Do you ever have a days where it seems like nothing could go right? Ever have a bad day? What about a bad week? ...or a bad year? Well - if you haven’t, then this message isn’t for you. But if you, like me, occasionally wonder if things could get any worse... listen to what David says in Psalm 22.
Read Psalm 22:1-2
The book of psalms are mostly poetry - written by David, a shepherd boy who became the second king of Israel. The book of Psalms to me is fascinating on a lot of levels - but one level that is often overlooked is a dark level. There are many passages in the book of psalms where David pours our his heart and shows us his true feelings - and they are not what we would call happy feelings... Listen again to this passage. (read Psalm 22:1-2)
Have you ever felt that way? have you ever felt that God has abandoned you? Or that every time you cry out, its as if he is sooo far away? Or maybe you have been praying something that isn’t getting answered, and you are beginning to think that God isn’t listening. Maybe you identify with david when he says, “I pray, but I get no relief...”
Well, I have a couple of things for us to think about this morning, but the first one is pretty basic - “Don’t stop praying.”
There is a temptation to stop praying. When you feel like you are not being heard, or you feel as if God has gone missing - don’t quit praying... One of the things I love about the Psalms is the honesty of David. He pours his heart out. He prays for everything and really opens himself up to God. Even in despair, he still prays. Even in the lowest moments of his life, he reaches out to God.
I think sometimes, we give up to easy. We want to have a great relationship with God. We want to be used by God, we want this or that, but when the going gets rough - we just quit.
This past week, we had a soccer party for our girls soccer team. We ended the evening by handing out trophies - and with one girl in particular, I had to point something out. One of our girls, Olivia, has really progressed as a player, but two seasons ago, in her very first game, she almost gave up. In fact, that’s exactly what she did. It was a hot day and it was her first soccer game, and we didn’t have very many players, and she got hot and tired, and she felt overwhelmed... So she walked over to the sidelines and she told me she wanted out of the game, and a few minutes later her and her mom walked off. Fortunately, her dad talked her into going back to a practice and giving it another shot...
But you know, I think a lot of us are just like that. We get tired pretty easy. We get flustered and frustrated and it seems hopeless, so we throw up are arms and say “Why?” and we quit...
I think if you read enough of the Psalms you’ll hear that same sentiment from David, but he always took his frustration and laid it at the feet of his God. He never quit praying..
So what do you do at the bottom of the pit? What do you pray about? What did David do?
Use low moments to help you explore the greatness of God.
“Yet, you are holy” is the way David continues his prayer... David began to look at character of God and remind himself who God is - and what God has done... Some of the most beautiful passages, some of the richest descriptions of God come from david in hard times...
One of the things that I have been studying recently, and God has been reminding me is that my life isn’t about me. Life is supposed to be about God. Psalms 37:4 says, delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you your heart’s desire.” But how many of us really ever delight ourselves in the Lord...
In those down seasons, when everything feels stuck - turn your attention to God. Explore his character. Look at his love and mercy. Take your focus off of yourself, and put it on God where it belongs!
Use low moments to help you see your true blessings.
One of the things that David does often is to remember. You will find him worshipping - you will also find him telling stories of how God moved in his life in the past. You see, in low moments we often think that its the worst we’ve ever had it... But, if you will stop and think and remember - God will help you to see times where he has come to your rescue before...
Use low moments to think about your savior.
Those low times are great times to see all that God has done for you - and the greatest thing of course that he ever did was to save you. I was reading this week in 1 John 4:19, it says, “We love because he first loved us.” You and I tend to think that our love for God originates with us... But until we really get to know the savior, we can’t even comprehend real love.
Paul talks about our sufficiency that we find in Christ in Philippians 4:12-13 & 19...
