“Soul Talk: How Can I Ever Trust?”
Ps. 31
It’s interesting how we view famous people or those in authority over us. We want them to be distinctively different from us and yet we long for them to be human enough that they’re like us – we want them to be removed from us and yet be our friend. We feel this way about ministers, presidents, famous athletes, and heroes. They must be different enough to earn our respect yet human and likeable enough that we are comfortable with them.
I believe we feel the same way towards God. We want God to be totally other – holier and more pure than we are; and yet we want him to relate to us as a dear friend so we can feel close to Him, so we can trust Him. And that’s alright – even Scripture holds this dual expectation. It’s within this perspective that we look this morning at the mind and heart of David, who was a servant, but also a friend of God.
Consider Psalm 31. This is A RECORD OF A FRIEND’S FAITH. David was in despair. He was in anguish physically, mentally, and emotionally. He was exhausted, weary from what had become the struggle of life. So in the midst of his brokenness HE MADE A DECISION. Verse 14: “But I trust in you, Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’” Rather than abandon his faith, or get angry with God, David decided to hang on with God, to trust Him. This is, therefore, a Psalm of trust. In verse 1-8 David wrote: “In you, Lord, I have taken refuge…be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me…you are my refuge…Into your hand I commit my spirit…I trust in the Lord.” Realize this decision to trust did not come from one who sat on the mountaintop where life is beautiful, peaceful, quiet, and undisturbed. It came from one who suffered from illness, was persecuted by adversaries, and shunned and rejected by his friends. But He stuck with God (9-14): “I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors and an object of dread to my closest friends-- those who see me on the street flee from me. I am forgotten as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. For I hear whispering, “There is terror on every side!” They conspire against me and plot to take my life. But I trust in you, LORD; I say, "You are my God." PEOPLE COULD DESTROY HIS REPUTATION BUT NOT HIS CONFIDENCE IN GOD. Even though David could not see God’s hands, he willingly placed himself in God’s hands. He knew God had taken responsibility for his life and he trusted him with it.
I remind you today that at your baptism God also took responsibility for your life. Recall the words which end the baptismal ceremony: “In baptism you are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own fore ever.” TRUST DEPENDS NOT ON GOD BUT ON YOU. Are you willing to trust Him? Even if you are suffering from illness, being persecuted by adversaries, or shunned and rejected by friends, will you stick with God? Even if you came this morning unable to see God’s hands in some area of your life – will you willingly place yourself in His hands? As with David, the decision is yours.
David made a decision BASED ON A CONVICTION. Verse 15: “My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me.” “My times are in your hands.” David was convinced that far from being removed from the events of his life, God was, in fact, INTIMATELY INVOLVED IN THEM. “Times” are those critical moments or events in one’s life which ultimately determine the course of one’s life. David is turning over the resolution of these times, these events, to God. “I entrust my life to your sovereign disposition. It’s up to you. And that’s okay!” I was once inspired by a message by John Maxwell in which he shared the defining moments of his life. One of his points was that he planned none of them – they all just occurred. His only task was to respond to them. And how he responded to them determined the course his life would take. That led me to reflect on those ‘times’, those defining moments in my life – and there are many. Sometimes I have responded well, and sometimes not. But every decision and response has impacted the direction of my life. But the ‘times’ are in God’s hands. They are mine only in that they happen in my life and they demand a decision from me. I, for example, never planned on pastoring Hope Reformed Church of South Haven. Sorry, but you were never on my radar! But God provided a time – a defining moment –which demanded a decision. So 10 years ago on Labor Day weekend, I preached here as we scoped each other out. And, well…for better or worse, here I am.
I love how David put it: ‘MY TIMES – YOUR HANDS.” We cannot control the ‘times’ of our lives but we can control our response to them. ‘My times – Your hands.” As Leslie Brandt paraphrased Psalm 31: “There is no place to go, nothing to cling to. I can only come back to You and cast myself on Your loving mercy. You are my God…From this point on I will dedicate my hours and my days into Your loving hands. I seek only Your guidance and strength to carry out Your purposes. Restore me, O God, to your program and design for my life.” ‘My times – Your hands.”
What would it mean for you to affirm this conviction today? ‘My times – Your hands.” What would you need to release to God? How would it change your response to some current ‘time’ in your life? Can you say with Paul, who wrote Timothy (2 Tim. 1:12): “…I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day?” ‘My times – Your hands.” Can you, in the depths of your soul, share the conviction that “I trust in (God) so completely that I have no doubt that he will provide me with all things necessary for body and soul; that Moreover, whatever adversity he sends upon me in this troubled life he will turn to my good, for he is able to do it, being almighty God, and is determined to do it, being a faithful Father?” Are you absolutely convinced of “The almighty and ever-present power of God whereby he still upholds, as it were by his own hand, heaven and earth together with all creatures, and rules in such a way that leaves and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and unfruitful years, food and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, and everything else, come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand?” ‘My times – Your hands.” And that’s okay.
Do these convictions make a difference? Beyond a doubt. David, a friend of God, made a decision based on a conviction that was ANCHORED IN EXPECTATION. Verse 16: “Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love.” David anticipated the blessing he knew would come to him. To have God’s face shine is to RECEIVE THE FAVOR AND BLESSING OF THE LORD, to be delivered from whatever imprisons or haunts us. The phrase comes from the benediction of Aaron: “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance (put his appearance – His features) upon you and give you peace.” That’s what David expected. He said, in essence, “However it goes with my body, let it go well with my soul. Shine on me.” Do you expect the Lord to bless you? Do you really want Him to shine his glory on you? That’s the difference a firm conviction makes. As the Heidelberg Catechism states: “We learn that we are to be patient in adversity, grateful in the midst of blessing, and to trust our faithful God and Father for the future, assured that no creature shall separate us from his love, since all creatures are so completely in his hand that without his will they cannot even move.” ‘My times – Your hands. Shine on me!”
What a record of faith – David made a decision based on a conviction anchored in expectation. And because of that we see A RESPONSE TO A FRIEND’S FAITH. Some of the most popular television shows have featured and highlighted the closeness of friends. Shows like ’Seinfeld’ ‘Friends’, and ‘Cheers’ comically portrayed groups of friends who survived and stuck together no matter what. They may not have always agreed on everything, they may not have always trusted each other, they may not always have gotten along but somehow they stuck together. Our Scriptures for today give us an even clearer picture a true friend and introduces us to such a friend. GOD SENT A FRIEND. The servant in Isaiah demonstrates his friendship with the people in a dramatic way: “I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.” God sent the Israelites someone who understood and cared, who was willing to stand in their place and take their punishment. That’s a true friend. The late Mel Johnson, one of the originators of ‘Children’s Bible Hour’, once wrote this ‘Portrait of a Friend.’ “When things don’t come out right he comes right in. When none of your dreams come true, he is. He never looks for money except when you’ve lost it. He never gets in your way except to clear it for you. Nothing is more important to him than making you important. He is in your corner when you’re cornered. He turns up when you get turned down. All he wants in return for his helping hand is your handshake. He raps your critics when they’re wrong and takes the rap for you when they are right. You can do anything you want with his friendship except buy it or sell it. He makes you realize that having a real friend is life having an extra life.” That’s a true friend – someone you can trust.
And God has sent us such a friend – HIS NAME IS JESUS. If anyone could understand David’s plight, if anyone could understand our plight, it is Jesus. His enemies plotted for His life, false witnesses testified against Him, and He was betrayed and abandoned by His friends. He was beaten, spit on, and killed – for us! That’s a really true friend. There once was a grandfather who one day found his grandson jumping up and down in his playpen, crying at the top of his voice. When little Johnny saw grandpa he reached up and sobbed, “Out, grampa, out.” As grandpa was about to reach down and lift him up he heard Johnnie’s mother say, “No, Johnny, you are being punished.” What a dilemma for grandpa. Johnnys tears reached deep in to his heart, but the mother’s discipline must not be taken lightly. (Talk about love versus law!) So grandpa did what only love could do – he climbed into the playpen with Johnny. That’s a true friend – that’s true love. So Jesus left the glories of heaven to come to earth, to climb into the pen of our lives in order to better love us. Jesus wants to be your friend – He wants to love you. Will you let Him? That’s why God sent Him.
But that’s not all. God not only sent a friend to love and to care – He sent a friend WHO IS OUR LORD. He sent someone with the authority and power to act on our behalf – Jesus our Lord! Observe the source of His authority: “Into your hands I commit my spirit.” Jesus quoted and identified with David – and He did it as He breathed his last breath upon the cross. As Paul wrote (Phil. 2:5-8): “… being in very nature God, (He) did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! He had accomplished what God sent Him to do – he obtained for us salvation. And as a result, “God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Jesus not only cares and understands our ‘times’, HE HAS ALL POWER AND AUTHORITY TO HELP US. Centuries ago a member of King Cyrus’s court, who held great favor with Cyrus, was prepared to give his daughter in marriage to a great man. When someone asked him where he would ever get the means to provide the required dowry, he responded, “What need I care? Cyrus in my friend.” When you stand in need, can you say, “What need I care? Jesus is my friend; I can trust Him!” Corrie TenBoom put it well: “When Jesus takes your hand, He keeps you tight. When Jesus keeps you tight, He leads you through your whole life. When Jesus leads you through your life, He brings you safely home.” (1)
Jesus wants to be your friend, to protect you and lead you safely home. He makes this moment a defining moment. Will you follow Jesus no matter what? Will you stand with him when the crowds disperse and everyone has left Him alone? Will you stick with Him even when He confounds your dreams and fails your expectations? Will you follow Jesus wherever He leads you? Are you prepared to make a decision based on a conviction anchored in expectation? To celebrate an old man’s seventy-fifth birthday, an aviation enthusiast offered to take him for a plane ride over the little West Virginia town where he spent all his life. The old man accepted the offer. Back on the ground, after circling over the town twenty minutes, his friend asked, “Were you scared, Uncle Dudley?” “No-o-o,” was the hesitant answer. “But I never did put my full weight down.” (2)
Are you ready to put your fill weight in Jesus’ hands? Will you stick with him, no matter what? If so, Jesus will climb in your pen with you and you will shine. He will always be with you, always help you. Make friends with Jesus right now. Give your life to Him. Let ‘My times – Your hands’ be the theme of your life. Let ‘Shine on me’ be the prayer of your life. Let ‘It is well with my soul’ be the confidence of your life. In this defining moment, the decision is yours.
(1) Morgan, R. J. (2000). Nelson’s Complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed., p. 381). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
(2) Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (p. 1526). Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.
