This morning I want to talk about trust in God. But instead of discussing with you how we should trust in God, or even why we should do so as children of God. What I would rather focus on this morning is who God is, and after which we will hopefully discover more about how we are fools not to trust in Him.
The other day Corrie and I took the kids down to the river bank. I was carrying Avery, who is our 1 year old youngest. I started walking along a log, over and into the water a bit. Avery was completely relaxed the entire time, showing no signs of worry or trepidation whatsoever. I thought about our older kids, and how they would most likely be gripping my neck tightly, maybe even whining as they consider the possibility of falling into the water. Avery, on the other hand, had no thought about what could happen. Instead, she was entirely trusting in my ability to keep her from harm. And it made me think about us, as children of God, as well.
One of my favourite passages is Psalms 18. I think this is an excellent passage depicting a side of God that we rarely see, hear or even discuss.
Vs 1-3: Glorifying God for his glorious works and blessings.
1I love you, LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and I have been saved from my enemies.
This is what I want to talk about this morning. This is the direction I hope we can all start to head. I want this for my life, and I hope most or all of you do as well. That we can say, without hesitation or wavering, that God is our rock and fortress. That God is my protection. I find one of the most frustrating things in my life is converting head knowledge into heart knowledge. I mean, I know these things. I grew up as a missionary kid, so these sort of “clichés” were engrained in my head from a very young age. But turning this more into heart knowledge has become increasingly difficult. This morning, by diving deeper into who God is and exploring his awesome power I hope that we can all begin to focus more on transferring this sort of reliance on God from something we say with our lips, to something we live with our hearts. He is a ROCK that cannot be moved by any who would harm us. He is a FORTRESS or place of safety where the enemy cannot follow and a SHEILD that comes between us and harm. He is the POWER that saves and a PLACE OF SAFETY high above our enemies. So how can we begin truly believing these statements, how can we begin to live a life that reflects these truths?
Vs 4-6: God saves us from our worst entanglements and His protection is limitless for His people.
4 The cords of death entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called to the LORD;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.
We have all faced hard times. We have all had to live through struggles, through rough circumstances. David here speaks words of utter despair. Death entangles him. Floods of destruction surround him. Grave wraps its ropes around him. David is expressing a feeling of utmost helplessness. I read these words, and in a small way I feel that I can relate. I may not have experienced extreme pain and loss, but I feel like I have gone through (and still am going through) situations in my life and walk that have caused me to feel like throwing in the towel. And at times, I think I actually have thrown in the towel. Depression, anger and frustration have caused me to lose my focus, to stray from the path I know I should follow. I really like the New Living Translation’s version of these verses, because the 6th verse starts with ‘BUT’… David hit’s the brakes on his downward spiral with a sudden ‘BUT!’ In his distress, in his state of hopelessness, David called out to God for help. He prayed, and God heard. He cried, and God listened.
Do we truly understand this? How many times have we wrongly accused God, whether out loud or in our thoughts, of ignoring us? How many times have we assumed that God simply has something better or bigger to do, and therefore has left us hanging? These verses give us no indication of time. They say nothing about how many times David prayed, just that David cried out to God. David reached out and God heard. God hears. God listens. And God responds. And in this case, does he ever respond.
Vs 7-15: A description of God’s power and strength.
7 The earth trembled and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
8 Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
9 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
10 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
13 The LORD thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.[d]
14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
15 The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, LORD,
at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
God responds to David’s cry. The picture David paints here of God is one that we so rarely seem to focus on in our church circles today. God’s awesome on display! It seems easy for us to focus on God’s patience. It seems quick for us to spend time discussing his meekness, and his humbleness. And while these are all good and true, this passage focuses on a God that is so much more than that. Our God is an awesome God, with wisdom, power and strength! The mountains shook! The earth quaked! Smoke poured from his nostrils, flames leaped from his mouth... God comes to David’s rescue in a thunderous way. There was no mistaking this, God was on a mission. Someone had picked on the wrong child that day.
I’d like to share a storey with you of my childhood. I don’t remember a lot of the details, but when I was young (I think maybe in 3rd or 4th grade) I remember playing baseball in elementary school with the big kids that were a few grades older than me. It was our team’s turn to play field, so I ran out to play base. One of the older kids decided he wanted to play base, so he simply ran over and shoved me off of the base. While I don’t remember all of the details, I do remember that my older brother saw this, ran across the field and fought this other kid. He came to my aid, he risked his safety for my own. How many of you have been in a similar situation? Parents here today could easily relate to this feeling. If your child was being harmed, you probably wouldn’t hesitate to rush in and protect them, to come to their rescue. Not only that, but you would come in with authority.
God comes to us with authority. He sees us in pain, he hears our cry, and he comes to our rescue with authority, scattering our enemies. And God’s authority is awesome. His voice thunders the skies. His breath clears the seas and lays the foundations of the earth bare.
Do you know this God? Do you recognize this God? Do you believe in this God?
How many times have you prayed, but doubted in your hearts? How many times have you cried out to God, but then when you finished that prayer you decided that you’d just try and take care of the problem yourself because God probably wouldn’t do anything? Do you know this God?
God is all powerful, we struggle to get out of bed some days.
God can cause the mountains to shake and the earth to tremble!
God can rain hail and fire!
I ask you again, do you truly know this God?
I think most of us would have to honestly answer that we don’t. We know the God of love. We maybe even know the God of correction. But the awesome protector that would blast the earth aside with his breath just to save us when we cry out him? Not so much. I believe that we stop short of this God. And yet this is the same God! This is the God that we live for, that we praise with our lips during singing. So why do we not truly come to realize his awesome power? Why do we fail to recognize that our pain is his pain, and that if we would just ask and believe, he would come with fire breathing from his mouth to scatter our enemies? Do we think we don’t deserve it? Let’s continue reading this passage, as David quickly changes the feeling of the passage. Suddenly, in verse 16, the storm is subdued, and the clouds part and the earth is still.
Vs 16-29: God Rescues
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the LORD was my support.
19 He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
20 The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD;
I am not guilty of turning from my God.
22 All his laws are before me;
I have not turned away from his decrees.
23 I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.
24 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
26 to the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.
27 You save the humble
but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
28 You, LORD, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.
29 With your help I can advance against a troop[e];
with my God I can scale a wall.
God reaches down and rescues David. God supports him, and leads him into protection. God longs to protect us. God longs to save us from our troubles. But at the same time, God wants us to call to him. God wants us to first reach out to him. God wants us to come to that place in our hearts where we realize that it’s not me, it’s you, God!
Of course, God does not always deliver us from our problems swiftly. Some problems we are meant to go through with God as our support. These are things that build us up, make us better and more equipped for His work. We probably all know about the “thorn in Paul’s side” that he so often talked about in the New Testament. We don’t know what that thorn was, but we do know that Paul prayed often for God to remove it, but God chose not to do so. Paul recognized that in his weakness, God was made strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). However, that still doesn’t mean that God doesn’t come with thunderous authority to support us. God does come, God does respond to our cries, and God does listen.
Some people also think that God is a crutch that “weak” people use because they are not strong enough to make it on their own. This line of thinking, in reality, is the actual crutch. This thinking is man’s feable attempt at trying to remove God from the picture. We often see reliance on others as a weakness. Take the typical male for example. People joke that men won’t see out help, won’t ask for directions, won’t read instructions, and the like. And it is so often true. Why? A big reason is that men often see reliance on others as being a sign of weakness. We all know the truth, we all realize that we could never make it through life purely on our own, we need others. We need friends, family, spouses. We need each other. And yet, so many people see that those who need God as being a ‘crutch’. I say this is so far from the truth, we don’t need God as a crutch, we need God as a complete hospital bed! We are entirely and completely at a loss without God. We are not merely leaning on God to give us support for a sprained ankle. We’re completely sunk in his arms asking him to carry us through. And it doesn’t mean that we need to be dealing with some extreme sorrow or pain for us to rely on God this way, either. Whatever your ‘thorn’ is that is in your side, God wants it to cause us to completely trust and rely on him. David states in verse 27 that God will rescue the humble, but humiliate the proud. The humble person is the one willing to crawl onto that hospital bed. The proud person is the one that says he doesn’t even need a crutch!
Vs 30-36: God prepares us for life
30 As for God, his way is perfect:
The LORD’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God besides the LORD?
And who is the Rock except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength
and keeps my way secure.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You make your saving help my shield,
and your right hand sustains me;
your help has made me great.
36 You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.
God does not promise to eliminate all challenges, but instead He gives us strength to make it through them all. He never leaves us alone to face any challenges, but instead is always beside us teaching, learning and strengthening us. God arms us with strength.
Let’s return to that story of the hospital bed again. It was 2 years ago today that Corrie broke her ankle in a game of soccer. Had she simply said “Doctor’s are just a crutch for weaker people, I’m fine!” and tried walking away, she would’ve collapsed in a heap. Instead, she was taken to the hospital where she laid in a bed for days while they took care of her. They fixed her ankle, put it in a cast, and gave her medicine and food to help get her strength up. When she left, she still couldn’t walk, but with help from those who understood what was necessary, she was on the road to recovery. After a month or so later, she was able to once again walk and now is playing soccer again and enjoying her freedom. What if she had refused treatment? What if she had turned the ambulance away? She would be a hobbling mess still. The ankle would never have healed properly, and it would be causing her pain and suffering still to this day. We read this passage here and we see a God that wants to fix what is broken in our lives. By turning to God, by completely resting in his arms, God makes us strong. He trains us for battle, his right hand supports us, and he gives us a shield for victory.
God doesn’t just rescue us, he trains us. God doesn’t just pull us from the pit, he strengthens us and teaches us so that we can better avoid that pit again next time. Crying out to God isn’t just so that he can come and pull us out so that we can go on living our same life! When we are rescued, we are to be changed! We are to be transformed! The God that poured smoke from his nostrils as he came thundering out of heaven wants to teach us, he wants to strengthen us!
I honestly believe that many areas in my life that I feel God has left me alone or ignored me is simply because he knows that the only reason I’m calling on him is for a quick rescue mission. God, pull me out of this pit and then leave me alone! Have you ever been guilty of treating God like a genie in a bottle? Please, Lord, just grant me these three wishes and then I’ll leave you alone, if you leave me alone. That couldn’t be any further from what God truly wants from us! God desires us to grow. God desires us to become stronger. God wants us to repair us, and then get us right back out into the battle stronger than ever. But He can’t do that if all we want is the quick repair.
Vs 37-45: The counter attack
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
38 I crushed them so that they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.
39 You armed me with strength for battle;
you humbled my adversaries before me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed my foes.
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
to the LORD, but he did not answer.
42 I beat them as fine as windblown dust;
I trampled them[f] like mud in the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;
you have made me the head of nations.
People I did not know now serve me,
44 foreigners cower before me;
as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
45 They all lose heart;
they come trembling from their strongholds.
Here David describes what I see as a counter attack. He opened with hopelessness and a cry to God. We witnessed God’s awesome power and his unsurpassed protection. We then saw God training and strengthening the fallen David. And now we see David’s counter attack.
David describes a great victory. He crushes his enemies. He pushes them back. David becomes a feared man, a man to avoid, a man to leave alone and not one to mess with any longer. You see, in my story earlier where my brother came to my rescue, what did I learn from that? I learned that my brother would stick up for me when I was in danger. That was a great thing! But if I were to spend my life waiting for my brother to bail me out during every difficulty, I think we can all imagine what an annoying person I would be! God on the other hand trained David, strengthened him and then supported him. With God at his side, David conquered his enemy. With God, David achieved victory!
And so can we. God wants us to rely on him. God wants us to believe in him. Believe in his awesome power. Believe that he can and will rescue us from our pits of despair. But understand that he will not stop there. God will transform our hearts. God wants to change our spirits. He wants to strengthen us, so we can turn around and defeat the very enemy that had us running with our tails between our legs. God wants us to achieve victory.
Vs 46-50: Praise be to God!
46 The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Savior!
47 He is the God who avenges me,
who subdues nations under me,
48 who saves me from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
from a violent man you rescued me.
49 Therefore I will praise you, LORD, among the nations;
I will sing the praises of your name.
50 He gives his king great victories;
he shows unfailing love to his anointed,
to David and to his descendants forever.
Finally, David concludes with praise to God. He lifts God’s name, He recognizes that his victory was because of God’s intervention. He does not take any credit for his victory, but instead directs all glory to God.
This is such an easily overlooked step! When Jesus was on this earth, he healed 10 men of leprosy, but only one turned back to thank him. Why? Because when the chips are down, and when all hope is lost, we find it easy to turn to God. But when God rescues us and helps us defeat our enemy, it is so easy to suddenly forget and to run off ahead.
David doesn’t forget. David knows full well what happened, and he gives the glory to God.
Have you forgotten God? Have you enjoyed his rescue, his healing, and his training only to forget him after the victory? All praise and honour to God!
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