HOW TO GET THROUGH WHAT YOU'RE GOING THROUGH!
Main Text: Psalm 142:1–7
Supporting Text: 2 Chronicles 20:1–22
Theme Scripture: Galatians 6:9 (KJV)
MAIN SCRIPTURES
Psalm 142:1–3 (KJV)
“I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.
I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.
When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.”
Galatians 6:9 (KJV)
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
INTRODUCTION — EVERYBODY IS GOING THROUGH SOMETHING!
Church, there is something that everybody in this building has in common.
We may not have the same education.
We may not have the same income.
We may not live in the same neighborhood.
We may not drive the same kind of automobile.
But there is one thing we all have in common:
EVERYBODY IS GOING THROUGH SOMETHING!
Some are going through financial problems.
Some are going through family difficulties.
Some are going through sickness.
Some are going through disappointment.
Some are going through grief.
And some are going through situations they cannot even explain.
You can look at somebody and think everything is all right, but you don't know what they're carrying.
Some people are smiling on the outside while crying on the inside.
Some people are shouting in church while struggling at home.
Some people are encouraging everybody else while needing encouragement themselves.
And the question is not whether trouble will ever come.
The question is: HOW DO YOU GET THROUGH WHAT YOU'RE GOING THROUGH?
A LITTLE HUMOR
A man went to his pastor and said, “Pastor, I'm having so many problems that I don't know what to do!”
The pastor said, “Have you tried praying?”
The man answered, “Pastor, has it gotten that bad?”
Church, prayer should not be the last thing we try!
PRAYER OUGHT TO BE THE FIRST PLACE WE TURN!
Some people talk to everybody about their problems except the One who can give them the strength to face them.
They call their friends.
They call their relatives.
They call their neighbors.
They tell everybody what they're going through.
But they haven't spent five minutes talking to God!
Today I want to show you how to take your trouble to the Lord.
David gives us a pattern in Psalm 142.
Jehoshaphat gives us another pattern in 2 Chronicles 20.
And together they teach us how to get through what we're going through.
BACKGROUND — DAVID IN THE CAVE
Psalm 142 is identified as a prayer of David when he was in the cave.
David had been anointed to become king, but he was living like a fugitive.
Saul was seeking his life.
David had to leave familiar surroundings.
He experienced fear, uncertainty, and loneliness.
The man who had defeated Goliath now found himself hiding in a cave.
Think about that!
He had been anointed, but he was still afflicted.
He had received a promise, but he was still experiencing problems.
He had experienced victory, but he was still facing opposition.
BEING ANOINTED DOES NOT MEAN YOU WILL NEVER BE AFFLICTED!
But David teaches us something important.
He did not allow the cave to silence his prayer.
He turned his trouble into a conversation with God.
And that brings us to our first point.
POINT 1 — COMPLAIN TO GOD, NOT ABOUT GOD!
Psalm 142:1–2 (KJV)
“I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.
I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.”
Notice what David said:
“I POURED OUT MY COMPLAINT BEFORE HIM!”
David didn't pretend everything was wonderful.
He didn't deny that he was hurting.
He didn't hide his disappointment.
He took his complaint directly to God.
Church, there is a difference between complaining TO God and complaining ABOUT God.
Complaining TO God means bringing your pain, questions, and disappointments before Him in prayer.
Complaining ABOUT God, in the destructive sense, means allowing your frustration to turn into bitterness, contempt, or an accusation that God is unfaithful.
The difference is not simply whether we ask hard questions. David and other faithful people in Scripture asked God difficult questions.
The difference is whether our pain drives us toward God or hardens our hearts against Him.
Psalm 62:8 (KJV)
“Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.”
Bible illustration — Hannah
Hannah was deeply distressed because she had no child.
She was provoked and troubled.
But she took her sorrow before the Lord.
1 Samuel 1:15 (KJV)
“And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.”
Hannah poured out her soul before God.
She didn't have to pretend she wasn't hurting.
She prayed honestly.
When you're hurting, talk to God!
When you're disappointed, talk to God!
When you're confused, talk to God!
When you don't understand, talk to God!
DON'T LET YOUR TROUBLE TURN YOU AGAINST GOD. LET YOUR TROUBLE DRIVE YOU INTO HIS PRESENCE!
POINT 2 — APPEAL TO GOD FOR HELP!
Psalm 142:5 (KJV)
“I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.”
David did more than describe his problem.
He appealed to God for help.
He declared that the Lord was his refuge.
A refuge is a place of protection and shelter.
David was saying, in effect:
“Lord, I cannot handle this situation by myself. I need You!”
Psalm 46:1 (KJV)
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
Notice that God is not merely a help after trouble.
He is a present help IN TROUBLE!
Bible illustration — Jehoshaphat
In 2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat learned that a great army was coming against Judah.
He was afraid.
But he knew where to turn.
2 Chronicles 20:3–4 (KJV)
“And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.”
Jehoshaphat didn't allow fear to have the final word.
He sought the Lord.
He called the people to prayer and fasting.
When trouble comes, don't just panic.
Pray!
When you receive a bad report, pray!
When you don't know which direction to take, pray!
When the burden becomes too heavy, appeal to God!
There is nothing wrong with seeking wise counsel, medical help, or practical assistance. But don't neglect prayer while seeking those things.
BEFORE YOU GIVE UP, LOOK UP!
POINT 3 — REMIND GOD OF WHAT HE HAS ALREADY SAID!
2 Chronicles 20:6–7 (KJV)
“And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?
Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?”
Jehoshaphat began reminding himself and the people of God's power and past faithfulness.
Then he appealed to what God had promised concerning His people.
2 Chronicles 20:9 (KJV)
“If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.”
Church, when you're going through something, learn to pray God's Word.
Not because God has forgotten what He said, but because you are standing in faith upon what He said!
Numbers 23:19 (KJV)
“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
Bible illustration — Jacob
Jacob was afraid of meeting his brother Esau.
He remembered what God had told him and brought that word into his prayer.
Genesis 32:9 (KJV)
“And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:”
Jacob was essentially saying:
“Lord, I am here because You told me to return. I'm depending on Your Word!”
When you feel weak, remember Isaiah 40:29:
“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.”
When you need wisdom, remember James 1:5:
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
When you
