RESTORING THE JOY
Part 2: Remembering You’re Not On Your Own
- Read Psalm 137:1-4
In this passage, we find that Israel had been invaded by the Babylonians. The Babylonians pillaged their country. They killed a lot of people; and then took the leaders and whatever young men looked like they might become leaders, back to Babylon so they couldn’t organize the people in Israel to give their captors any trouble.
As we take up our account, we find some of the Israelite captives, sitting on the banks of a river in the country they were taken to. Things have not turned out like they planned. It seems that God has turned His back on them. The joy is gone, and they have given up. They hung their harps on the willows.
Do you ever feel like that? You ever feel that you’re just going through the motions? You ever feel that all of the excitement and joy is gone from life and you’re just waiting to see what’s gonna happen next? You don’t know what’s coming, but it can’t be good because you can’t remember the last time you got a break?
It reminds me of that old song from Hee Haw, “If it weren’t for bad luck I’d have no luck at all. Gloom, despair, and agony on me.”
There are times, even for Christians, that life seems like that some times. Either you’re going through tough times with your finances or your family; with loved ones or loneliness; with jobs or jerks. Some of you are tired, and some are ticked. Some are over whelmed, and some are over worked.
The Bible records that God led the Israelites out of Egypt. He had provided for them, He had led them through the wilderness and provided for them every step of the way. He gave them victory over their enemies and they thought they were going to be living the good life.
After a while however, they began to forget about God and to take Him for granted. So God punished them by having the Babylonians invade their land. The Babylonians attacked, destroyed the temple, and deported large numbers of Israelites. Many people were killed. Families were separated. It was a tough time for God’s people.
That’s when this Psalm was written. The writer said, “By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept. We hung our harps on the willows. The songs we used to sing we can’t sing anymore. The joy is not there. Our songs ring hollow. To make matters even worse, the people who brought all of this stuff on us, are asking us ‘why we aren’t acting like we used to‘, ‘why we aren’t singing like we used to?’”
This morning, some of you could say, “That’s where I am. I used to have such hope. I used to have that joy. When I sang, I used to have tears come to my eyes just thinking about how good God had been to me. Now, the tears I cry are from sorrow. They flow from a broken heart.
My friend, if that’s your situation this morning, I can’t tell you why you’re experiencing what you are right now. I don’t know your situation and I don’t know why God works the way He does all the time. He doesn’t ask my counsel before He works. Sometimes He allows pain in our lives in response to the sin in our lives. He wants us to get rid of it. Sometimes He allows pain in our lives because our love for Him has grown cold and He wants us to come back to Him.
I remember several years ago, when my nephew went through a growing spurt. His legs hurt him every night because He was growing so fast. Sometimes God allows pain because He wants us to grow. Sometimes we hurt because we live in a fallen world and we suffer because of other people’s sins and selfishness. I don’t know why you’re going through what you are right now, but I can tell you this, there is a better way to handle the situation than to simply hang up your harp, sit down and cry. There is a better way to handle things than to simply settle for where you are, listen to the devil’s lies and think it’s not going to get any better. There is a better way to respond to the situation, than to simply quit. That’s what the Devil wants. But there is a better way to respond when things get tough and that is God’s way.
After some of the people who had been captured and taken to Babylon sat down and quit, God had the prophet Jeremiah write them a letter to remind them of a few things. This morning I would like us to look at God’s reminder to us as well.
Please open your Bibles ...
- Read Jeremiah 29:4-7, 10-14
I. WHEN TIMES ARE HARD KEEP ON LIVING
- vv 4-6
In these verses, God tells us that when times are hard, we are to keep on living.
Do you remember the lady in the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes” who struggled with her weight so much? One day she told the lady she was visiting with that she was tempted to quit even trying to do anything about her weight. She was tempted just to eat herself so fat that there was no going back.
That’s what some of the Israelites wanted to do when they were taken to Babylon. They said, “Things aren’t going to get any better. We’re tired of even trying. We’ll just quit.”
God said, “I know things are tough, I know you’re frustrated, but now is not the time to quit. Keep building houses. Keep raising your family. Stay in the game.
My friend, when times are tough, don’t run to a bottle, don’t run to another man or woman’s arms, don’t hide in your work or in your TV shows. When times are tough, keep on living. Keep on doing the things you know to do. ...
Keep reading your Bible, keep praying, ...
II. WHEN TIMES ARE HARD HELP THOSE WHO HURT YOU
- Read verse 7
God says, “seek the welfare of the city you were taken captive to. The people who enslaved you, the people who took you away from your home and your family, seek their welfare. Pray for them.”
That’s tough to do sometimes, isn’t it? When someone has hurt you, when someone has cheated you, when someone has talked about you, it’s hard to want the best for them.
I’m reminded of the story of 2 men who had competing businesses across the street from each other. Each time one of them had a customer come in their store, they would grin because that meant the guy across the street had one less; and every time the guy across the street got a customer they would sulk.
Finally, one day, an angel came to settle the difficulties between the 2 men. He went to one of the men in a dream and said, “Ask me for whatever you want, but just know, that whatever you ask for, your neighbor across the street will get double. If you ask for a million dollars, he’ll get 2 million. If you ask for a child, he’ll get 2. The man thought for a minute and finally said, “Angel, I want you to scare me 1/2 to death.”
You ever feel like that? That’s our normal nature isn’t it? God says, “No, you’re different than that. You’re better than that person is. Even a dog can bite the hand that hits it. No, I want you to pray for the person who’s hurt you.
III. WHEN TIMES ARE HARD LOOK TO THE FUTURE
- Read verse 10
When 70 years are complete ...
God said, “When 70 years are past, this suffering will pass.”
My friend, no desert time, lasts forever. There is a better day coming. No test, no trial, no school lasts forever.
I remember when I was in high school, I thought school would never end. But the day finally came when I received by diploma. ...
IV. WHEN TIMES ARE HARD REMEMBER GOD’S LOVE
- Read verse 11
My friend, the Bible says you were created by God. You were created in the image of God. You were created for a reason and God loves you.
“God commended His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
God has great plans for you. Plans for your benefit, for your welfare, for your good. Don’t quit before those plans are completed in your life. Don’t throw in the towel now.
In the movie “Karate Kid” a city kid moved to a new town. Some of the locals started picking on him, so he convinced an oriental gentleman to teach him martial arts. The first several days he showed up for training, his instructor had him do chores; wax his cars, paint the fence, sand the boardwalk. After a couple days of that he got mad and told his instructor that he was using him as a slave. At that point the instructor called, “wax on”, then paint up, etc. It turned out that each of the moves he had perfected while doing the chores were actually defensive moves for martial arts. The boy thought he was being used, while in reality he was being taught and toughened the whole time.
My friend, God does love you and the difficulties you are undergoing right now are simply the Lord teaching and growing you. You may not understand now, but God is working for your benefit because He loves you.
V. WHEN TIMES ARE HARD HANG ON TIGHT
- vv 12-13
When times are hard, you may not understand what is going on, but you know the One Who does. Hang on tight to Him.
It’s like a blind man with a seeing-eye-dog, walking up to an intersection. The dog stops him. The man wants to go forward but doesn’t. He doesn’t know what’s happening. He doesn’t know if traffic is coming. He doesn’t know what dangers are around him, all he knows is that he has someone at his side who knows what’s going on. One who can see what he cannot see, so he hangs on tighter to him.
My friend, that’s the way it is with God. You may not see what dangers lie ahead, but God does. You may not see what the future holds, but God does. You may not know what weaknesses you have that need to be corrected, but God does. During those hard times, hang on tighter to the One you know Who knows it all. (Illustration given in a recent sermon by Dr. Tony Evans).
I don’t know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future.
My friend, will you commit this morning? Will you say, “I won’t quit, I won’t stop, I won’t give in?”
