Psalm 44:1-13
Our fathers have told us, The deeds You did in their days, In days of old: 2 You drove out the nations with Your hand, But them You planted; You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out. 3 For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword, Nor did their own arm save them; But it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance, Because You favored them. 4 You are my King, O God; Command victories for Jacob. 5 Through You we will push down our enemies; Through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us. 6 For I will not trust in my bow, Nor shall my sword save me. 7 But You have saved us from our enemies, And have put to shame those who hated us. 8 In God we boast all day long, And praise Your name forever. Selah 9 But You have cast us off and put us to shame, And You do not go out with our armies. 10 You make us turn back from the enemy, And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves. 11 You have given us up like sheep intended for food, And have scattered us among the nations. 12 You sell Your people for next to nothing, And are not enriched by selling them. 13 You make us a reproach to our neighbors, A scorn and a derision to those all around us.
Look at the chasm between verses 8 and 9. This is why we love the Psalms!
This is how our crazy hearts live. Up and down like a roller coaster.
The life of faith is not a sustained, uninterrupted series of victories and triumphs. We suffer setbacks. We fail. We falter. Our enemies are powerful (Eph 6:12) and their warfare against us is ceaseless.
Notice that a reflection on the past in verses 1 through 3 rockets into the present in verse 4.
We reflect on the past, we carefully consider the past. But we live in the present and we pray in the present.
We know that God is there and we know that God has spoken and we know that God has promised to save AND we suffer defeat. We feel shock and disappointment.
And we feel verses 9-13.
God has proven Himself in the past – we believe that.
God has made promises for the future – we know that.
And God has abandoned us in the present – we feel that.
Overwhelmed by defeat, swept up by suffering, trapped up by trouble – we feel this way.
Paul prayed a prayer from this Psalm in Romans 8:35 and 26.
So when suffering comes into our lives, or into the life of the church, what should we do?
1. Look to Jesus Who suffered for us and meets us in our suffering.
Hebrews 12:1-4
Colossians 3:1-4
1 Peter 1:3-9
2. Endure it without complaining
Romans 5:3-5
James 1:2-3
Everybody whines. Church members with remarkable maturity don’t. Be one on whom leaders can count to raise everybody around you up with you during the tough times.
3. Seek out the suffering and walk with them.
2 Corinthians 1:3-7
Sane people insistently say these five words to themselves : “It is not about me.” It is about God growing His church. If you seek to find the suffering you will always have a ministry. If you seek to minister to the suffering you will never be empty or bored or waste your life in vain.