Lay. Lift. Lean. Look.

 

Often, as I listen to a sermon or podcast while going about my household chores, I will hear something that causes me to pause and hastily scribble down some notes on a scrap of paper, to add to my ever-growing pile that sits beside my computer.

These can be anything ranging from things that I want to study further to quotes worth remembering or a passage of scripture that I needed reminding of.

I encourage you to take the time to do this when you can. We can get caught up listening to a good sermon, soaking it all in, and then forget all about it later. If there is something that catches your attention, take the time to jot down the points or scripture references and then look into them further when you have your quiet time. I have learnt so many interesting things through doing this, as it encourages me to dig deeper and gain a better understanding of what I’m reading or hearing, so as to apply it to my life and grow in my Christian walk.

All this to say, on one of my scraps of paper by my desk, I had jotted down some notes on a particular Psalm but hadn’t had a chance to read it through again. And then, this past Sunday, I was encouraged and excited to hear a sermon on this very Psalm, spurring me on to sitting down and writing something on this subject.

But before I get to it, I want to mention a notable verse found in the book of Romans.

Romans 15:4 KJV - For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

This verse tells us that the things written in the Word of God are for our learning. They are not just an interesting collection of stories and quotable verses to put on our coffee mugs and walls, but they are for our learning. The word for learning here is translated as doctrine or teaching in other places in scripture.

So, the Word of God is meant to teach us and comfort us so that not only will we be taught the difference between right and wrong, but also that we might have hope. The hope that Christ brings.

I love the teachings of an old preacher from years gone by, by the name of Vance Havner. One of my favourite quotes is this: “I have come to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”

Sometimes when God impresses something upon my heart to write about, it is not comfortable. It is confronting. It stirs up the nest. It afflicts the comfortable.

But in this particular Psalm I see comfort. Comfort for the afflicted.

If today you feel afflicted, pressed down, burdened, abandoned and alone, then this is the Psalm for you. Although it’s not clear words of comfort as in some of the other Psalms, in reading between the lines, you’ll find encouragement.

Let’s read it together.

Psalm 13:1-6

How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?

 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

 But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

 I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

As I have mentioned before, in many of the Psalms, we see a progression in the life of King David.

Often, we see him on his face in pity. And then we see him on his knees in prayer and lastly, on his feet in praise!

Pity. Prayer. Praise.

What a beautiful progression.

Psalm 13 is no different.

In verses 1 and 2, we see David in sorrow. We see him asking God, “How long?”. Interestingly enough, that particular phrase is mentioned 61 times in the Bible. Sometimes it is God asking his people how long they will strive against him and at other times it is the cry of a broken heart asking God how long their particular trial will last.

In this Psalm, we see David feeling abandoned. He feels forgotten. He feels that God no longer sees him or cares for him.

Did you notice I said “feels”? Yes, our feelings and emotions are a gift from God, but they are often deceiving. We can’t always trust them. He only “felt” abandoned, but that was not the reality. God was still there. God was still working. God did still care.

Bear with me as I explain some things in this Psalm and then I will get to the practical application.

In the first 2 verses David is very sorrowful. He is hurt. He is looking inward, focusing on what he feels and his low state. But he is not backward in pouring out his complaint to God.

Did you know that it’s perfectly alright to pour out your complaint to God? Did you know that God is okay with that? He wants you to tell him what’s bothering you. He wants you to share with him the hurting places in your life. He is your safe place. You can be vulnerable with him. He cares. He listens. He understands.

And so, in the first 2 verses, we see David on his face in pity. Step one.

In the next 2 verses, we see a slight change. We read of David’s prayer. Here we see him crying out to God in an act of supplication. He asks God to “consider” him, to regard him, to pay attention to him, to look upon him with favour.

He realises his enemies are too strong for him. He is completely overwhelmed.

I can tell you that there have been many times that I have felt completely and utterly overwhelmed by my circumstances or my emotions. I have felt abandoned by God. Alone. But God’s promises have always held true. God was always there. Patiently waiting for my cry. Longing to hear my voice call out to him so he could answer in ways I couldn’t even imagine.

And so, David moves onto step two. We find him on his knees in prayer.

As we move into verses 5 and 6, we begin to see David’s song. He reminds himself of what he knows of God. He trusts in his mercy and then his heart begins to rejoice.

He realises that God is good, and God is merciful. He rejoices that God has dealt bountifully with him. He sees the salvation of the Lord. And because of these things, he begins to sing.

David set aside his circumstances, he took his eyes off them, he turned from an inward focus to an upward focus and placed his gaze upon Christ. He centred his attention on the God of his salvation. His rock. His fortress. His strong tower.

And so, with these last 2 verses, David moves onto step three. He is on his feet in praise!

Often, we find it hard to come to the place of worship and the words of praise are slow to come to our lips. But if we will just put aside how we feel and make the choice to offer a sacrifice of praise to God because he is worthy, we will find that before we know it our foot is tapping, our lips are mouthing words of praise and there is a song in our hearts and a lift in our spirit.

When you take inventory of all God has done in your life and the blessings he so abundantly pours out, you will begin to rejoice, and God will put a song on your lips and in your heart.

So, let’s get practical.

What do you do when your life comes crashing down? What do you do when you get that unwanted diagnosis, or you can’t cope with the circumstances you find yourself in and you feel overwhelmed, and the waves are crashing in?

You take note of those that have gone before, and you learn from the Word of God.

Like David, you lay out how you feel. Get honest with God. Pour out your complaint to him. Don’t hold back. He can handle it. There’s no need to hide anything from him. Tell him just how you feel.

Now, this won’t solve your problem, but it will help.

Secondly, you lift up what you need to God. David asked for strength against his enemies. Tell God what it is you need. Tell him just what you desire. Be specific.

Thirdly, you lean into what you know.

David knew down deep in his heart that God was a God of mercy. He knew that God could be trusted.

Remind yourself of what you know about God. Think about his characteristics. This is why it’s so important to be in the Word of God daily. The Bible is a book about God and the only way you will get to know him is by soaking in the Word.

Press into all you know of God and hold on to that. Look to him.

And fourthly, look to Jesus and send up a song of praise to God, thanking him for all he’s done or will do in your life.

Don’t stop at praising him for past victories, praise him for the future ones as well!

There should be no end to our praise songs.

If you start on your face in pity, then crawl to your knees in prayer and jump to your feet in praise.

Don’t let your circumstances steal your joy, cry out to God and watch him work!

* Lay out how you feel

* Lift up what you need

* Lean into what you know

* Look to Jesus and send up a song of praise

 

Psalm 40:3, 5 KJV - And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. ... Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.