How Long Must I Suffer? #2

In the midst of all of my earthly change in difficulty in sorrow. God, I know your character is unchanging. I know that I can go to my final absolute rock and find my refuge and who you are we so glad you joined the truth open with the hungry founding pastor of truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. I am Bill Wright and today were continuing our series.

How long will God with part two of a message titled, how long must I suffer last time. Don introduced us to David's lament in Psalm 13. David had seemingly not gotten an answer from God in response to his crying out in distress as a result, his heart was suffering. If you've ever had moments like that Don has some biblical encouragement for you today and it has to do with exchanging the question why, with whom let's join our teacher now as he continues in his ministry of teaching God's people. God's word give a truthful look at verse three with me again.

He says consider and answer me oh Lord my God, enlighten my eyes or I will sleep the sleep of death.

He says, Lord, consider me. In other words, what he saying here in verse three saying God pay attention to me, helped me, this silence is gone too long. God God have a gracious attitude toward me in the midst of my sorrow and now that I have your attention answer me.

Give me a perspective that I now whack that will help me going forward I'll say it again. Give me a perspective that I now whack that will help me going forward. I don't have this I don't get it. I don't understand God give me wisdom going back to James again. James chapter 1 verse five. In the context of very profound trials. He says, but if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to them, but he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

God, I don't have any wisdom here. I don't know what to do. Life is moving on without me. God my dreams are dissipating before my very eyes.

God, I'm still sitting on the sidelines. I'm not in the game and it's the fourth quarter and it's late.

God give me wisdom give me help pay attention to me what this is.

This is the language of doctoral studies in faith that were seeing David express here were seeing advanced faith being articulated here, not a kindergarten variety. This is the urgency in the language of sincere determination that says says God, I know you have the answers and I know you care about me and and so somehow in this there has to be a motivation for you to unleash your power and to help me in the midst of it. David and his situation writing as the king reminds God that if David fell, he would give his enemies occasion to boast over him. Look at verse four. He says enlighten my eyes or I will sleep the sleep of death and verse for my enemy will say I have overcome him and my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken. That's not simply a personal concern of David's. Remember, he's God's King.

He's the head of the theocratic nation, so that if David stumbles, the people are affected by that as well, and the glory of God is diminished in the eyes of men. If God would not deliver his king David's position makes God's answer urgent if they boasted over David. It would be like they were boasting over God himself. And so, having brought that perspective to the matter.

David bearing out his bankrupt understanding bearing out his bothered soul crying out for help that seem so long-delayed cries out and says and asks again. God help me, beloved in the midst of your trials like that don't stop asking. Don't stop asking for help.

This is the pattern. This is the way that it would cultivate a sense of ongoing dependence in your life that's part of what the Lord is developing in us in these times is that we would learn an ongoing truly humble dependence upon him, and that we would learn to express that dependence and believing prayer that asks once again God give me my daily bread God lead me not into temptation but deliver me from evil God deliver me. God help me.

Thought of one time request and then everything changes and gets better. This is a pattern in a way of life in these kinds of seasons, so he summons God for deliverance and that summons brings him to a new place spiritually as we go to verse five and and for 1/3 major point you can see his song of delight his song of delight and David here pivots in verses five and six. He pivots from the despair he pivots from the request for help and he pivots into praise.

He pivots into trust. Look at verse five in verse five is is almost jarring by way of its contrast with what is preceded he says in verse five, but I have trusted in your lovingkindness, my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me if you want to look for a pivot point in the midst of your despair.

My friends look at those first two words in the English text of verse five for David says but I but I hear he is making a declaration of faith, but I is a recognition God. Everything I have said to you is true, and it expresses the reality of the situation as as I see it at the moment, your silence, my tears, the apposition of my of my enemies. The urgency of the situation and there's a lot at stake you could just pile those up and place a burden on someone's back and just watch them collapsed before you sure you could, but again those first four verses are not the end of the song, but I is an expression of the fact that David says there is a nether, transcendent, broader, taller, deeper, wider perspective to this then my earthly situation and it's here. Beloved, where you make the articulation of faith.

It is here where you find the strength to continue on, but I is an emphatic expression of David's resolve. He says I will not collapse under the weight of this trial.

Whatever else happens, I will not collapse to such a degree that I walk away and I abandon my faith. I will not forget what I know this is so important, important, really critical. What about the site. Despite everything, I will not forget what I know to be true about the character of God in the midst of all of my earthly change in difficulty and sorrow. God, I know that your character is unchanging. I know that I can go to my final absolute rock and find my refuge and who you are. One day I will rejoice and saying how can he say that when he doesn't know the way forward. This is insanity from a human perspective. This is insane to say I have a way forward. When I just said I have no way forward. What he does.

He says in verse five, but I have trusted in your lovingkindness. I have trusted in your loyal love. I know that you care about me and I know that you are loyal to your people and whatever else may be true about these earthly circumstances. God, I know that that has not changed.

I don't see the way forward.

I don't understand how I got here. I have no idea how you could possibly bring any good out of this whatsoever. This is beyond my ability to grasp, but God I know one thing I have one unalterable cornerstone that cannot be abandoned that will not be abandoned.

There is one overarching principle that determines the course of your dealings without your people.

It is an unchanging principle of the moral universe. God, your God of lovingkindness, your God of loyal love to your people. You would never leave your people in a permanent state of despair. God you would never abandon us to an utter crushing that had no relief ever ever ever ever. So while I feel crushed. Now God, I know that your lovingkindness is still as real as it was before the trial ever came to me. I will not deny as many of said I will not deny in the darkness. What I came to know to be true in the light what's happened here. God, a great black cloud has intervened between me and the son, the Lord, I know that the cloud eventually goes away, not because of the cycles of weather, but because of who you are. You are a God of unfailing love and faithfulness and kindness and grace to your people and God I rest and trust everything completely and that I stake God everything I care about God is at stake here, everything I care about has been affected by the events in my life God. God everything is on the table and I want you to know that even in that desperate time. God, I remember your loyal love.

I remember your faithfulness and I trust in that alone even when I see nothing that earthly speaking will alleviate my suffering. I trust in you that much. God is so rather than looking for relief and deliverance for my anguished soul from an earthly circumstance got a lookup. I look up to you and what I remember is your faithful love. I remember I remember your unfailing kindness to your people and Lord. Though undeserving you brought me into your family, Lord, though undeserving. I am in your hand, and I trust you to be who you are.

I trust you to manifest to me that which is eternally true about your own character.

I trust you and other words, oh God, I trust you to deal with me individually in my despair and difficulty and grief. I trust you to deal with me personally like I know you are to be eternally in God and that I have a hope that cannot fail go back to Psalm 13 with me as you're turning their beloved gotta say this, there were certain things of absolute truth that have to be said about the nature and the dealings of God, and we let those defined the way we view everything else God is a God of everlasting love. God is a God of faithfulness. God is a God of goodness to his people and he will never violate his loyalty to us and that means something were meant to say and therefore at that point were meant to say there's a consequence to that in my difficulty in despair and beloved. This is something that you can take as the one absolute certainty in the midst of all of your confusion and pain every bit of it without exception, no matter what age matter what condition, no matter how weak your present faith may seem to be this is what's true God will never leave you in a permanent state of despair. Even though your trial is severe deep and has lasted for a very very long time and there's no obvious solution to it.

No matter how many years pass in your trial, no matter how difficult things become.

No matter how hard it is just to pull yourself out of bed in the morning, no matter all of that beloved the one thing that is absolutely true in the midst of that is that God will not abandon you to complete sorrow and despair forever. If you are in Christ.

If nothing else, if nothing else. Death will usher you into his presence where there is no longer any morning or pain or tears if if nothing else that the beloved, especially those of you younger in life, which is most of you younger than me. Most of you younger than me. I been a Christian for 35 years now almost I've seen this play out in my life I've seen it play out in the lives of saints are now in heaven. I've seen it play out in your lives.

Beloved God is faithful God is good and he will bring good to you, he will he will comfort your soul in time he will help you he will change the perspective he'll inject something new.

He'll do something so that the pain will be softened the corner will be turned in. There will be a new light in your understanding and there will be a new delight of the proven faithfulness of God to you personally.

That is who God is and that is what he does to for his people. Proverbs 3, five and six trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. With verse six and Psalm 13 David says I will sing to the Lord. Notice the LORD Yahweh. The covenant keeping promise keeping God of his people. I'm putting my confidence in who God has revealed himself to be in. David is saying. I know that the Lord will certainly help me.

He rises to a great faith as his faith has been reminded and informed by the character of God.

He rises to a great faith even though nothing is changed. Sinclair Ferguson says this he says God's name indicates that he is a gracious and powerful redeeming providing guiding God, a God who overcomes all opposition to his purposes. The very God that David needed David already had." And although David does not have any present relief, he can still sing verse six look at it with me. I will sing to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me David's David prays for wisdom, he prays for help. He prays for enlightenment. I want you to see something really vital here. He prays, and in the midst of all of this despair and sighing and the length of time and he's been praying and praying God. God, how long God help me know what the answer of God to his prayer is it's included in the song, the answer to David's prayer for help and enlightenment. Beloved, the answer to your prayer for help and comfort and enlightenment is God himself. It's the characters who God is, he turns a corner because he remembers and trust in the lovingkindness. His heart rejoices in the salvation of his God. He sings to the Lord and who had this and that is the guidance that is the way forward.

I know this I this is absolutely true for every one of us that are in Christ. This is absolutely true even if you don't see it.

Even if this sounds like the most preposterous stupid thing to come out of the mouth of a man standing up all of the member in your entire life. Don't lean on your own understanding lean on the word of God on this one.

What you need what your heart, what answers the devastation of your heart is the characters who God is back it said I will exalt in the Lord, you know, everything else fails.

David says all sing to the Lord. I trusted in your lovingkindness. David here in Psalm 13 has been praying and slightly different way where God where are you and what we find throughout the pages of Scripture. What we find. At the end of Psalm 13 is this where is God in the midst of my trials. Beloved. What I want you to see is this not where to who God is sufficiently answers the question where he is, because who God is, tells you. Inevitably, where he will take you forward in his love and his faithfulness and in his grace, who God is, answers the question because it reminds us that he knows and he cares and beloved. I'm not saying these words cheaply. God is my witness, I don't say these things cheaply or lightly.

What I'm about to say when these things when we see these things in the word of God when we come to know the true character of God. We do this we take the long term perspective on our trials based on God's character rather than despairing in the short term perspective based on what we see in our unfavorable circumstances.

God has dealt bountifully with us. David is translated in the past sense he is dealt bountifully with me. The certainty of God's provision is so so absolute that we can speak about it before we experience it as though it were a past tense event is so certain that this will happen but I can say God has dealt bountifully with me before I actually experience the bounty in time, days and months and years received insignificance in light of who God is, because we trust not for a timetable, but for who he is and let me add a closing New Testament word to this eventually you always want to go to the cross. Eventually, quickly, quickly you want to go to the cross, and find that the answer to all of these things, the judgment of God poured upon his son, who voluntarily stood in our place at the cross, who in love took our place to bear our sin to bear the wrath of God in order to deliver us in order to make certain the fact that we would be in the people of God, and with him forever. At the cross, you look and you see the utter certainty the undeniable reality of the perfect love of God manifest as the son of God achieved the culmination of the reason that he left heaven in order to come to earth, that he might give of himself in love for the salvation of your soul from sin, beloved look at the cross and see the love of God and draw the only conclusion that is possible even though I don't understand. Even though my heart is breaking. I remember my Redeemer. I remember his love.

I remember that he has saved me.

Therefore, it has to come out different than what it feels like today. It has to otherwise God's loyal love would be violated, and that's impossible. It's all trust and that love even when I don't understand, so in Christ beloved, we can wait to save it all, but it but it hurts and how long do I have to wait just a little longer.

Just a little longer and beloved those of you that are in Christ. One day soon enough, will be standing on the shoulders. God is good all the time even when we're wondering why deliverance from distress might, yet not have arrived.

You need never doubt that Pastor Don Greene will have more of our series, how long ago God, next time you're on the truth pulpit do join us then. Right now though Don's back in studio with news of a great resource. My friend, as we bring today's broadcast to a close one offer you a very special gift of special resource as a gift from our ministry is my series called trusting God and trying times in this series over the years has proven to be the most popular set of messages that I've ever done. It helps you know how to trust God is you're going through the deep sorrows that sometimes come to us in life comes from the book of Habakkuk in the Old Testament, and it comes from some very deep sorrows of my own that were present early in my Christian life is very personal.

It's very helpful. It's very biblical I would love to see you have it in your hands is available in CD album or by download transcripts are available if you prefer that my friend Bill is going to give you information on how to find just visit our website at the truth.

Pulpit.com to get the resource done just that's the truth. Pulpit.com ideal right and will see you next time when Don Greene continues teaching God's people. God's word