Hope amid life’s struggles
Psalm 42
As we have watched this summer pass we have seen many difficult events break out across the world. Some were natural disasters while others were of cruel injustice and war perpetrated by our fellow human beings. Against all this we had the backdrop of the Summer Olympic Games and for a short time it gave the world hope.
But the games came and went and we found ourselves having to deal with still more death, disaster and grief. How are we to cope in such a world?
As Pastor Randy Frazee says…
“We simply cannot live without hope.
Christian hope is an anchor for our souls. It stabilizes us during difficult seasons because we know this is not how our story ends. It is rooted in our belief and trust in a personal God, His salvation and eternity. If we believe these truths in our hearts, then it will produce a hope that doesn’t disappoint.” Source: “Believe” pg. 402 Randy Frazee 2015 Zondervan.
For us that hope is echoed in the pages of scripture and rests in a Savior.
Hebrews 6:19-20 reminds us;
19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
Have you ever felt despair as you faced life’s struggles?
Well you’d be in good company Biblically speaking. Nearly all the Biblical figures you and I know had to deal with finding hope amid life’s struggles.
Job was just such a person as he lost everything in one day, his farm, his family and his future. Even his health came under attack.
Job came to realize that only by turning to God could he make sense of his life and the calamities that he was suffering. After much soul searching Job found peace with God and discovered that his hope rested in the love and restoring power of God’s grace. God restored Job in a miraculous way and renewed his hope and faith. Read the book of Job and you will discover renewed hope through his trials.
Job was just a simple farmer but even Kings have wrestled with despair and hopelessness. Yes from the lowly to the mighty this has been a timeless battle for every human being.
King David who started out as a shepherd boy would grow to be the king of the nation of Israel. "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown", Source: Shakespeare’s play Henry IV part 2 are true words for any monarch trying to navigate the affairs of a nation.
Psalm 42 is thought to have been written by King David but it is ascribed to the “Sons of Korah”. These were men who were gifted in worship and it is thought that they may have served King David as a kind of “Praise Team” of that time. It may have been their responsibility to write the music and or lead the choir or congregation in the singing of Psalms such as this.
This particular Psalm or song is thought to have been written by David during a tumultuous time in the Kingdom. Source: Life Application Study Bible pg.1139 Tyndale House Publishing Wheaton Illinois Zondervan 1988
One of David’s sons Absalom had made a bid for the throne while David was still sitting on it and this open rebellion caused David to vacate the palace and Jerusalem itself. That meant that David also had to leave the “Tabernacle of God” where the Ark of the Covenant was established in the Holy of Holies behind the curtain in the tent of meeting.
Hebrews 6:19-20 which I mentioned in my opening is a picture of this kind of worship.
This family fight drove David away from the palace and away from the sanctuary of God. David found his hope in the Lord shaken and threatened by the actions of his own son.
There are a lot of things that can keep people away from church nowadays as well. Some folks may even blame their children as a reason for staying away from church today. It may be that they want to spend quality time with them or that they want their kids to make their own decisions about faith and God.
People use all kinds of excuses to justify their broken relationships with God but in David’s case it was not his choice it was a matter of life and death.
It may have been that realization that caused Psalm 42 to be written with such vivid imagery. It leaps off the page much like the 23rd Psalm does.
In verse 1 of Psalm 42 David likens himself to a deer panting in the forest. A deer only gets to panting if it has been running hard trying to avoid a predator. Such were the real circumstances for David.
Here we understand that David is parched for the streams of water to the extent that his soul is panting for God not just his throat. Psalm 42:1
David’s souls is desperate for relief from the thirst it is experiencing. He seeks the “living God”. Psalm 42:2
In this phrase we come to know that David believes his hope is still alive because God is alive – the living God is still there even though David cannot be in the sanctuary of the Tabernacle in Jerusalem God is still there with him in the forest as he is on the run trying to stay alive. (Omnipresent)
David lets us know his only food his only sustenance has been his tears day and night as everyone around this king asks him “Where is your God” in all this King David? Psalm 42:3
How strange that those around us should marvel at us when we face struggles in life just like everyone else?
Christians and Jews are not exempt from trials just because we have put our faith in God and David was no exception. God is not a respecter of persons the Bible tells us. Acts 10:34.
The life of a Christian just like the life of a non-Christian is subject to the same conflicts, the same hardships, the same battles. The difference is that those who put their faith and hope in God have a Savior to lean upon, to guide them and comfort them as they walk through such events. Psalm 42:5
We cannot be certain as to how long David was on the run but it was for several months as he needed to shore up support in order to take back his kingdom. This separation from the place of worship drove David into a despair and challenged his hope in the Lord.
He says… in Psalm 42:4 ….
These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
under the protection of the Mighty One
with shouts of joy and praise
among the festive throng.
John Knox wonderfully captures the mood of this passage as he wrote about it in his translation.
“Memories come back to me yet, melting the heart; how once I would join with the throng, leading the way to God’s house, amid cries of joy and thanksgiving, and all the bustle of holiday.” Source: “Believer’s Bible Commentary” Dr. William MacDonald pg. 615 Thomas Nelson Publishers 1995.
David paints a word picture for us here that evokes all the emotion and spirit that we feel as a throng as a congregation in celebration before God in His Sanctuary. The wonderful days of praise that we would tie to our Christian calendar of events and festivals.
Again the scholars believe it was just such a time when these things fell upon David, he may have had to miss a major time of celebration or Jewish festival and was kept from it because of this rebellion.
We see once more that it is rebellion both real and spiritual that can sometimes separate us from worshiping God with fellow believers. Our heart and soul long to be there but we remain separated by rebellion and conflict.
Time does not permit me to go verse by verse but when we come to Psalm 42:5 David discovers the answer and he illuminates it for us.
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
David realizes that no matter what his circumstance he can be in God’s presence whenever he lifts praise to God. It’s really that simple folks.
Psalm 22:3
A powerful message of HOPE is ours when we praise our God amidst the struggles of life.
Now friends that will take real strength, it will take spiritual strength.
But you can find that strength in your faith of Jesus Christ.
Our God reminds us that He is with us as we face the struggles and enemies that confront us.
Deuteronomy 31:6
6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Let us put our hope in the Lord no matter what the conflict and like David we will see the trouble pass and our hope restored as God brings us through to victory.
Amen.
