Read: Psalm 27
Read: Colossians 3
What is the worst experience you have ever been through? Maybe you’re going through it right now. Troubles come and troubles go, but it is one of the hardest things to see the end when you are stuck in the middle.
If Psalm 23 was written to encourage us to rest in God when things are good, then Psalm 27 is teaching us how to trust in God in the midst of our struggle.
The Light at the End of the Tunnel
David, the writer of this Psalm, begins by recounting the gospel truths about God. And, honestly, that’s a good place for us to start as well. David declares that the LORD is our light and our salvation. He is the one who will save us in our time of need. If we trust in God, we have nothing to fear.
If you’ve been through a terrible crisis, you know that God will bring you through. You can look back on your experiences and be reminded that God is faithful. Not only that, you can appreciate the experiences because of what you have learned. David had learned over many such experiences that God is his stronghold. When everything else seems to be falling apart, we can trust in God. He never fails.
God is our strength in weakness, He is our rescuer, but He is also our light at the end of the tunnel. David focuses on the eternal in the immediate because during a crisis the immediate seems like an eternity. God is our hope and He is beaconing us on so that we will persevere through the trouble to find our comfort in Him.
When we get through the crisis, it is important for us to stop and reflect. David worships at the end of his struggle, marking the victory so that he can look back on it. If we don’t make an altar after our trouble, when we look back over our lives, we will see the mountains of pain without the flags of victory on the summit.
Praying When You’re Stuck
There is a certain crisis that when you go through it you feel like you are all alone. You’ve done everything you can think of and it hasn’t made anything better. When others try to help you, they only make matters worse. You feel like the world is against you and you have nothing to cling to for comfort or safety.
It is in those moments that you need to cry out to God. The book of Romans tells us that there are moments that we don’t even know what to pray, but we direct our cry to heaven and the Spirit gives words to our groaning. The key here is to turn to God.
Nothing else in this world can give us the stability that we need. Everyone else will eventually fail us. But God is our ever present help. He will never turn His face away from us in anger. He will never abandon us in our time of need. Why? How do we know this? Because God has already turned His face away from His only Son on the cross and abandoned Him so that we might be saved.
In your time of trouble, seek the LORD. In your distress, call to Him. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace. Look to Jesus and He will guide you through the valley of the shadows of death. Learn from Him and follow His example.
Are We There Yet?
I mentioned before that the hardest thing to do is see the end of the tunnel when you are going through a crisis. Whenever I get a cold, I feel like the lingering cough is never going away. Then, when it has finally passed, I don’t even realize it because I’m not paying attention. Well, I’m telling you to pay attention to the little victories, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, and persevere through the storm.
Remember the gospel during your trouble. I know it’s hard to focus on anything good when everything around you is bad, but it is essential to preach the gospel to yourself in your weakest points. That is what the gospel is for. It rescues us by the grace of God. But you also need others to preach the gospel into your life. Your friends can either help you or hurt you when you are most vulnerable. That is why you need people who can remind you of the good news of God. And if you have been through an awful experience and come through to the other side by the mercies of God, then look around and see those around you who are going through their own crisis and have compassion on them. We will get through this.
Don’t lose confidence in the midst of your trouble. God is faithful even when things don’t seem to be going the way you expect them to go. Look for the goodness of God and wait for the LORD. Be strong, take heart, and wait for the LORD.
Adam Miller is the president and host of Songtime Radio and serves as the pastor of South Chatham Community Church. This article is a condensed version of one of his sermons.