The Antodote For A Troubled Life

“Trouble in my way, I have to cry sometimes.

So much trouble, I have to cry sometimes.

I lay awake at night, but that’s alright;

Because I know Jesus will fix it after awhile.”

Here we are again. I want to use this ‘Preaching Moment’ to deal with what’s going on underneath our skin. So, WE NEED TO TALK! There is a passage of Scripture recorded in the 42nd Psalm Verse 5 which I have tagged and targeted for teaching (read)

Let‘s discuss “THE ANTIDOTE FOR A TROUBLED LIFE.”

I must use this period of ministry in addressing those very special saint who are experiencing UNUSUAL TROUBLE and are TROUBLED thereby. I need to address you because You and Your Experience has been Overlooked and given Too Little Attention by the ministry and message of the current church.

You merit special attention because YOUR TROUBLE IS BY NO MEANS ORDINARY. Your Depressing and Disquieting Dilemma Is Intensified! It is over and above the ordinary. It exceeds the depressing and disturbing experience that is the common lot of all mankind. Said Job, “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.” That is our common lot whether we be saint or sinner. But the trouble of these special saints exceeds the measure of ordinary trouble experienced by sinners and the peculiar trouble suffered by the saved. How so? In this manner.

DEPRESSION AND DISQUIETNESS HAVE FORMED A CIRCLE AROUND YOUR LIFE, and the consequence of which is, YOU ARE UNABLE TO ESCAPE FROM IT. Every place you move, every encounter, every conscious hour of life is Lived Within This Environment, This Circle of the Valley of Despair. Some very special saints among us are LIVING WITHIN THIS CIRCLE OF VALLEYS AND VEXATIONS, OF DEPRESSION AND DISTURBANCE, OF THE DISCOURAGING AND DEAFENING.

It is not an EITHER/OR THING. It is a Combination, a Compound of both. Its Depression AND Disquietness. Depressed as a result of Outside Forces. Disquieted as a result of Internal Causes.

First, Your Life Is Imprisoned from Without by the External Forces of Depression. Constantly you are forced to BOW-DOWN. Not in a posture and attitude of worship and prayer. But Bowed-Down because of Outside Forces and Folk. Unremittingly you are CAST DOWN IN MIND AND SPIRIT. Persistently you are REJECTED, OVERLOOKED, DISSED, DISHEARTENED, DISCOURAGED, SAT ON, WALKED ON, OPPRESSED, MOCKED, MADE FUN OF. You are STRICKENED WITH A SPIRIT OF HEAVINESS. You have to endure Successive Trouble. One after the other without any relief in the interval. You have to bear Aggravated Annoyance. Everything has an UNFORTUNATE OUTCOME. Whatever you do seems to turn out Badly, Wrong, All Messed Up. You live in a CONSTANT STATE OF UNHAPPINESS AND DEPRESSION.

Coupled to this is, Second, From Within Your Life Is Encircled by Disquietness. There is a whole lot of Noise going on inside your head and heart. So, you live with a Lost Sense of Security. No Peace of Mind. No Quiet Time. You can’t Think Clearly. Nor can you Act Decisively because of Uninterrupted Worry. In a word, DISQUIETED WITHIN!!!

You Live A Very Troubled Life. And yet, it is compounded by the fact that it is VERY TROUBLING. You don’t know WHY. So, you have to ask yourself, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And Why art thou disquieted within me?”

You want to know the REASON. You have asked your soul , What REASON could it give to justify being Grief-Strickened and Saddened? So, what I want to do FIRST is to get you to Probe Underneath Your Skin for:

I. THE REASON FOR YOUR TROUBLED LIFE.

Let me suggest to you that ONE POSSIBLE REASON for Your Troubled Life just might be:

A. YOU HAVE A DIVINE ADDICTION. That seems to be the gist of verses 1-3. Addiction = Devoted to Experiencing God’s Presence on a Regular Basis. That seems to be his testimony in verse 4c, “for I had …”

1. Perhaps, You Are Suffering WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS - verse 1

“Pants … Cries … Longs for.”

2. Perhaps You Crave A Divine Fix - verse 2

“God - Elohim, the Strong Breasted One who enters into Covenant.”

“Appear before God = show myself in the Tabernacle.”

3. Perhaps You Have An Unrealized Desire - Verse 3.

Let me suggest to you that a SECOND POSSIBLE REASON for Your Troubled Life could be.

B. YOU REMEMBER HOW THINGS USED TO BE. That seems to be the gist of verse 4.

You Used To Go To the House of God. You miss the Company of the Saints - “had gone with multitude” with the Voice of Joy and Praise, Voice of

Shouting, Rejoicing and Singing and Hand Raising in Worshipping.

2. But Now, “you pour out your soul” - you express yourself with tears and complaints.