lord, he says in verse five, I cried out to the Lord. I said, you are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. And so David is not just saying, send somebody, but he's resolving, Lord, I need for you to be all that I need.

I need to rest in you. I need for you to be my portion. I'm choosing to make you my portion. I know you're here. And God, I need to remind myself and to hold on to you again and remind myself that you are my refuge and that you are my portion and that you are all I need. There's a famous quote by Corrie ten Boom.

It says, you may never know that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have. My slides got all weird, so I'm not going to show you that slide. You may never know that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have. And sometimes we need to come to that place, sitting in the cave of a Doolam and expressing our loneliness to God. And God is faithful and he will answer and he will provide as we come to that place where God, you are enough.

You're enough. I feel all alone, but I know it's not true. You are my portion. You are my refuge. I'm going to run to you. And so the Lord is our portion and the Lord is all that we need. And yet that being said, I would remind us that many times God does answer that prayer and provides us his presence with people. And that's what he does with David.

David says, you are my portion. I'm all alone, God. I'm all alone. I don't know what to do. I'm all alone, but I'm going to trust in you and hold on to you. And God says, you're right. I'm here with you. And just as a reminder of that, here's some people. And the Lord answers that need that we have with people. I may prefer to have a glorious and amazing vision of Jesus.

in my time of overwhelmed discouragement, right? Of course, yeah. Show me Jesus. And the Lord says, okay, here's Harvey. No, no, no, no. Show me Jesus. Okay, here's Elsa. Okay, that's better. No, I'm just kidding. But that is how the Lord manifests himself many times. He brings people around us. He sets us in the midst of the body of Christ.

And so this evening, you know, looking to Jesus to be our portion, of course, we need to do that. That's important. Cry out to God when you feel alone and say, yes, you are my portion and you are my refuge. But at the same time, I would encourage you this evening to consider the example of David and let people in. Sometimes the loneliness that we feel is self-inflicted.

We're all alone and we feel so lonely because we've kept people at a distance. And so now in our time of trouble, in our time of difficulty, we're all alone and it hurts and it aches and we feel sorry for ourselves and we feel pity and why aren't 400 people coming to comfort me? But we've kept people at a distance and we need to come to a point where we let people in. I would ask you to consider the example of David here because David,

You could look at David's family and say, look, boy, David's family, they, I don't have anybody like that in my life. They sought him out. They went to him. Nobody comes to me. You know, nobody talks to me unless, you know, I call out to them. And we can start throwing ourselves a pity party and just kind of, you know, basking in our loneliness. But David is on the run for his life from King Saul, who is actively seeking to kill him.

The only way that his family and these guys could have found David is if he made himself available to be found. He's hiding for his life from King Saul. He let his family in. It's not just that they were expert scouts and so they were able to find him. Saul and all of his best men, they couldn't find David.

Because David was good at running and hiding. I mean, and the Lord was preserving him, of course, too. But you get the point that I'm saying, that David had to be open and available and accessible in order for all of these people to be able to find him. And so now he lets the people in. He lets his family in. And his family cannot rescue him. They're not there to say, okay, you're safe now, David. We're here to protect you.

In fact, in all likelihood, David's family is there because they're not safe, because their lives are threatened and Saul might well come against them and wipe them out. And so they're on the run also. And so they join up with David. So they're not there to rescue him, but notice they're there to go through it with him. They're with him in the midst of it. And then here comes these 400 men who are

the commandos of Saul's army. No, these guys are distressed, indebted, and discontented. That word discontent, it means to have a bitter soul. These guys were soured and just, oh, bitter, not satisfied, unhappy. And they come to, they can't rescue David. They're not there to win the battle and throw Saul off the throne. Like they're,

They're just there trying to survive also, but they're there to be with David to go through it with him. And I think the great example that we see here in David is that he lets them in. And so in our times of trouble and overwhelming and discouragement in the things that we go through, we can look at David and learn from his example that pursuing God's heart, first of all, it's crying out to God when I feel alone, crying out to God and determining to make him my portion and my refuge, but also at the same time allowing God

people in to the cave with me. And they're not here to rescue me. They're not here to fix the situation. They're not here to have all the answers. But they're here to be with me. I'm not alone. You're not alone. And it's through one another that the Lord is reminding us that he is with us.

Remember, Jesus said, as two or three are gathered together, I am there in your midst, that there's the presence of the Lord in one another. And as we experience and enjoy and rely upon and delve into fellowship with one another in this way, we are fellowshipping with the Lord. And he is meeting us through the people that he's placed around us.

And so let God be your portion, but that doesn't mean that it's just you and him and nobody else has to know what you're going through and nobody else shares your struggles and nobody else knows what's going on. No, that also means that you are closely connected with some other people around you and God is your portion and meeting your need through the fellowship of the people that he's placed around you. And so we need to let people in and to minister to one another, not with the expectation of rescue.

I'm letting you in. So Richard, tell me, how do I fix this? You know, what's the answer? What does God want? And maybe God will speak, but that's not the point. The point is just go through it with me.

That's all that we need from one another. Just be its presence. Just be here with me in the midst of it. When people are going through crisis, you can talk to Rick, you know, dealing with, you know, situations where there's a crisis, where there's, you know, an emergency and that kind of thing. What people need most is just that, the presence. It's not, you don't have to have all the answers. You don't have to have

And that's a good exhortation for us as well. And so maybe you're not in the midst of the time of trouble, or maybe you are, but that God wants to use you to be like David's family or one of these disgruntled, you know, disheartened men that go to be with him, that you don't have to have all the answers.

That you and I, we can go and we can be part of God's work in someone's life and be part of the presence of the Lord that encourages them and builds them up. And that doesn't mean that you have to have it all together. And sometimes we hold ourselves back, right? Like, no, I can't encourage that guy because my life's a mess. But here you have these 400 guys, you know, and their lives were a mess. And yet God uses them to show up, to be a reflection of his presence with David.

Sometimes we hold ourselves back because we're like, yeah, that's a tough situation. I don't know what I would say. I don't know how I would fix that. So I just, you know, I'm going to stay back. Not only do we need to let people in, but we also need on the other side to go to people. Even if we don't have the answers, even if we don't have the solutions, you can be in debt and discontent and have a life that's a mess and just be there. Just be there with those who are overwhelmed.

And so we want to reflect on that as we go into the next song of worship. And I want to encourage you as we do to cry out to God. And I don't know how lonely you feel at the moment, but now's a good time to cry out to God, just like David did and say, what I feel all alone. But also at this time, I would encourage you as Ronnie leads us that you would recognize that you're not alone. And there's other people that are right here in this very room. There's not a ton of us, but there's some of us.

And if you need prayer, if you need to just start right now to let someone in, this is a good opportunity to do that. And so I would encourage you during this song, feel free to let somebody in. Ask for prayer. Just share. I need to tell you what's going on, what I'm working on, what struggles I'm dealing with. And then on the other side, you know, maybe the Lord is going to prompt your heart to go to somebody and you be one of those disgruntled men who just show up in the cave, you know. That's...

That's appropriate too. And so during this song, we can worship the Lord and cry out to God in our loneliness, but we can also minister to one another and show up and be part of the work of God and the presence of God in each other's lives. And so let's do that as we worship the Lord together. Christ is enough for me. Christ is enough for me. Everything I need is in you.

Everything I need Christ is for me Everything I need is to give you Everything I need Christ is my reward All of my devotion Now there's none in this world Ever satisfied

Through every trial, my soul will sing. No turning back, been set free. Christ is enough for me. Everything I need is in you. Everything I need.

Christ is my all in all, the joy of my salvation. And this hope will never fail, heaven is our home. Through every storm, through every storm, my soul will sing, Jesus is here.

Christ is enough for me. Christ is enough for me. Everything I need is in you. Everything I need is in you.

You are more than enough for me.

More than all I know, more than all I can see, more than enough I want, I need, and enough for me. More than all I know, more than all I can see, more than enough for all of you, is more than enough for all of me.

For every thirst and every need, You satisfy me with Your love. Lord, all I need is more than You are my supply. My breath of life is still more awesome than I know I'm home.

Still more awesome than I know. And all of you is more than enough for every thirst and every need. You satisfy me with your love. And all I have is more than you can decide.

Follow Jesus, no turning back. No turning back. I have decided. Follow Jesus, no turning back. No turning back. Because Christ is enough for me.

Lord, truly you are all that we need, and I pray that you would help us to remember and remind ourselves that you are enough. Lord, you're more than enough. You're

more than we can even comprehend. And so, Lord, help us to trust in you and rest in you. But, Lord, you also desire to use your people in our lives and your people around us to be part of the work that you desire to do in your presence in our lives. And so, Lord, I pray that you would help us to follow the example and to let people in to be part of your work in us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

And so we're pursuing God's heart in times of trouble, crying out to God when we are overwhelmed and crying out to God when we feel alone. Finally, finishing it up in 1 Samuel 22, verses 3 through 5, we need to obey God in faith and with hope. And so here's David in the cave. This now group of people gathers together to him.

And now he's got a different problem. Now what do I do with all these people? And so in verse 3, it tells us of 1 Samuel 22, So he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.

Now the prophet Gad said to David, do not stay in the stronghold, depart and go to the land of Judah. So David departed and went into the forest of Horeth. Here, what we see in David is obedience, but it's obedience that is attached to his faith and attached to his hope. And all of these things, obedience, faith, and hope are working together.

His faith is that he's trusting God with the present, with his present circumstances enough to be obedient when God asks him to do something that's, well, pretty dangerous. And his hope as he's obeying God is he's trusting God with the future. And he trusts God with the future so much that he's willing to be obedient right now as the Lord speaks to him through the prophet Gad.

First off, he goes down to Moab, which is kind of a shelter. It's actually a little bit away from Israel, on the other side of the Dead Sea. And so in going there, there would have been a measure of safety there. And he leaves his mom and dad. He says to the king, hey, can my parents stay here? They need to be taken care of during this time. But notice what he says in verse 3. He says, please let my father and mother come here with you till I know what God will do for me.

David knows that God has a plan, but he's saying, I don't know what it is. I know God's anointed me to be king. I don't know how he's planning to put me on the throne. I don't know when that's going to happen. I don't know how long it's going to be. I don't know how it's all going to come together. I don't know the whole story. I just know God has made some promises, and I know he's working in the midst of this, and I can't see it. But can you take care of my parents for now until I figure out, until I sort out what it is that God wants to do? He's

He's trusting that God is at work and he knows it's a matter of time. It's a matter of just the plan of God unfolding, but he doesn't know what that plan is or what's going to happen along the way. In the Psalm, Psalm 142 verse 7, the very last verse, David says, bring my soul out of prison that I may praise your name. The righteous shall surround me for you shall deal bountifully with me.

In that cave of Adullam, as David is crying out to God, he is not doing so as in a way that he's given up on God, but he is in this rooted confidence, this rooted hope. And I would remind you that hope biblically is not, you know, there's elements of uncertainty in it. Hope is just the same as, you know, faith. It's just, it hasn't happened yet. Hope is trusting God and believing God

in what he has promised, knowing that it just hasn't taken place yet. It's just not the time yet. Faith is believing God's promises and living them right now and being obedient to those right now. But hope is recognizing God has some things that he's going to do that are just not for right now. And David says, you shall deal bountifully with me. God, I believe that. I know you're going to deal bountifully with me. You're going to abound my life with blessings. David has faith. He has hope that

And so he is obedient to God. In verse five here of 1 Samuel 22, the prophet Gad says to David, don't stay in the stronghold. Now, when you're on the run for your life, even just the word stronghold is comforting, you know, to stay there. Oh my goodness. In the stronghold that he's at in Moab, like there is a safety there. He is secure there. He's in the stronghold. Saul can't touch him here. And now the Lord says, don't stay there. That place of safety, you're starting to enjoy it, David. Don't stay there.

That's not where I want you. Where does God want him? In the land of Judah. But Judah, that's where Saul's chasing me. Yeah, David, I want you there. You're going to be on the run for a little bit, but you're going to be in my will, in the center of my plan. You're going to be right where I want you to be. And that's hard for us. Sometimes God wants you to stay in the midst of a difficult and hard situation.

And we are very tempted to just stay in the stronghold. But if I just stay over here, I'll just stay out of the mess. I just stay out of the trouble. We're much more comfortable there. But sometimes God's saying, you need to be where you're running for your life. You need to be where you're in a position where you have to rely upon me for your very breath. The stronghold feels safe. But if it's out of God's will, it's not safe. It's not where God wants you to be. It's not where we need to be. And maybe the forest feels dangerous. And maybe it is.

but it's the safest place for you when it's where God wants you to be. Pastor David Guzik said about this, he said, this probably wasn't what David really wanted to hear, but he obeyed anyway. David had to learn to trust God in the midst of the danger, not on the other side of the danger. And sometimes, again, these seasons, David is not in this situation because of his, you know, flat out absolute rebellion against God.

He is in this situation because he is right where God wants him to be. God wants him in this place of being on the run, of being trusting in him with just a step between him and death. That is where God has him. That is what God wants for him. The commentator John Butler said it this way, David obeyed the prophet Gad in spite of the fact that it meant hardship and peril.

obedience to God's word must have a priority that exceeds perils and difficulties. It would have been much more comfortable and more easy for David to stay in the stronghold. And it was much more dangerous for David to be out in the wilderness of Judah. But that's where God wanted him. And when it comes down to it,

In our lives, as we're facing times of trouble, as we're facing things that are difficult and things that we're wrestling with and struggling through and on the verge of just blowing up or calling it quits or whatever, that as we call out to God, as we cry out to God, again, we're overwhelmed and we allow God to meet us and to meet our needs in that way and we let people in and we resolve those things, but we also need to make sure that we then press on

in obedience into what God has called us to. Now, there'll be some times where God says, yeah, get out of there. Get to the stronghold. And so we need to obey God there and say, no, I don't want to fight. You know, I show you how strong I am, Lord. I'm going to fight this. You know, like, well, no, no. If God calls you out, then get out. But if God calls you in, and if he desires for you to stay there in the midst of that battle, then stay there in the midst of that battle, trusting in God with faith and hope, knowing that God has a plan.

And so you can be in the midst of the battle and not necessarily in the place of discouragement and depression like where David started, but going back into it now, he knows God is with him and he's gonna go as we read on in the coming chapters, he's gonna be interacting with the Lord in a different way and being led by God and trusting God and things are changing. He's in the same situation, but he's walking with God in the midst of it and trusting in God and God is gonna be leading him along the way.

And he sets a great example for us in that, to trust and obey God, knowing that God will deal bountifully with me. And so it's okay. And I might have to suffer for a little bit. Peter told, you know, the people he was writing to, he said, you might have to suffer for a little while, but it's for your benefit. And there's great reward for it. You're going to be in eternity soon. God's going to deal bountifully with you. And so the struggles of this life are worth it

We don't need to struggle unnecessarily, right? So again, if God calls you out, then get out. But if God calls you there, then be there. Whatever that means and however that looks like in your life, you know, you and the Lord work that out. But you be there in the midst of that fight, in the midst of that battle, running for your life and trusting in God for every breath with just a step between you and death. Warren Wiersbe says, it may not look like it now,

but one day your trials will turn out for your good and for God's glory. Start praising him now by faith and you will be tuned up when the answer comes. Start praising him now. Lord, you shall deal bountifully with me. And then when God does deal bountifully with you, you're already tuned up. You're already ready to sing that praise because you have been singing that praise because you've been trusting in God. That is the example for us. That is a man who pursues God's heart.

who goes back into the battle. It's gonna be tough. It's gonna be discouraging. There's gonna be dangerous situations. There's gonna be trouble. But Lord, I'm trusting you with my life. I'm trusting you with what you want to do in the midst of this. And that is the example that we need to follow. And so pursuing God's heart in times of trouble, it's crying out to God when we're overwhelmed, crying out to God when we feel all alone,

and then obeying God in faith and with hope. And so let's finish out with worship and let it be a time for you of just that dedication and commitment of your heart that I will obey God. I will trust in him. I will believe his promises and be right where God wants me to be in his presence. Let's worship the Lord. ♪ Of heavenly lights ♪ ♪ Fount of wisdom and light ♪

I will not fear anymore, for I will hear.

Trust you, Jesus. Trust you, Jesus. Trust you with my world. You hold the world in your hand. God of mercy and might.

♪ Knew me before I was born ♪ ♪ Called me by name ♪ ♪ How could I ever respond ♪ ♪ But to fall and adore ♪ ♪ I live to know you more ♪ ♪ Lord, I will ever trust you ♪

Jesus. Trust you, Jesus. Trust you with my love. Oh, I will trust you, Jesus. Trust you, Jesus. Trust you with my love.

Trust you, let not the wise.

Trust in their wisdom, let not the strong boast in their might. Let not the rich in riches ever trust you, Jesus. Trust you, Jesus. Trust you, my Lord.

I will trust you, Jesus. Trust you, Jesus. Trust you with my life.

I will trust you, Jesus. Trust you, Jesus. Trust you with my heart. And so, Lord, we will trust you and we will obey. I pray that you would speak to us, that you would guide us, that you would speak to us through others around us like the prophet Jesus.

did with David or speak to our hearts personally and internally. But Lord, wherever we're at, I pray that you would speak to our hearts in the midst of great discouragement, in the midst of great victory. God, help us to ever be seeking your voice, your direction, to be obeying you because we know we can hold fast that confidence. We can trust you. You are more sure than anything else. Help us not to forget that.

but to go forward in obedience to you as you speak to us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.