Flashback
In Psalm 27:13 David said I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
What is a Flashback?
a : interruption of chronological sequence (as in a film or literary work) by interjection of events of earlier occurrence;also : an instance of flashback
b : a past incident recurring vividly in the mind
As we look at our text David here is praying that God would grant him protection He is asking the Lord not to forsake him because he is at a point in his life where he is in great need. Like many of us David knows how to pray....he knows how to seek God’s face and that's what David was doing however it seemed as if David himself was forsaken and surely in this momentous moment in his life when it seems that God is refusing to help him it seems as God is hiding Himself in a day when David is in trouble and like many of us when we are in trouble we want the Lord to come speedily and in a hurry to see about us. Like many times before David knew that He could look to the hills from whence cometh his help because he knew that it was the Lord who had been his Helper. Strengthened by the knowledge that the Lord would not forsake him, even when his father and mother walked out and left him He had a flashback and said God you took me in.
Sometimes we need to find and bring to surface again that inner confidence that we once had before we felt faint some of you here this morning feel like your not going to make it as a matter of fact you have lost your confidence in God and you don’t know if your going to live to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. All you need to do is have a flashback and think about the goodness of God and just how good He’s been to you down in your sanctified souls and I guarantee you that you will get your confidence back. No matter what hits you, God is no less in charge; His plan is no less on target. Things may be out of your control , but they're never out of His control. If you trust Him, He will give you just the equipment you need for the battle you're facing, because God's plan will not lead you where His grace cannot keep you.
Why People Faint
When Jacob’s sons returned from Egypt and told him of Joseph and his position there, "Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not" (Genesis 45:26). Unbelief produces the same effect spiritually. Anything that causes us to let go our faith will bring fainting. Sorrow is also a cause for fainting. "When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me" (Jeremiah 8:18). Anything that causes discouragement reacts on faith and it causes us to faint if we yield to its influence. When people faint spiritually, they feel just as Jonah did when he fainted literally. He "wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live" (Jonah 4:8). Many people have felt exactly this way because of the things they are going through spiritually.
David said, "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord" (Psalms 27:13). When people do not hold fast their faith, they cannot see the manifestation of the goodness of the Lord in coming to their help. If they will hold fast their trust, he will bring them safely through. But instead of holding fast, many people heed the suggestion of the enemy, "You might as well give up." They listen, are convinced, and act upon his advice. Thus, they take the worst possible way out of their trouble, and then, instead of getting out, they only find themselves in deeper. O soul, do not faint at your tribulations, but trust in God, and he will not fail you. He is watching over you. He will let the fire become just hot enough to take out the dross. It will refine you, but not destroy you. You will only be the better for those tests of life. God may have to reprove and chasten you, but that will not be for your destruction, but for you profit. Believe in God; believe in your own integrity. Hold fast your confidence, and you will never faint. If you have fainted, begin to believe again, and your spirit will be revived as did the heart of Jacob when he believed.
1. Flashback - God never leaves us alone
Before believers succumb to the temptation to doubt God, they should remember that God has never left them alone.
That was Asaph’s conclusion. He remembered that in times past he never dropped his faith in God and God never left him alone.
When believers consider their walk with God, they soon realize that even though they have lived in an unfair world, God has responded to the unfairness of the world by giving extra favor to believers.
It was unfair for Israel to be punished so hard by Egypt but God showed favor toward them in the land of Goshen because they received fresh water and fertile lands even when others suffered drought.
God has favored us too. If he would have been fair to us he would have let us drown in our own sins, but he lifted us by his grace.
If he would have been fair he would have allowed the world to trample us when we failed in school, in business, in our marriage or in a life pursuit; instead he favored us with one more chance. The fact is, God has been extremely unfair in his dealing with us. He saved us when the fair thing to do is to give us what we deserve. It’s a good thing that God has not given us what we deserve but given us his grace! He has never left us, although the fair thing to do would have been to leave us like we often leave him.
He has never stopped blessing us, although the fair thing to do would be to stop blessing us every time we stop praising him or paying our tithes and offerings.
He has never abandoned us. He has never left us alone.
2. Flashback - We have been blessed by our Red Sea experiences
When Israel was freed from slavery, they marched toward the Promised Land with a quick pace, but God led them to the Red Sea instead of through an inland route that would have been the logical choice. Trapped between the Red Sea and Egypt, the armies of Egypt pursued them with the goal of returning them to slavery in mind.
At the Red Sea, God performed a wonderful act that was awe inspiring to the Israelites and terrifying to the Egyptians. He opened the Red Sea and allowed the Israelites to cross over on dry ground and drowned their Egyptian pursuers in a watery grave.
Had Israel returned to the Promised Land without the Red Sea experience, their history would have been totally different and less dependent upon God.
So it is with African-American families today. Had it not been for our Red Sea experiences, we would not be as close to God as we are today. It's the fact that we are accustomed to Red Sea experiences that we stay close to God.
Historically, our faith in God has conditioned us to adopt two attitudes: 1) We expect Red Sea experiences and 2) We expect God to roll back the waters for us to cross over on dry land!
3. Flashback - God is still blessing us today
The beauty of erecting an Ebenezer stone is that it does not simply recognize what God has done in the past, but it looks at what God is still doing!
The Ebenezer stone does not simply say God was good for Daniel and the Three Hebrew Boys, but it also says that God is still able to deliver.
The Ebenezer stone does not simply say that God was good for grandma! It does not simply say God was good for grandpa! It does not simply say that God was good back then, but it also says that He is still good right now!
Hitherto reaches over into the past and brings God into the present. "Hitherto" transcends time and removes God from the trophies of past victories and elevates Him as the symbol of present victories.
That's why, long after Samuel had erected the Ebenezer stone, David could write in Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."
That's why he could boldly declare in Psalm 27:1 "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"
God is still in the blessing business!
That's why the song writer declared: "The Lord is blessing me right now. He woke me up this morning and started me on my way. The Lord is blessing me right now!"
4. Flashback - God did it for us once and can do it again
When something miraculous happens in front of us, we are prompted to ask whether or not it was the real thing or whether it was a fluke.
When Muhammad Ali knocked out Sonny Liston to become the heavyweight champion of the world, everyone said, "It was great, but can he do it again?" When Venus and Serena Williams won Wimbledon, the world said it was great, "but can they do it again?"
The World's Series champs last year won accolades around the world, but then the sportscaster asks the question, "Can they do it again?"
It's one thing to get to the top, but it's even harder to stay there! Staying there requires the ability to maintain the power and strength exerted to get there repeatedly.
What about God? If he blessed us once, can he do it again? If he opened a door for us that seemed impossibly secured, can he do it again? If he healed us of a sickness in the past can he do it again? If he once helped us overcome an obstacle in our lives, is he able to do it again?
I heard the songwriter P.J. Morton say,
Soon as I stopped worrying
Worrying how the story ends
When I let go And I let God
Let God have His way
That's when things start happening
When I stopped looking at back then
When I let go and I let God I let God have His way--
