Restore Me Series

“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?