FRUSTRATED WITH GOD
Psalm 10:1-18
S: Trust
Th: Prayer: A Passion for His Presence
Pr: WE CAN TRUST GOD IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE.
?: Inductive
KW: steps
TS: We will find in our study of Psalm 10, three steps that will help us understand how to handle frustration with God.
The ____ step is (the)…
I. PROBLEM (1-11)
II. PROPOSAL (12-15)
III. PROVIDENCE (16-18)
Version: ESV
RMBC 17 Nov 02 AM
INTRODUCTION:
1. Have you ever felt frustrated?
ILL Notebook: Location (main entrance)
A small storeowner was being pressured to sell his store to the owners of a large department store who had bought every building on the block, except his. Frustrated by the man’s refusal to sell, they eventually opened their huge store on either side of the small one, with a big banner running from one side to the other, proclaiming in huge letters "GRAND OPENING."
Feeling equally frustrated, the small storeowner did finally outsmart the large department store. Below the grand opening sign, across the front of his small store, the man put up a small banner over his door: "MAIN ENTRANCE."
Well, that is one creative way to deal with frustration.
There is an art, you know, in bugging, annoying and frustrating people.
Now if you are into this, let me share with you a few ideas on how to frustrate other people…
ILL Notebook: Annoy (How to bug people) [selected]
1. Whenever you are in public, practice making fax and modem noises.
2. Whenever you go through a drive-through at a fast food place, make sure you emphasize that your order is “to go.”
3. While you are driving, keep your car windshield wipers running in all weather conditions to "keep them tuned up."
4. Repeat the following conversation a dozen times: "Do you hear that?” "What?" "Never mind, it’s gone now."
5. Finish all your sentences with the words, "in accordance with prophesy."
6. When you go to an opera, sing along.
7. Ask your coworkers mysterious questions and then scribble their answers in a notebook. Mutter something about psychological profiles.
Believe me…do these things…and you will frustrate people.
Kidding aside though, we are often frustrated by what people do.
But let me ask you this…
2. Have you ever felt frustrated with God?
When things aren’t going right, we often wonder why God lets them happen.
Over a year ago, on 9/11, many of us though that, didn’t we?
We wondered why God would allow men to hijack airplanes that would crash into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and into a field in Pennsylvania.
Why would God allow such evil to go unchecked?
But that is not all…
Why does God allow the hostility in the Middle East to continue?
Why do certain Palestinians feel the need to blow up innocent women and children with suicide bombers?
Or why do people who desire to practice their Christian faith in countries like Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Bangladesh (and so many, many others) find their homes and churches bombed and burned down, persecuted for what they believe?
Why does God allow that?
Or perhaps you have been going through your own personal tragedy.
Perhaps you have lost a spouse.
Or maybe you have been through a divorce.
Possibly you have strained relationships with your parents or children.
Perhaps you are struggling at work, knowing that as the company downsizes, that you may be one of the victims.
Where is God in all of this?
Why does God allow it?
And how long is it going to take for Him to do something about it?
Well, you are not the only one in history to ask such questions.
In fact, the text of Scripture we are studying today asks some of the very same questions.
So…
3. We will find in our study of Psalm 10 three steps that will help us handle frustration with God.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first step is the PROBLEM (1-11).
Hear the questions and statements of frustration of the psalmist:
[1] Why, O Lord, do you stand afar off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? [2] In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised. [3] For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord. [4] In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.” [5] His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them. [6] He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.” [7] His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity. [8] He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless; [9] he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net. [10] The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might. [11] He says in his heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
1. Sometimes, it seems that God is indifferent to wickedness.
The psalmist begins with “Why?”
God seems to be far away.
“Why are you so far away?”
“Why are you hiding?”
“God, You are needed here!”
“You need to be seen!”
“What are you waiting for?”
These are the words of frustration about a God that seems to be distant and hidden.
But there is good reason for the frustration.
The psalmist feels a moral outrage.
For…
2. Why does arrogance go unchecked?
The psalmist’s complaint is about the wicked that think they can pursue the afflicted, the helpless and the poor without any reaction by God.
They act as of they have immunity.
It is as if they perceive God’s absence, so much so that they do not even bother to hide their innermost desires and lusts.
And what is their thought of God?
It is absolute contempt.
They ignore the possibility of God and His judgement.
They literally snort at their foes in disdain.
They strut about, proud that no one can or will stop them.
Their speech is nasty and deceitful.
They will take down those they oppose with no regard to any ethical standard, except their own.
They will lie to get ahead at the expense of others.
They are Satan’s lackeys.
Their wickedness is boundless.
Their conscience is seared.
So…
3. Why does ruthlessness continue without penalty?
These people are ruthless, harsh and hard-hearted.
The psalmist continues to describe their character by providing metaphors.
They are like a thief waiting for the right time to come and steal.
They are like a murderer who waits in the dark for their victim.
They are like a lion waiting for the pounce, in order to consume their prey.
ILL Count of Monte Cristo
In the recently released movie that is based loosely on the book of the same title, The Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond Dantes, a newly named captain of a shipping vessel, is unjustly imprisoned, accused of conspiracy and a murder that he did not commit. His imprisonment is a set-up by a jealous first mate, a boyhood friend who is also jealous of his friend’s advancement, and by a corrupted public prosecutor.
When Dantes is sent to prison, he is welcomed by an evil warden with a beating. When the warden makes a snide remark about the justice of God, Dantes claims that God is everywhere. To this the warden responds, “I’ll tell you what. You call on God, and if He comes, I’ll stop.” Then with a sneer he says, “God is never in France this time of year.”
After years of imprisonment, Dantes loses his faith. In despair, his conclusion, though a temporary one, is that there is no God.
This is the same danger that the psalmist feels.
Like the evil warden, the wicked go on and on in their wickedness, oblivious to God.
There is no order.
There is no constraint.
They act out in their evil in the most cavalier manner imaginable.
So the psalmist’s faith is sagging.
It appears that the wicked were right.
God does not appear to call them into account.
The wicked seem to get away with the very thing that the righteous person has been taught to avoid.
It was bad enough that they were wicked, that they should be successful makes it all the more painful.
Let me pause for a moment, because it reminds me of this humorous story…
ILL Notebook: God (God is watching)
At a Catholic gathering, the Mother Superior stacked a pile of apples on one end of a table with a sign saying, "Take only one apple please - God is watching." On the other end of the table was a pile of cookies which a student had placed a sign on saying, "Take all the cookies you want - God is watching the apples."
Sometimes I wonder if we think the same way.
God is watching the apples, so he can’t be watching the cookies.
God must be somewhere else, because over here He is not attending to our needs.
And we wait.
We wait and we wonder.
We look at the situation and wonder if God is helpless.
Now we come to…
II. The second step is the PROPOSAL (12-15).
Here we find the psalmist’s lament turns into an emotional plea that longs for God’s intervention.
He prays…
[12] Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted. [13] Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, “You will not call to account?” [14] But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless. [15] Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none.
The psalmist starts with…
1. “Lord, please do something!”
“Arise, O Lord!”
It is as if he has had enough.
He is tired of trembling in the trenches.
He knows God’s will is done in heaven,
He needs it done on earth as well.
The psalmist recognizes an important fact here.
He is powerless to make the change.
The wicked are beyond him, but they are not beyond God.
The strength to conquer lies with God alone.
“Lift up your hand” and remember the afflicted.
Remember us.
It is here that the psalmist’s faith begins to break through.
He is beginning to look past the problem itself and see that maybe there is a solution of he will be patient.
For he knows that…
2. Wickedness and injustice should be held accountable.
The facts of faith are beginning to appear.
God is seeing what is going on.
He is not at a distance.
He is not concealed.
So maybe it is that God is merely biding his time.
Nevertheless, he asks for a violent demonstration…
3. “Break them!”
“Break their power.”
He tells God exactly what he feels.
He wants God to break the power of the wicked to execute their evil acts.
Break them, until the wickedness has disintegrated and disappeared.
Now we come to the…
III. The third step is PROVIDENCE (16-18).
[16] The Lord is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land. [17] O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear [18] to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
The psalmist’s faith has rebounded.
And now he knows that…
1. The Lord reigns, regardless of what man does.
The psalmist alludes to the nations that have fought fruitlessly against God.
And here is the truth that must not be missed…
He will outlast them all!
Regardless of the circumstances…
Regardless of their evil actions…
Regardless of their undeviating injustice…
He is the King.
Nothing ever has and nothing ever will change that.
So we are to take courage…
2. The Lord hears and encourages us.
God hears us.
God will act.
It may not be in the time frame that we understand or desire, but He will act.
For…
3. The Lord makes things right.
What the wicked enjoy is only temporary!
For they are blind to the spiritual judgement that awaits them.
They may gloat, but they will be humbled.
They deceive themselves.
They will be held accountable.
God is still on His throne, and He rules.
APPLICATION:
1. Where is God when times are bad?
When things are bad, it is a temptation to give up.
The temptation exists to jettison our faith.
We are almost persuaded that living in a righteous manner is a fruitless effort.
It does not seem that our belief in a God of justice provides a God who is there.
ILL Notebook: God (I’m right here)
The volunteer fire department was fighting the blaze engulfing Julia Campbell cousin’s barn. As he watched, he dialed his insurance company on his portable phone, but there was no answer. “How come my agent is never there when I need him?” he asked in frustration.
One of the firefighters tapped him on the shoulder. “That’s because I’m right here, putting out the fire,” responded the agent.
In the same way…
Dark times do not diminish the reality of His Presence.
2. God is with us.
So when things are bad, please remember that God is with us.
And as you pray, perhaps even in frustration, bear in mind that God is with us.
When evil seems to be having its way, summon the courage within you to remember that if God has worked before, He will certainly work again.
And when He seems far away, know that He is actually very near, for God is with us.
When life is treating you poorly and evil seems to be winning the day, find out that God’s grace is sufficient for you.
Realize that the relationship God has with you gives you ultimate meaning.
It is not the circumstances around you that make you.
It is not the evil ways of others that defines you.
It is God with us.
For…
3. God’s purposes are larger and more righteous than our own.
So wait…
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord (Psalm 27:14).
For God’s delay to make things right demonstrates His grace.
It is a grace that we certainly appreciate.
So when you ask God how long is it going to take Him to act, know that it will be long enough.
Long enough for you and me to practice holiness in an evil day.
Long enough to learn to give thanks in all circumstances.
Long enough to see that God does reign, and that He is king forever and ever.
So while you may be frustrated with God today, I want to encourage you to embrace this fact today…
4. WE CAN TRUST GOD IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE.
No matter what it is, how impossible it seems, you can trust God.
No matter what your circumstances and how difficult it has become, you can trust God.
No matter how evil the wicked are and how futile it is to oppose them, you can trust God.
For God will arise.
God will lift His hand.
God will not forget the afflicted.
The Lord is king forever and ever!
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Trust God…yes, you may be feeling despair; yes, you may feel you are under a load that will be impossible to come out from under; yes, you may be suffering from evil acts that are undeserved; yet, today, know this…none of these are beyond God.
Trust God…and tell Him what you need; ask Him to arise, but when you do so, stop looking down; let Him lift your head so that you can see Him at work.
Trust God…for the Lord reigns forever and ever; Know that what seems like a delay to us is but a moment in the framework of eternity. We have a God who does all things well and we can trust in every circumstance.
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
