“Soul Talk: Restore Me”
Ps. 30
You know it’s going to be a bad day when: you turn on the morning news and they’re displaying emergency routes out of the city - your boss tells you not to bother taking off your coat - your horn gets stuck following a group of hell’s angels - when you jump out of bed and miss the floor - wake up in the morning and your dentures are locked together - when you call your answering service and they tell you none of your business.
We all have bad days, even bad periods in our lives. We all get discouraged. That’s why we can identify today with David as he bares his soul in Psalm 30. Let’s look first at his EXPERIENCE OF RESTORATION. Verses 6-7: “When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.” LORD, when you favored me, you made my royal mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.” Catch the problem? David had A FOOLISH ATTITUDE. When times are going well, we tend to become arrogant. We start thinking life will stay this way, which leads us to sub-consciously start depending on ourselves. “I will never be shaken.” Then we’re not ready when the bottom falls out – when the stroke strikes, the heart attack attacks, the cancer appears, the job disappears, the children rebel. We’re not ready. When we take God for granted, when we begin to presume upon God’s grace, we find ourselves dismayed. David, in fact, says he was flabbergasted, shattered – like his life was going to pieces: “…but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.”
In such moments of dismay we realize we are at the end of ourselves. With that realization David offered A FERVENT PRAYER. (8-10) “To you, LORD, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: “What is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness?” David begins with A PLEA FOR LIFE. He reminds God that if he dies, he will not be able to be a voice for or witness to God – he’s telling God that God needs him! It’s the same reasoning Paul used when he wrote the Philippians and wondered if he would live or die (1:24-25): “But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith.”
David follows that plea with A PLEA FOR HELP. “Hear, LORD, and be merciful to me; LORD, be my help.” The word ‘help’ is the same root word in Hebrew that is used in Genesis 2:18 where it says Eve was a ‘helpmate’ for Adam – one who was the complement and fulfillment of Adam. So David is praying that God will be his fulfillment, be what he needs in this time of distress. James, years later, said the same thing (5:13): “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray.”
The truth is, WE COME TO KNOW GOD BEST WHEN WE KNOW WE NEED HIM MOST! While staying alone in her convent, an 85-year-old Catholic nun got trapped inside a broken elevator for four nights and three days. She tried pushing the inside elevator door, but the electricity went off. She had her cell phone with her, but there wasn't a signal. Fortunately, she had a jar of water, some celery sticks, and a few cough drops with her. At first she said to herself, “This can't happen!” But then she decided to turn her elevator into a personal prayer retreat. "It was either panic or pray," she later told an interviewer for CNN. She started viewing the experience as a "gift." "I believe that God's presence was my strength and my joy—really," she said. "I felt God's presence almost immediately. I felt like he provided the opportunity for a closer relationship." (1) We come to know God best when we know we need Him most.
David’s foolish attitude which led to a fervent prayer, resulted in A FORCEFUL TESTIMONY. It begins in verse1: ““I exalt you, LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.” ‘LIFTED ME’ is the word used for pulling up a bucket from a well. Just as water cannot get out of a well without someone drawing it up, so David was deep in a pit, unable to climb out without help. Ever been in such a pit – fearful you may never get out? Perhaps you’re in one now, and longing to be pulled up and out. David’s testimony is that God rescued him, lifted him up and out. Do you trust God to reach down and lift you up? Are you ready to cry out to Him?
David also testified that God HEALED ME. (2) “LORD my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.” David had been very ill, but he knew God as the healer. When Israel was in the wilderness she grumbled against Moses because the water was bitter. (Ex. 15:25) “Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.” Then God said (Ex. 15:26) “I am the Lord who heals you.” So David went straight to the source and prayed to God for healing. And he was healed.
God later provide another piece of wood – at Calvary. It was the wood
upon which Jesus died. He took up our infirmities, carried our sorrows, was wounded and crushed for our sins, beaten that we might have peace, whipped so we could be healed! As the Psalmist wrote (103:3), He heals all our diseases. You may feel this morning that there is no hope for you; you’ve rejected God too often, shunned Him too long.
Perhaps you think you’ve backslidden too far. Maybe you’re sure your sin is too great. It might be that you’re convinced you’re not worth it to God. Possibly you are positive you’re too bitter to receive healing from God. Listen: the tree of Calvary still brings healing.
David continued his testimony (3): “You, LORD, brought me up from the realm of the dead; you spared me from going down to the pit.” He was at the brink of death – but God spared his life. Perhaps you, too, have been literally at the brink of death and can testify this morning that God spared you and gave you new life. The truth is, we were all at the brink of death – and God has spared us. As Paul wrote, (Rom. 3:23-24 & 6:23), “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus…For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
David’s testimony concludes in verse 11 by claiming God TRANSFORMED ME. “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy…” This great testimony is magnified by the Apostle Paul (2 Cor. 4:17) “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” Barry Zito was once known as one of the most dominating pitchers in Major League baseball. In a 2012 interview Zito explained how God had used suffering to get his attention and to lead him to commit his life to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Zito said: “Sometimes you have to go through difficulty and physical trials to really get broken down. In 2011, I got broken down physically as well as mentally... I had this very odd injury ... I came off the field … after never being hurt in 11 years, and I said, "All right, something bigger is going on here. A message is being sent, and I've got to listen." A few months later, I realized I'd been doing it alone. My best friend told me an old story I really love. A shepherd will be leading his sheep, and one of the sheep will be walking astray from the pack. The shepherd will take his rod and break the sheep's leg, and the sheep will have to rely on the shepherd to get better. But once that leg is completely healed, that sheep never leaves the side of the shepherd ever again.”(2) Barry was transformed. We come to know God best when we know we need Him most.
David, from his experience of restoration, learned some LESSONS OF EXPERIENCE. (4-5) Verse 5: “For his anger lasts only a moment,but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Lesson number one: GOD’S FAVOR IS LIFE-LONG. Weeping and sorrow, indeed, come into our lives. But David said the sorrow is like a traveler who lodges only for the night and in the morning continues on his way. In other words, God’s favor trumps and outlasts wrath and sorrow. The word ‘favor’ means acceptance, good will – they will last forever. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” It is God’s nature to be gracious. Weeping comes as a guest, but God's gracious favor is with us for a lifetime.
Therefore, lesson number two: JOY COMES IN THE MORNING. For David, this was the dawning of a new day after a painful time of suffering in darkness. That’s the way God works. Each morning, God's mercies are new (Lam. 3:22-23), and God's special help often arrives in the morning. "God will help her when morning dawns" (46:5; NASB). The resurrection of Jesus Christ brought the dawning of a new day for all who trust in Him (Matt. 28:1). As Jesus explained to His disciples, God doesn't replace sorrow with joy; He transforms sorrow into joy (John 16:20-22). The same baby that causes the mother pain also brings the mother joy.(3) Joy comes in the morning.
Over 100 years ago, a tornado struck the prairies of Minnesota. Many were killed, hundreds were injured, and one small town was almost demolished. In the midst of the disaster, an elderly British surgeon and his two medically trained sons worked almost around the clock for days aiding the stricken, bandaging wounds, and setting broken limbs. Their heroic work did not go unnoticed. Their excellence as physicians and their selflessness in the service of those in need created a following among the tornado victims. The doctor and his sons were offered financial backing to build a hospital, provided that they took charge. The men agreed and in 1889 founded a clinic that soon attracted nationwide attention. Their little clinic grew. The city was Rochester, Minnesota. The elderly doctor’s name: William W. Mayo. His sons: William J. and Charles Mayo. Their clinic is called simply “The Mayo Clinic.” It now consists of over 500 physicians treating more than 200,000 people a year. It is known worldwide as one of the premier places of health, healing and excellence in medicine. If you asked the citizens of Minnesota about the Rochester tornado at the time, they would have said it was all about death and destruction, an unqualified disaster. But, put in the perspective of better than a century, and in the hands of a creative God, the tornado was really about life, help, and healing. Joy comes in the morning.
I am moved by how the book Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life reminds us: “To us, who cry out form the depths of our brokenness for a hand that will touch us, an arm that can embrace us, lips that will kiss us, a word that speaks to us here and now, and a heart that is not afraid of our fears and trembling; to us, who feel our own pain as no other human being feels it, has felt it, or ever will feel it and who are always waiting for someone who dares to come close – to us a person has come who could truly say, ‘I am with you.’ Jesus Christ, who is God-with-us, has come to us in the freedom of love, not needing to experience our human condition but freely choosing to do so out of love.” (4)
Isaiah prophesied it centuries ago: God will “provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beautyinstead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” Do you believe it? Turn to your neighbor and say: “Neighbor, weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning”.
The whole experience taught David lesson number three: GIVE THANKS. (12) “LORD my God, I will praise you forever.” Recognizing that his journey from the pits and the brink of death to wellness and wholeness was all because of the mercy and grace of God, David was overwhelmed with the desire to praise God forever. He would make it the theme of his life. It begs the questions – how many times have you been restored by God through mercy and grace? How often do you thank Him?
An English postal worker was in charge of letters inadequately addressed. One Christmas season he discovered a card from his own daughter to Santa. It said, “We’re very sad at our house this year. My little brother went to heaven last week. You needn’t leave me anything. But if you could give Daddy something that would make him stop crying, I wish you would. I heard him say to Mommy that only eternity can cure him. Could you send him some of that?” So God sent His Son; only He can cure us; only He can give us eternal life. Because of Jesus we are not in the pits forever. Our losses and illnesses, even or grief, are not permanent; weeping will not last forever. Joy will come in the morning. Jesus, in fact, has gone to prepare it for us. Peter wrote (1 Pt. 3:18), “Christ…never sinned, but he died for sinners that he might bring us safely home to God.”
Jesus is here this morning. You can be restored. When heaven comes down our longing is fulfilled. Paul wrote it beautifully in Titus 3:3-8 (NLT): “BUT THEN GOD OUR SAVIOR SHOWED US HIS KINDNESS AND LOVE. HE SAVED US, NOT BECAUSE OF THE GOOD THINGS WE DID, BUT BECAUSE OF HIS MERCY. HE WASHED AWAY OUR SINS AND GAVE US A NEW LIFE THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT. HE GENEROUSLY POURED OUT THE SPIRIT UPON US BECAUSE OF WHAT JESUS CHRIST OUR SAVIOR DID. HE DECLARED US NOT
GUILTY BECAUSE OF HIS GREAT KINDNESS. AND NOW WE KNOW THAT WE WILL INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE.”
(1) Jenny Wilson, "Nun Stuck in Elevator Survives Four Nights on Celery Sticks, Water and Cough Drops," Time.com (4-28-11)
PreachingToday.com
(2) Tim Keown, "A Man in the Game," ESPN Magazine (12-1-12), from PreachingToday.com
(3) Bible Exposition Commentary (BE Series) - Old Testament - The Bible Exposition Commentary – Wisdom and Poetry.
(4) Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life, Henri J. M. Nouwen, Donald P. McNeill, Douglas A. Morrison, Image Books, Doubleday, © 1982 by Henri J. M. Nouwen, Donald P. McNeill, Douglas A. Morrison, p. 21
