Text: “Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause.”
Job 5:7-8.
“Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” 1 Peter 5:7.
Good morning, trouble-torn
Christian! At this very point in time,
perhaps, you are experiencing a time of deep trouble – fears within, dread and
threat without – and it seems as though your Christian joy and peace have
vanished like smoke, and you are sore pressed.
If this describes your
problem this morning, beloved friend in Christ, fear not, for you are not alone
in this type of situation, in fact, “…all that will live godly in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy
3:12)
Trouble comes to all in
many forms, but it comes in a more profound manner to those of us whom profess
the Name of Jesus Christ, for in doing so, and for being ‘His people’, we are
the focus of Satan himself, and all his myrmidons in the evil realm. This
Satanic oppression can threaten to rob us of our joy in Christ, if we allow it
to do so. In times like these mentioned,
you and I must immediately call out our fears, dreads, and problems to the Lord
God Almighty, Who is more than able to sustain us, and send us His Divine
relief.
Verse 1. “1
cried unto God with my voice. This Psalm has
much sadness in it, but we may be sure it will end well, for it begins with
prayer, and prayer never has an ill issue.
Asaph did not run to man but the Lord, and to Him he went, not with
studied, stately, stilted words, but with a cry, the natural, unaffected,
unfeigned expression of pain. He used
his voice also, for though vocal utterance is not necessary to the life of
prayer it often seems forced upon us by the energy of our desires. Sometimes the soul feels compelled to use the
voice, for thus it finds a freer vent for its agony. It is a comfort to hear the alarm-bell
ringing when the house is invaded by thieves.” (C.H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of
David, page 328)
I well remember the time,
when a mere boy at school, when an older, physically stronger, bully came and
threw me down in the play-ground, and rubbed my nose in the dirt. I immediately ran crying to my bigger, older brother,
to seek his help to chasten the play-ground bully-boy. The bully very soon
regretted picking on a younger, weaker pupil.
So it is with the
Christian, when we are being persecuted, oppressed, and bullied by Satan and
his evil regime; the world; and even our own often weak and treacherous
flesh. Our best course is to cry out for
the help of our Lord God – Who shall never allow ‘His anointed’ children to be
forever bullied by our enemies and His.
Hallelujah! Our God reigns!
“Cast thy burden upon the
Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous (made
righteous in Christ Jesus) to be moved.
But Thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction:
bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust
in Thee.” (Psalm 55:22-23)
Verse 2. “In
the day of my trouble I sought the Lord. One day, following the surgical removal of a
swollen lymph-node in my neck, a Consultant Surgeon sat me down in his office
and with great compassion informed me that I had a condition called
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma: cancer of my lymphatic system. His nursing assistant and himself seemed to
be prepared for some sort of an emotional reaction from me at this
announcement, but I was empowered of the Lord God to put them at ease by informing
them that my times were in the hands of a Sovereign and all-caring Lord God,
Who would call me Home according to the Divine ‘appointment’ He had made with
my immortal soul. I was later informed
that the ‘normal’ life time given to patients with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma was 5
years. Again, I reminded the medical
people of God’s Divine appointment with my soul. Praise God, that was 20 years ago, and, without any treatment, I am
still alive today and serving the Lord God Whom I love dearly. Glory to His Holy Name!
“And as it is APPOINTED
unto men once to die, but after this the judgement: so Christ was once offered
to bear the sins of MANY (not all!); and unto them that look for Him shall He
appear the second time without sin unto Salvation.” (Hebrews 9:27-28)
Verse 2. “In
the day of my trouble I sought the Lord. Days of trouble must be days of prayer; in
days of inward trouble, especially when God seems to have withdrawn from us, we
must seek Him, and seek till we find Him. In the day of his trouble, he did not
seek for the diversions of business or recreation to shake off his trouble that
way, but he sought God, and His favour, and grace. Those that are under trouble
of mind must not think to drink it away, or laugh it away, but pray it away.”
(Matthew Henry 1662-1714)
Deep trouble,
when it comes to the Christian, can often be devoid of reason or rhyme, it is
during these confusing times that we must simply TRUST the Lord and wait for
His help. He shall always come to our
rescue, but we must first go through the turmoil.
“But He knoweth the way
that I take: when He hath tried (tested) me, I shall come forth as gold. My
foot hath held His steps, His way have I kept, and not declined.” (Job 23:10-11)
Verse 3. “…My
spirit was overwhelmed. There are moments in the life of all believers
when God and His ways become unintelligible to them. They get lost in profound meditation, and
nothing is left them but a desponding sigh. But we know from Paul the apostle
that the Holy Spirit intercedes for believers with God when they cannot utter
their sighs.” (Augustus F. Tholuck, 1799-877)
“Likewise, the Spirit also
helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought:
but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered. And He that searcheth the
hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession
for the saints according to the will of God.”
(Romans 8:26-27)
Verse 4. “I am
so troubled that I cannot speak. I have been there, have you? Deeply absorbed in my own mental/emotional
turmoil that I can hardly pray, never mind gain the victory. It is these times of Spiritual dumbness that
the indwelling Lord God groans out His groans on our behalf; groans that are
ALWAYS heard, for He is the Lord God Himself.
Thought: Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, His help is on the way as you read this, beloved Christian.
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