TRUSTING THE LORD WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath. Your arrows have pierced me, and Your hand has come down on me. Because of Your wrath there is no health in my body; there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin. My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.

My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly. I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning. My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body. I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.

All my longings lie open before You, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from You. My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes. My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away. Those who want to kill me set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day long they scheme and lie.

I am like the deaf, who cannot hear, like the mute, who cannot speak; I have become like one who does not hear, whose mouth can offer no reply. Lord, I wait for You; You will answer, Lord my God. For I said, “Do not let them gloat or exalt themselves over me when my feet slip.”

For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me. I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin. Many have become my enemies without cause; those who hate me without reason are numerous. Those who repay my good with evil lodge accusations against me, though I seek only to do what is good.

Lord, do not forsake me; do not be far from me, my God. Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior.

Psalm 38

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Here’s an axiom I have always found to be true: It’s easy to be faithful when everything in life is going well.

It’s true isn’t it?

When no worries are upon us and life seems easy, our faith just seems to be automatic. Sure we trust in God. After all, our life is going along great. Why wouldn’t we trust Him?

But what about when life doesn’t go right? What about when troubles fall on us? So we maintain the faith we had before? Do we keep trusting the Lord when the chips are down?

As we look at the 38th Psalm, we read words of deep lament nearly the whole way through from beginning to end. David has a heavy heart. Life isn’t going so well for him. Consider what he was up against:

1. The Lord’s disfavor and wrath.

“Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath. Your arrows have pierced me, and Your hand has come down on me. Because of Your wrath there is no health in my body.”

2. Poor health.

“Because of Your wrath there is no health in my body; there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin.”

“My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body. I am feeble and utterly crushed.”

“My strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes.”

“My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly.”

I am like the deaf, who cannot hear, like the mute, who cannot speak; I have become like one who does not hear, whose mouth can offer no reply.

3. Deep guilt.

“My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.”

4. Mourning.

“I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning.”

5. Anguish.

“I groan in anguish of heart.”

6. Abandonment.

“My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away.”

7. Personal attack.

“Those who want to kill me set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day long they scheme and lie.”

8. False accusations.

“Those who repay my good with evil lodge accusations against me, though I seek only to do what is good.”

Yes, David had a lot going on in his life. It would have been easy for him to sit and complain about his circumstances. It would equally been easy for him to just give up and lose hope. Maybe you have faced circumstances where you felt the same way.

But as we see in this psalm, David didn’t lose his faith in God. No when the chips were down and he was facing deep hardship, he still held onto his trust in the Lord. Look at his inspiring words embedded in his words of despair:

“Lord, I wait for You; You will answer, Lord my God.”

“I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.”

“Lord, do not forsake me; do not be far from me, my God. Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior.”

David had no idea when God would change his circumstances. He just knew God would. And he was willing to wait for the Lord to act in his life, to answer the many prayers he had lifted up.

David knew he was a sinner before the God of supreme judgment and thus did what any true believer would do. He confessed his sin to God, the sin that troubled his heart and soul. Unwilling to carry the guilt of his iniquity, David came clean with God and admitted his transgressions – and in doing so, he admitted his absolute reliance on God to forgive his sins and bring deliverance. He fully saw God as his hope and help, the only One who could rescue and save him from his problems.

Yes, it’s easy to be faithful when nothing is wrong. But in David, we see that it is equally important to maintain and sustain our trust in God when we face adversity – when the chips are down in our lives. We would be well suited to follow his example.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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