Groaning and Rejoicing

Let's open up our Bibles to the book of Psalms.

Normally it's our practice here at Seawee Bay to preach through books of the Bible.

We were in a series in the book of John, and we'll pick that back up, Lord willing, in the fall.

But for the summer, we're spending some time together in the Psalms.

And this morning we've made it to Psalm chapter 5.

Psalms 5 · chapter mention

So if you're using the Pew Bibles there in front of you, if you didn't bring your own Bible,

I believe you can find this passage on page 419 of the Pew Bible there in front of you.

But we want you to have God's Word open in front of you and look to what He says as we read it together.

So if you would, follow along with me as I read Psalm chapter 5.

Psalms 5 · chapter mention

This is a Psalm of David. He says,

Give ear to my words, O Lord. Consider my groaning.

Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God.

For to you do I pray.

O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice.

In the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness.

Evil may not dwell with you.

The boastful shall not stand before your eyes.

You hate all evildoers.

You destroy those who speak lies.

The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house.

I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.

Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies.

Make your way straight before me.

For there is no truth in their mouth.

Their inmost self is destruction.

Their throat is an open grave.

They flatter with their tongue.

Make them bear their guilt, O God.

Let them fall by their own counsels.

Because of the abundance of their transgressions, cast them out.

For they have rebelled against you.

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice.

Let them ever sing for joy.

And spread your protection over them.

That those who love your name may exult in you.

For you bless the righteous, O Lord.

You cover him with favor as with a shield.

Amen.

The grass withers and the flower fades.

But God's eternal, perfect, beautiful word stands forever.

Would you bow with me once more as we pray?

Lord, I cannot begin to know the various sufferings and trials and difficulties that are represented in this room.

But you do.

And so we pray now as we open up this psalm of suffering.

This psalm of groaning.

Lord, that you would comfort us with your presence.

And with the hope that can only be found in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We pray in his glorious name.

Amen.

How do believers respond in the face of danger?

This is the question that we've been taking up week after week after week from the psalms over the past several weeks.

And here as we make it to Psalm chapter 5, it is no different.

Psalms 5 · chapter mention

David is still facing threats, still facing trials.

I believe that he is still on the run from Absalom, his son, and the army with him.

And I thought, you know, just for a change of pace this morning, we would quote three different prosperity teachers to hear what they might say about how we should respond to the dangers in our lives.

These are our prosperity gospel teachers.

The prosperity gospel, you may be well aware, is a false teaching that tells us that believers should have really no difficulties and no dangers, no trials.

And if we just simply have enough faith, then we'll live a life of health, wealth, victory, happiness, and everything will be well.

I'm willing to bet that we've seen enough just four chapters into the book of Psalms by this point to not listen to anything that these people have to say.

All right, so let's take a look at three of them.

Creflo Dollar from My Stomping Grounds.

Creflo Dollar says,

Sounds simple enough, doesn't it?

Yet here in Psalm chapter 5, David trusts God and he groans.

Psalms 5 · chapter mention

He trusts God and he cries out day and night.

He is irritated by the disturbing circumstances around him.

Number two, Joseph Prince.

He says,

You are destined to reign in life.

You are called by God, the Lord, to be a success, to enjoy wealth, to enjoy health, and to enjoy a life of victory.

It is not the Lord's desire that you live a life of defeat, poverty, and failure.

But here, David is on the run from his son.

Once again, he's in danger.

He's in turmoil.

He's in trials.

His throne has been ripped away from him.

He's been torn out of his city.

His entire life is in shambles.

This is not a life of comfort and victory.

Last one.

Joel Osteen, he says,

That difficulty is not there to defeat you.

It is there to promote you.

You can handle it.

Take hold of your strength.

But here, of course, David hasn't taken hold of his strength.

Has he?

What's he doing?

He's taking hold, trusting in the strength of the Lord.

He's responding as believers do in the face of danger and looking to the strength of God.

You know, this type of false prosperity teaching, it sells books.

It draws crowds.

It's very popular.

But it simply doesn't fit well with the testimony of Scripture.

In fact, it doesn't fit well with the message of our passage this morning.

You know, the book of Psalms, one of the reasons why we are drawn to the book of Psalms,

one of the reasons why we love this book is because it gives us an honest picture,

an honest look at the sufferings and the trials and the difficulties of life.

The Psalms give us bad news and good news, and we'll see both this morning.

The bad news is that the life of a believer is filled with groaning.

The life of a believer is filled with groaning.

But the good news is that we groan with hope in the Lord.

So this morning, what I want to do is to let God's Word equip us to groan as those who have hope.

To groan as David is groaning here in this psalm.

So this morning, we're going to see four ways that believers groan in suffering.

This will be our outline this morning.

If you're taking notes, we'll see four ways believers groan in suffering.

First, believers groan with frequency.

Believers groan with frequency.

Look with me again to verse 1.

David says,

It's clear that David is once again in distress.

We've seen over the past several weeks that David is on the run from his son Absalom,

and the Lord has sustained him through the night.

Last week, we saw Psalm chapter 4.

Psalms 4 · chapter mention

He laid down and slept in peace.

And now, Psalm chapter 5, he wakes up again.

Psalms 5 · chapter mention

And once again, what does he do?

First thing in the morning, he groans.

Cries out to the Lord.

Now, if indeed this is the same event as I believe Psalms 3 through 9 are all focused around this event with Absalom,

I think it's important for us to realize that David's prayer for deliverance,

his lamenting of his situation, his groaning to the Lord, his crying out to God,

is not just a one-time event.

This is constant, frequent, regular groaning, praying for deliverance, calling out to the Lord.

It's day and night.

In fact, I wonder if you've noticed the pattern here in the book of Psalms over the past several weeks.

Psalms 1 and 2 kind of gives us the introduction to the whole book of Psalms.

And then Psalm 3 was a morning prayer.

Psalm 4 was an evening prayer.

Psalm 5 this morning is another morning prayer.

In the morning, he calls out to the Lord.

Lord willing, next week, Psalm chapter 6, we'll see another evening prayer.

Psalms 6 · chapter mention

See, there's a rhythm here of frequent suffering, frequent groaning, frequent calling out to the name of the Lord.

Day and night, day and night, day and night.

He wakes up again here.

The Lord has sustained him through the night, but the issue is still there.

And because the suffering is still there, he is still groaning.

As we read through the Psalms like this, Psalms that have groaning and calling out to the Lord like this,

we should ask ourselves, is this how we call out to the Lord?

Is this how we speak with him?

Believers are those who groan constantly to the Lord.

Are you crying out to the Lord now because of pain?

Because of weakness in your flesh?

Because of sickness?

Because of illness?

Are you groaning and crying out because of loss?

Because of grief?

Are you groaning and crying out to the Lord because of your sin?

We have to realize, Christian, that this type of groaning and crying out to the Lord

is not abnormal for the believer.

The groaning and pain and suffering, I'll be honest with you,

are a normal part of the believer's life on this side of eternity.

All of us, I don't know the issues that you're facing in the room, not all of them,

but I do know that all of us face all sorts of various trials.

Some may be trials of attack like David is facing here.

Others, trials of loss and grief, trials of sickness, trials of temptation, trials of sin.

And all of them ought to lead us to groan and to cry out to the Lord,

Lord, save me from this.

Lord, look at what's happening here.

Lord, help me.

Day and night, we should groan and cry out to the Lord.

You know, that is good and normal for a believer.

If we're not grieved by anything in our life,

if we look around us, the world that we live in as broken as it is,

if we're not groaning for the Lord to act,

if we look within us and notice our own sin

and we're comfortable with everything in our life,

we're not grieved by our own sin,

we're not groaning and crying out,

who will deliver me from this body of death?

You know, if we're not groaning to the Lord frequently,

something might be wrong.

Believers groan regularly.

I want you to hear me on this very clearly.

Please don't listen to anyone

who would tell you that having a stronger faith

would mean less suffering here in this life.

Don't listen to anyone who would tell you

that if you just believe, just trust,

just have a stronger faith

that you would be relieved of your groaning in this life.

And don't listen to anyone who would tell you

that you're not allowed to groan in your suffering.

What do I mean by that?

Well, I think if you're like me,

we all try to be tough, don't we?

And we tend to believe that the Lord is most pleased with us

when we just tough it out.

We just grit and bear it.

Men especially, I'm talking to you,

I'm talking to myself,

we don't want to whine.

We don't want to seem weak.

We don't want to seem less than.

But listen,

our groaning to God in suffering

is not a sign of weakness.

Our groaning out to the Lord in suffering

is not a sign of lack of faith in God.

On the contrary,

we honor God

when we cry out to Him in faith

in the midst of our trials.

We need to feel the freedom to lament.

Not grumbling and faithless complaining

like the Israelites in the wilderness,

but faithful groaning,

groaning in faith to the Lord.

There's an eternity of difference here.

We're going to see this more

as we go through the book of Psalms,

but do you realize that

over one-third of the book of Psalms is lament?

Over one-third of the book of Psalms,

the author is calling God's attention

to some particular trial,

some particular issue,

some particular enemy,

some particular difficulty,

calling God's attention to the trials

and groaning to the Lord,

asking Him to do something about it.

We need to recover a sense of freedom

to groan and cry out to the Lord.

His frequent groaning

isn't a demonstration of lack of faith,

it's a demonstration

of strong, deep trust in the Lord

to do what only God can do.

The Psalms,

they invite us to cry out to God,

not in bitterness,

not in despair,

but in faith in a good God

who hears our cries.

Believers groan frequently.

Not only this.

Second,

believers groan with confidence.

Believers groan with confidence.

Let me ask you something.

What makes a believer confident

in the face of trials?

When trials, temptations,

suffering comes into your life,

what is the source of your confidence?

What will you cling to?

For the believer,

the believer's confidence

in the face of suffering

is the character of God.

It's the character of God.

Look there at what David says here.

King David, ruler of God's people,

what does he say in verse 2?

He cries out to God and he says,

you give attention to the sound of my cry,

my King and my God.

He calls out to God,

his God,

his Lord,

his covenant God,

the covenant faithful God.

His confidence is in the person

and the character of God,

his God.

It's like a child

who falls down on the playground

and scrapes his knee.

What happens?

Where do they turn right away?

To mom or dad?

Out of all the people there

on the playground,

many kids,

many parents,

they run straight to mom,

run straight to dad.

Why?

Because they trust

in the character

of mom and dad.

They know that

they are there

to protect them,

that they are there

to serve them,

that they love them.

There's relational dependence

and trust and love there.

And so it is with David.

This is David's confidence here.

His confidence

in the face of suffering

is the character of God.

Look there to verses 4-6.

4-6

because David gives

four statements

of confidence here.

All of them

rooted in God's

holy character.

And I'll be honest,

some of these are hard

for us to swallow.

Some of these statements

of confidence

are hard for us to hear.

Some of these

will not sell books,

it will not draw crowds,

but when we understand them,

these are the root

of our confidence

in suffering.

So look there

to verse 4.

He groans with confidence

because, number one,

truth number one,

because God is holy.

Because God is holy.

What does he say

in verse 4?

You are not a God

who delights

in wickedness.

David's confidence

is rooted

in the holiness

of God.

When we look

at all the evil

around us,

the evil inside of us,

wicked acts against us,

how can we be confident

that God will deal with it?

It's because God is holy.

And so we can call out

to God in confidence

because we know

that as much

as it displeases us,

it really does not

please Him.

Our confidence

is that God

will deal with wickedness

because God is holy.

It's in His holy character.

And so because of this

second statement,

we can be confident

with David

that the wicked

will not dwell

with God.

The wicked

will not dwell

with God.

He says,

evil may not dwell

with you.

This is what

Psalm chapter 1

Psalms 1 · chapter mention

has already laid out

for us, isn't it?

The wicked

will not stand

in the judgment

nor sinners

in the congregation

of the righteous.

David is essentially

praying back

the truth of Psalm 1

back to God

and affirming

this is who you are.

This is what you've said.

This is my confidence.

So whatever success

the wicked may have

here and now,

whatever victory

it may seem like

they've gained

here and now,

at the end of the day,

with confidence,

David prays,

the wicked

will not dwell

with God.

They will not triumph.

Why?

Truth number three,

because the Lord

sees every sin.

Look how David

draws attention

to the specific sins

of his enemies here.

Do you think that God

doesn't see this?

Do you think that God

isn't already aware

of what David

calls his attention to

here?

Of course he knows.

God sees every act,

he knows every thought,

he hears every word,

but David here,

he calls God's attention

to the specific sins

of his enemies.

He's calling on God

to see and to act.

He says,

those who boast

will not stand before you.

His enemies are boastful.

The proud will not stand

before the Lord.

And not only that,

David says that

these enemies are liars.

They're bloodthirsty.

They're full of lies.

I wonder if you've ever

been lied about.

If you know how this feels.

David's enemies,

they want him dead.

They've lied about him.

Now they're boasting

in their arrogance.

David's confidence

in the midst of all of this

is that surely God sees it.

Surely God knows

about the wickedness

of these people.

But not only that,

he knows about it.

Number four,

verse five,

his confidence

is that God hates it.

Verse five says,

the Lord hates

all evil doers.

The Lord abhors

the bloodthirsty

and the deceitful.

Now,

here's where we have to pause.

This is hard for us to hear.

Did he just say

what I think he said?

That the Lord hates

all evil doers?

What happened to

love the sinner,

hate the sin?

This is a lot of hate

for a God of love.

How can we understand this?

That David is saying here,

the Lord abhors

bloodthirsty

and deceitful men.

The Lord hates

all evil doers.

Well,

we have to understand,

church,

that the Lord

deeply,

deeply

hates

sin.

He hates

sin.

This truth

is both

an offense

to the sinful

and

it is the hope

of the righteous.

We can't minimize this,

that God hates

sin.

And of course,

that's an offense

to the sinful.

Everybody wants to be

affirmed in their sin.

Everybody wants to keep

their sin around

like a pet.

And nobody wants to hear

a message of God

hating their wickedness.

We all

want a God

that just loves us

and accepts us

just as we are.

We don't have to change

a thing about us.

That's the God

that we want,

but that's a God

of our imagination.

That is not

the God

of the Bible.

The God

of the Bible

hates

sin.

It's truth.

This is the offense

of the gospel.

But,

it's also

the hope

of the righteous.

David's confidence

in the face

of evil

is God's

hatred of it.

We have to understand,

if we take away

God's hatred

of sin,

then we should have

no confidence

that God

will deal

with it.

If we

minimize

and undermine

God's complete

hatred of wickedness,

we should have

no hope

that God

would ever

do away

with it

as He's promised

that He will.

But God

hates sin.

Because God

hates wickedness,

we can be sure

that He will

do away

with all wickedness.

But here,

He says,

God hates

the sinful.

sinful.

Now,

this is hard

for us to swallow,

isn't it?

This is hard

for us to swallow.

You know,

one reason why

I think this is hard

for us to understand,

why we struggle

with this,

is because

we tend to want

to divorce

sinful actions

from people.

As if sinful thoughts,

sinful words,

sinful actions,

sinful motives

exist apart

from sinful people.

They don't come

from sinful people.

But the Bible

doesn't speak like that.

The Bible,

Jesus says,

the good person

out of the good

treasure of his heart

produces good.

The evil person

out of his evil

treasure produces evil.

Out of the overflow

of the heart,

the mouth speaks.

Lies come

from a lying heart.

Murder comes

from a murderous heart.

Boasting comes

from a boastful,

prideful heart.

And the Lord

sees it

and the Lord

hates it.

But you know

the real reason

why this is hard

for us to swallow?

It's because

all of us

know

that we

are wicked.

That we

are wicked.

Look there

to verse 9.

He's describing

his enemies.

He says,

there's no truth

in their mouth.

Their inmost self

is destruction.

Their throat

is an open grave.

They flatter

with their tongue.

This is not

a very lovable image.

And Paul

in Romans chapter 3,

Romans 3 · chapter mention

in fact,

turn there with me

if you can

very quickly.

Paul in Romans chapter 3,

Romans 3 · chapter mention

he takes

these same words,

these same descriptions

of the wickedness

that God abhors

and he applies

them to

everyone.

You

and me.

Turn with me

to Romans 3.

Look there.

Romans 3 verse 10

Romans 3:10

very briefly.

Here's what he says.

None is righteous.

No, not one.

No one understands.

No one seeks

for God.

All have turned aside.

Together

they have become

worthless.

I'd love to hear

a prosperity teacher

preach on this passage.

I'm not going to

hold my breath.

No one does good.

Not even one.

Their throat

is an open grave.

There we go,

quoting this passage.

They use their tongues

to deceive.

The venom of asps

is under their lips.

Their mouth

is full of curses

and bitterness.

Their feet

are swift

to shed blood.

In their paths

are ruin

and misery

and the way

of peace

they have not known.

There is no fear

of God

before their eyes.

If this is us,

if this is our wickedness

and if God feels

about our wickedness

the way that David says

he feels about

our wickedness,

this is not good

for us.

No one is righteous.

No, not one.

But if this is true,

and it is,

then how in the world

could this possibly

give us any confidence?

If this is true,

how can David,

a wicked man,

a bloodthirsty man,

one who is deeply sinful,

has already demonstrated

his sin

and the issues

with Bathsheba

and with Uriah,

how can David

pray with any confidence

that the Lord

would judge his enemies

for their wickedness

and not him

for his wickedness?

Do you see the issue here?

There is one hope.

Point number three.

Third,

believers groan

with hope

in the steadfast love

of God.

Believers groan

with hope

in the steadfast love

of God.

What is David's hope?

God hates the wicked.

God hates sin.

When David looks out

and sees armies approaching,

when he knows

that wicked men

are coming for his life,

but he knows

that he himself

has shed innocent blood,

that he himself

is guilty

and sinful.

What is his hope?

It's not his goodness.

It's not his strength.

It's not his skill.

What does it say?

Verse seven.

But I,

he says,

through the abundance

of your steadfast love

will enter your house.

I will bow down

toward your holy temple

in the fear of you.

So lead me,

O Lord,

in your righteousness

because of my enemies.

Make your way

straight before me.

Now,

how does David

enter into the presence

of God

as a wicked man?

Listen to this.

David escapes

the judgment

of God

through

the love of God.

Say that again.

David escapes

the judgment

of God

through

the love

of God

and so do we.

This is the hope

of the gospel.

Do you know

the hope

of the gospel,

church?

I know you do,

but do you cling

to it

as your only hope?

Do you cling

to the steadfast

love of God

for you in Christ

as your only hope

to escape

the wrath of God

against your sin?

Do you realize

that that wrath

of God

against your sin

is much bigger,

much more serious,

much weightier

than any trial,

any suffering,

any difficulty,

any attack

you could ever face

in this life?

But if you have

the steadfast love

of God

offered freely

through Christ,

then no trial,

no pain,

no suffering,

no grief,

no loss,

no heartache,

nothing can separate

you from the love

of God

in Christ Jesus

our Lord.

This is the gospel.

This is the hope

that we have.

And hear me,

this love of God

is offered freely

to sinners

in Christ.

Any who would turn

from their wicked ways

and put their faith

in their risen Savior

can know

the steadfast love

of God

for the rest

of eternity.

This is good news.

There are so many

words that we could

use to describe

the gospel.

I want you to remember

just two this morning

from this psalm.

The gospel is a message

of love

and justice.

The gospel is a message

of love

and justice.

And we see both of them

here.

Now look there with me

to verse 10.

Psalm 5,

Psalms 5:10

verse 10.

David prays,

Make them bear

their guilt,

O God.

Let them fall

by their own counsels.

Because of the abundance

of their transgressions,

cast them out.

For they've rebelled

against you.

You know,

that's what the wicked

deserve.

David is praying

in light of the holiness

and the justice

of God

that the wicked

would get

what they deserve

for their guilt.

And they will.

God will one day

address every ounce

of wickedness.

All of us

will have to give

an account

to the Lord

and He will bring

justice.

But our hope,

believer,

our confidence

is that because

of the mercy

and the love

of God,

we do not

get what we

deserve.

because of the mercy

and the love

of God,

we do not

get what we

deserve.

The wicked,

because of the abundance

of their transgressions,

are cast away.

But I,

David says,

through the abundance

of your steadfast love,

will enter the presence

of God.

How?

Because Christ

has taken

the wrath

that my sins

deserve.

That's our confidence.

confidence.

That's our hope,

that Jesus Christ,

the true,

innocent King

of God's people,

bore the wrath

of God

in our place.

You know,

God doesn't just

look away

from sin.

He can't do that.

He's just.

All sin

must be

paid for.

All sin

must be

atoned

for.

And so Christ

died not for

His sin,

but for ours.

Justice

was satisfied

in Him

so that

the steadfast

love of God

might be given

to us

who believe

in Him.

You see,

the difference

between the righteous

and the wicked,

the difference

between those

who are righteous

in God's sight

and those who are

wicked in God's sight,

is it's not that

they sin

and we don't.

It's that by the grace

of God,

we have been

made righteous,

declared righteous

because of His

faithfulness,

not ours.

And we stand

before Him

as holy

because of the

greatness of

His love,

not ours.

Apart from the

unmerited,

steadfast love

of God

given freely

to sinners in Christ,

we are rebels.

We are wicked.

We are deserving

of the fires

of hell.

We are deserving

of the wrath

of God,

but God demonstrates

His love for us

and that while

we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.

We were those

who deserve

His judgment

because of our

transgressions,

but because Christ

was pierced

for our transgressions

and crushed

for our iniquities

by His wounds,

we are healed.

That's the gospel,

church.

Now,

what does that

have to do

with our groaning

and our suffering?

Well,

because of the

love of God

given to us

in Christ,

believers don't

groan in despair.

we groan

in hope.

If God did not

spare His own

Son,

but gave Him

up for us all,

how will He not

also graciously

along with Him

graciously give us

all things?

What can suffering

do to us

but draw us

closer to Christ?

What can suffering

do to us

but make us

more like Him?

What can suffering

do to us

but bring us

to the presence

of God?

You know,

one of my favorite

passages to quote

for those who are

suffering is 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5.

And Paul says

to the believer,

So we do not

lose heart.

Though our outer self

is wasting away,

your inner self

is being renewed

day by day.

For this light

momentary affliction

is preparing for us

an eternal weight

of glory

beyond all comparison.

As we look not

to the things

that are seen

but to the things

that are unseen.

For the things

that are seen

are transient

but the things

that are unseen

are eternal.

For we know

that if the tent

that is our earthly

home is destroyed

we have a building

from God,

a house not made

with hands,

eternal in the heavens.

For in this tent

we groan,

longing to put on

our heavenly dwelling.

If indeed by putting it on

we may not be found

naked.

For while we are still

in this tent

we groan,

being burdened

not that we would

be unclothed

but that we would

be further clothed

so that what is mortal

may be swallowed up

by life.

He who has prepared us

for this very thing

is God

who has given us

the spirit

as a guarantee.

Do you have this hope?

Are you clinging

to the steadfast love

of God

available to you

freely in Christ?

If not,

the offer is made

now to you

to turn from your

wickedness

and to trust

in the risen Savior

Jesus Christ

who bore the wrath

of God

for you

so that you

might know

the steadfast love

of God.

If you do

know that love

believer

then cling to it

no matter what

happens to you

in this life

believer

we can groan

with joy.

This is our

fourth and final

point this morning.

Fourth,

believers

groan

with joy.

David ends

here with another

contrast between

the righteous

and the wicked.

Look there with me

to verse 11.

The wicked

are cast out

away from the

presence of God

but he prays

in verse 11

he says

let all

who take refuge

in you

rejoice.

Let them

ever sing

for joy

and spread

your protection

over them

that those

who love

your name

may exalt

in you

for you

bless the

righteous

O Lord.

You cover him

with favor

as with a shield.

David

claims

two great

promises

here

for the

righteous.

Do you see them?

He claims

God's blessing

and he claims

God's

protection

over the

righteous.

And you know

this is

where those

prosperity

teachers go

wrong

isn't it?

Because they

want to claim

these promises

right now.

Total

blessing

total

protection

no

suffering

total

health

total

righteousness

total

wisdom

total

wealth

total

victory

right now

no

suffering

but we

have to

realize

these are

eternal

promises

aren't they?

And we

get hints

and taste

of these

promises

here and

now

but their

fulfillment

is yet

to come

when Christ

our King

returns.

Suffering

comes before

glory

for Christ

and for

the people

of Christ

but what

we can

have

right now

even in

the midst

of trials

is joy.

You see that

there in

verse 11?

He says

let all

who take

refuge in

you

rejoice

let them

sing

ever sing

for joy

and spread

your protection

over them

that those

who love

your name

may exalt

in you.

Do you know

what it's like

to rejoice

in suffering?

I know

that you know

what it's like

to suffer.

Every morning

every Sunday

morning we

gather

we share

prayer requests

we talk

about our

suffering

I hear it

I know it

but do you

know what

it's like

to rejoice

in your

suffering?

This is what

we're called

to believers.

This is why

James calls

us to count

it all

joy my

brothers

when you

meet

trials

of various

kinds

for you

know

that the

testing

of your

faith

produces

steadfastness

and let

steadfastness

have its

full effect

that you

may be

perfect

and complete

lacking

in nothing

do you

know what

it's like

to suffer

with joy?

I want

to close

this morning

by reading

to you

some of

an article

that I

read this

week

by someone

named

Joni

Erickson

Tata

you may

know that

name

if not

I would

highly

encourage

you to

go read

some of

what she's

written

Joni

Erickson

Tata

was paralyzed

at a

young age

through a

terrible

accident

and she

doubted

was angry

was bitter

towards the

Lord

but the

Lord

restored

her joy

in the

faith

if anybody

knows what

it's like

to suffer

with joy

it's her

so please

listen to

this as

we close

she says

no one

understands

the relationship

between joy

and suffering

better than

the son

of man

my God

became human

his love

insisting

that I

might not

be alone

in my

struggles

when I

hurt

he knows

but Jesus

does not

merely

sympathize

with me

he's done

something

about it

through his

death and

resurrection

he has

freed me

from sin's

power

and in

part

from the

suffering

that results

from it

and he

will free

me fully

in the

age to

come

that

coming

age

is my

joyous

hope

is hope

that sees

Jesus

on his

throne

with his

kingdom

filling

every

corner

of the

cosmos

hope

that

envisions

sorrow

and

sighing

erased

from the

face

of the

universe

hope

that

eagerly

awaits

the

moment

when

pain

and

tears

will be

banished

and evil

will be

punished

but that

hope

the better

country

of Hebrews

11 16

is still

in the

future

I've likely

got miles

to go

before I

sleep

and it's

getting harder

to adjust

to the harsh

encroachments

of older age

and increasing

pain

I could easily

throw down

my pick

and shovel

collapsed

by the edge

of my ugly

field

and say

God I am

so tired

of this

please no

more

so

listen to

this

so I

stoke

my hope

I am

heartened

by my

precious

savior

and the

way

he

endured

unthinkable

suffering

for the

joy set

before him

I follow

him

parking

my

wheelchair

on Romans

12 12

rejoice

in hope

be patient

in tribulation

be constant

in prayer

now it's

easy to see

why God

commands us

to be

constant

in prayer

for it

can be a

struggle

to pray

when we're

suffering

and we

understand

why God

commands us

to be

patient

in tribulation

for it's

hard to

muster

patience

when you

are in

misery

but it's

really

hard

to rejoice

in hope

hope can

feel so

far off

vague

and nebulous

yet God

commands it

for if Jesus

laid aside

his robes

to put on

the enormous

indignity

of human

birth

for our

sake

then his

father

has the

right

to command

our

joy

he has

the

prerogative

to call

forth in

us a

happiness

that's

commensurate

with his

son's

sacrifice

we are

to cultivate

a joy

that's

worthy

of Jesus

our

blessed

hope

believer

respond

to the

dangers

of this

life

by taking

refuge

in him

respond

to the

suffering

of life

by groaning

to him

in confidence

him

who spared

not his

own son

to Christ

who suffered

for us

that we

might join

him

in glory

let's pray

lord would

you lead

us

because of

our

enemies

would you

go before

us

and lead

the way

as we

walk

through yet

another

week

as we

go home

this afternoon

as we

face

all the

many

trials

of our

life

lord we

pray

with confidence

in you

groaning

to you

lord

would you

see

our

weakness

god

and give

us

strength

would you

see

our

trials

father

and go

before us

lead us

lord even

through the

valley of

darkness

father

and we

thank you

for sending

christ to

live and

to die

and to

rise

for us

that we

might have

hope even

in the midst

of our

suffering

we love

you lord

and we

pray this

in christ

name

amen