Title: Overcoming Despair
Text: Psalm 13:1-6
“How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? 3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; 4 my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my foes will rejoice when I fall. 5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. 6 I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.
Look at a 5 part outline for overcoming despair
1.The definition of despair –what is despair?
2.The depth of despair – how bad does despair get?
3.The duration of despair – how long does despair last?
4.The desire in our despair – what should we ask God for when we are in despair
5.The decision in our despair – what we should do to help overcome despair.
1.The definition of despair
A. Definition of despair: Despair is having a deep sense of hopelessness.
B. The Apostle Paul tells us who is a candidate for despair in 2 Cor. 1:8
“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.”
2 Cor. 1:8
C. If you find yourself under great pressure you are a candidate for despair!
D. If you suffer a HUGE hardship you are a candidate for despair.
2. The depth of despair
How bad does despair get?
David felt despair at its worst.
1. David felt deep despair spiritually.
“How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
2. David felt deep despair emotionally
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?
3. David felt deep despair physiologically
“How long will my enemy triumph over me?”
Let’s take a few more moments to look more closely at these 3 levels of despair.
Notice that despair hit David hardest on the spiritual level
Why? Because
1. David loved God more than he loved anyone else.
2. God meant everything to David.
3. David could no more forget God than he could forget his own name.
But here in Psalm 13 David is in deepest despair spiritually because
•He feels that God had forgotten him.
•And to make matters worse David feels that God has forgotten him deliberately.
•God is intentionally hiding himself from David.
For those who truly love God your greatest despair when it comes will be spiritual in nature.
Jesus- “My God my God why have you forsaken me?”
2. David felt deep despair emotionally
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?
Here we see that despair has gotten deep inside of David.
Despair has taken control over David’s mind and over David’s heart.
Every single day David wrestled with thoughts of despair.
Every single day despair filled David’s heart with sorrow.
3. David felt despair physiologically
“How long will my enemy triumph over me?”
David tells God he is losing the war against despair.
Application: How are you doing in your war against despair?
Specific: How are you doing spiritually?
How are you doing emotionally?
How are you doing physiologically?
If you are not doing well with despair David understands!
3.The duration of despair
How long does despair last?
This is probably the first question we all ask when we face times of despair in our lives.
When we look at Psalm 13 we find that David asks the same question “how long”4 different times in the first 2 verses.
“How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?
So how long does despair last?
The truth is: Only God really knows how long despair lasts.
David asked God in verse 1 if his despair would last forever.
Because when you find yourself in deep despair it can seem like it will never go away.
The reality is that some people experience despair for a long time.
4.The desire in our despair
What is often our one and only prayer to God in the midst of our despair?
Get me out of my despair NOW!
But what does David pray for God to do as he is in despair?
Give light to my eyes...
David prays “Give light to my eyes!”
Interpretation: As long as I’m in despair my only prayer is “give light to my eyes.”
God let me see what you see!
Because unless I see what you see; 3 terrible things are going to happen…
…I will sleep in death; 4 my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
In our despair we pray for God to change our circumstances
In his despair David prays for God to change him
Give me a new set of eyes!
The Apostle Paul had that new set of eyes.
“All things work for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose." Paul saw the good in all things
5.The decision in our despair
What should we choose to do if we are in despair?
David decides he is going to do 3 things. (v5-6)
5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. 6 I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.”
1.Even in my despair I will trust in your unfailing love.
Even in my despair I will trust that God still loves me…
But if he loves me why am I in such despair?
God loves you and me in so many different ways.
And some of those different ways that God loves us can only be experienced when we are in despair.
When we are in despair He might show his love to us through a specific promise in the Bible.
He might give you a specific verse that will mean far more to you because you are in despair than it would if you were not in despair.
“Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.” Micah 7:8
That verse is going to mean far more to someone who is in despair than it will mean to someone who isn’t in despair.
Thank you God that you love us in so many different ways. And thank you that some of those ways can only be experienced when we are in despair.
The second decision David makes in his despair is
2.I will rejoice in your salvation.
Not only will I trust in your unfailing love but I will rejoice in your salvation.
Here is where David is different…
You and I rejoice in God after the salvation has already happened.
David on the other hand decides to rejoice in God before the salvation happens.
You and I rejoice in God’s salvation after the despair is gone
David rejoices in God’s salvation before the despair is gone.
You and I rejoice in God’s salvation after the battle is won.
David rejoices in God’s salvation before the battle is won.
We say to God “Take away the despair and then I’ll rejoice.”
God says “You rejoice and then I’ll take away the despair.”
The third decision David makes in his despair is
3.I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.
One of the best things we can do for ourselves in the midst of our despair is to recall/write down all the good things God has already done for us.
Despair not only causes us to fear the future it also cause us to forget the past.
Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-- 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. (psalm 103:1-6)
Take a moment and recall some of the good things God has done for each one of us.
Conclusion
God loves us in our despair. He wants us to trust Him, depend upon Him and Praise Him.
