There’s No One to Dance With
Psalms 102
102 LORD, listen to my prayer;
let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide from me
in my time of trouble.
Pay attention to me.
When I cry for help, answer me quickly.
3 My life is passing away like smoke,
and my bones are burned up with fire.
4 My heart is like grass
that has been cut and dried.
I forget to eat.
5 Because of my grief,
my skin hangs on my bones.
I am like a desert owl,
like an owl living among the ruins.
I lie awake.
I am like a lonely bird on a housetop.
Psalms 102:6-7
Loneliness
The Gallup Poll says loneliness affects more than a third of the population,and psychologist say that figure is rising. Census figures indicate that the number of Americans living alone has tripled since 1960. But figures can be misleading. A person can be alone but not feel lonely or be in a crowd and feel like the last person on earth.
Sara Teasdale was an American Poet. She won numerous awards for her poetry including the Columbia University Poetry Society Award, the Pulitzer Price for Poetry, and the Poetry Prize from the American Poetry Society wrote,
My soul is a dark ploughed field
In the cold rain;
My soul is a broken field
Ploughed by pain.
- Sara Teasdale (1884-1933).
Sara Teasdale died of a overdose of sleeping pills in 1933
David was Alone
Build Slide
In a minute we are going to look at Psalms 142 – another poem written by David in a moment of desair and loneliness. But before we look at the circumstances surrounding this Psalm. It was a prayer that David prayed while in the cave hiding from King Saul who was seeking to kill him!
Saul orders David to be killed
Saul hurls a spear at David
Saul sends men to kill David at home
David escapes out the window
David escapes out the window and his wife places a dummy in his bed to fool Saul’s men – 1 Samuel 19:12
David is protected at Ramah by Prophets
He fled to Ramah and the spirit of God surrounded David with prophets who protected him.
David flees Ramah to go to Jonathan
Saul came after him and he fled again to Jonathan who protected and hid him - 1 Samuel 20:1
Jonathan tries to intervene and almost gets killed
David ran from Jonathan and went to Nob to collect the sword of Goliath - 1 Samuel 21
David flees to Philistia and acts the part of a madman
David ran to Philistines where he had to act the part of a crazy man to escape with is life - 1 Samuel 21:10
David runs to the cave where he hides
He ran to the cave of Abdullam and hid where he wrote this poem… - 1 Samuel 22:1
Look at this narrative of David’s life… And you think you had a bad year! You think that the Soprano’s TV show was dramatic! TV and Hollywood has nothing on David! He went through it all!
Talk about stress.
Talk about feelings of abandonment.
Talk about feeling alone.
No wonder he wrote what he did in Psalms 142…
David was Alone
Look around me and see.
No one cares about me.
I have no place of safety;
no one cares if I live.
Psalms 142:4
David was inside a physical cave, but he was also in a spiritual cave as well! His Spirit Was In Darkness. You see what David said was not true! Lots of people cared for and tried to protect David… but it’s how he felt.
Loneliness is magnified by our circumstances and overwhelms us.
In the third verse the text says, “When I am afraid”. Literally it says when I am overwhelmed and weakened.
When my spirit was overwhelmed..............
The word "overwhelmed" means clothed or shrouded. David was in a literal cave where the light was limited! Yet, the greater darkness was in his spirit! He was overwhelmed inside!
The fact that the man of God, David, he that had been chosen to be the future King of Israel was overwhelmed reminds us of his humanness. It reminds us that anyone is subject to periods of darkness, despair, discouragement, or depression!
David was feeling very much alone and very sorry for himself. He was having a pretty nice pity-party – and who would blame him.
Loneliness is not wrong! It’s an emotion and a feeling that can lead us into despair and depression and worse.
Too many people look to the wrong things for comfort and help in their loneliness. Loneliness is the root of many a foolish action. It’s the motivation behind most of the addictive behaviors we indulge in. We’re lonely so we go out and drink. We need comforting so we eat a big piece of pie. We need to feel good when things aren’t so good so we light up a cigarette and take a long puff. We want to feel loved so we look for someone who will say nice things to us – even if they don’t really mean it.
Listen to our music and hear the lonely voices crying out: James Taylor: Do me wrong, Do me right. Tell me lies but hold me tight. Save your good-byes for the morning light. But don’t let me be lonely tonight.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta said......."Loneliness and the feeling of being uncared for and unwanted are the greatest poverty."
The experts on loneliness are not psychologist, census officials or poll analysts. They are people across America who are living with loneliness. From a crowded night club, to a neighborhood bar and grill; from a health club to a crowded mall; from a third shift job on an assembly line to a computer terminal in the Atrium; from a run down project in the inner city, to the well-manacured lawn in the suburbs, this can be a very lonely place from the thousands of students at MSU to the thousands of isolated commuters heading off to work every morning. We are isolated. We are alone.
But Loneliness is not horrible if… If… If it becomes the motivation power that leads us to call out to God!
Listen to me: Hear me well – we all have moments and times of deep loneliness that nothing but God can fix. We all need that sense of intimacy and connection to someone who cares.
God is the only answer – not alcohol, not crack, not sex, not sports, not a man or a woman. God is the only answer. We need to cry out to God – just as David did…
David’s Cry was to God
I cry out to the Lord;
I pray to the Lord for mercy.
Psalms 142:1
Can you identify with David? Are you overwhelmed with pressure? With problems? With life in general?
How do we escape the darkness which permeates our soul in these times of feeling so very alone?
The Cry Of David was a cry to God. That is the beginning. From within that cave of darkness, despair and depression comes the cry of a man in need! He cries out to the one who can meet the needs of his heart!
David’s Cry was…
…Of Dissatisfaction
I pour out my problems to him;
I tell him my troubles.
Psalms 142:2
"I poured out my complaint before him; I showed before him my trouble."
What are your feelings today? Got any complaints? Feeling alone, sad, discouraged? Then, cry out to the Lord, and pour out your complaints to him! God is strong! He can take it!
Too often we turn our pity into a party, and we just bathe ourselves in it rather than pouring our hearts out before the Lord!
Too often we enjoy our pain too much to let go of it. Too often we like being a victim too much to start being victorious!
David’s Cry was…
…Of Declaration
Lord, I cry out to you.
I say, “You are my protection.
You are all I want in this life.”
Psalms 142:5
David prays what he knows, and not what he feels at this time! He feels all alone! He feels that no one cares, but in spite of that he prays to the Lord what he knows! He declares, and proclaims that God is his refuge!
David is in a cave trying to conceal him from Saul – yet David knows that ultimately his refuge is in the Lord!
Hiding in the cleft of the rock – and God is the cleft!
David’s Cry was…
…For Deliverance
Listen to my cry,
because I am helpless.
Save me from those who are chasing me,
because they are too strong for me.
Psalms 142:6
Attend means to "prick up the ears".
Cry out to God tonight! Pour out your heart to the Lord! Ask God for deliverance!
V 7 is a great statement of faith from a man in low estate! Though the feelings may not be there, keep faith in God, exercise faith in God!
David’s Confidence
Free me from my prison,
and then I will praise your name.
Then good people will surround me,
because you have taken care of me.
Psalms 142:7
Free me from prison – God can deliver us! He has the power to do it!
He can deliver us from our sins, through our sorrows, and in our solitude!
He has confidence that he will be shouting praise to God. "Free me from my prison and then I will praise your name"
He has confidence that he will be surrounded by people of God. "…then good people will surround me…"
All alone – David shows a remarkable faith in God in spite of his circumstances! He is alone now, but he believes that God will deliver him, and that he will be able to worship again surrounded by the righteous people of God!
He has confidence that he will be shown the promises of God. “…Because you have taken care of me!”
God Knows…
There is a story of a rabbi, renowned for his piety. He was unexpectedly confronted one day by one of his devoted youthful disciples. In a burst of feeling, the young disciple exclaimed, "My master, I love you!"
The ancient teacher looked up from his books as asked his fervent disciple, "Do you know what hurts me, my son?" The young man was puzzled. Composing himself, he stuttered, "I don’t understand your question, Rabbi. I am trying to tell you how much you mean to me, and you confuse me with irrelevant questions". "My question is neither confusing nor irrelevant," retorted the rabbi. "For if you do not know what hurts me, how can you truly love me?"
How can God know what truly hurts us, and what we truly need?
He knows because he became flesh! God knows our condition tonight! He knows where we are! Our needs do not go unnoticed by the Living God! Will you cry out to him tonight?
You Are Never Alone when you Cry Out to God
Appeal to the Spirit of God in you for peace and comfort
His Spirit is with you
Romans 8
You Are Never Alone when you are Serving Others
Shy people
Energetic fun people are focused on others.
Get caught up in serving and not being served.
Zig Ziglar says that you can have whatever you want as long as you help someone else get what they need. This is a principle from the Gospel of Mark.
You Are Never Alone in the Family of God
We have one another… always… for eternity.
MCC is more than a club. We are the family of God.
