I Trust You Even When…: Psalm 143
I Trust You Even When…
Psalm 143
Trust implies more than this, it sees and feels, and leans upon a person, a great, true, living heart of love. So let us ‘trust also in him,’ through all the delays, in spite of all the difficulties, in the face of all the denials, notwithstanding all the seemings, even when we cannot understand the way, and know not the issue; still ‘trust also in him, and he will bring it to pass.’ The way will open, the right issue will come, the end will be peace, the cloud will be lifted, and the light of an eternal noonday shall shine at last.
Streams in the Desert
Earlier in the Psalms, the psalmist beautifully said, “I believed, even when I spoke: ‘I am greatly afflicted’”(116:10). I thought of that verse as I read and studied Psalm 143. Tucked into the middle of this lament psalm, David says, “in you I trust” (143:8). I cling to these examples of saints who, even when they are afflicted and their hardships seem more than they can bear, they choose to believe and trust our God. Even when _________, will you, will I, say, “I trust You, Lord”?
For David, he said, “I trust You” even when…
- He was persecuted, crushed in darkness, overwhelmed and appalled (143:3-4).
- His spirit failed and He felt God had hidden His face from him (143:7).
- He was surrounded by enemies (143:9).
- He didn’t know what to do or where to go (143:10).
- He was in deep trouble (143:11).
Yet, even as he made his case that he was greatly afflicted, he says, “I trust You, Lord.” How does trust act in the “even when” circumstances?
- Trust pleads for mercy, praying and lifting its soul up to God (143:1-2,6,8). I’ll keep saying it to myself and here, trust continues to cry out to God even when it seems no answer is coming, even when it seems the situation has turned in the wrong direction, even when it seems justice is being ignored. Trust keeps coming to the Lord. We look to God to answer us in His faithfulness and in His righteousness. This means we look for an answer from God based on His character and not on our circumstances. Continue to persevere, cry out, lift up your soul to Him, and patiently endure. He hears and He will answer.
- Trust rests in the righteousness of Christ (143:3). The believer, like David, knows that there is none righteous, not even one. We have no standing with the Lord unless it be in Christ. We have no merit to approach His throne, no right as children to call Him Father, no expectation of help in the midst of trouble unless we are found in Christ. But if we are in Christ, we come with boldness to the throne of grace, we have Christ interceding on our behalf, we have the Spirit groaning for us and seeking the will of God for us. Every promise the Father has made finds its yes in Christ.
- Trust remembers what God has done and ponders it (143:5). At a very dark point in the psalm, where David says he feels crushed, in darkness, overwhelmed, and astonished, he reaches a turning point. It is not a turning point emotionally, not yet. But he chooses to turn his focus upward instead of inward. He says, “I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.” Meditating and pondering give the idea of thinking very carefully about something, weighing it in the mind. What does it look like to ponder what God has done? I believe it could be a number of things, including: recounting what God has done specifically for you, reading about what God has done for His people in His Word, observing the beauty of creation, rejoicing in God’s work for you in salvation, or meditating on any one of His attributes.
- Trust thirsts for God (143:6). David’s hardship had stripped him of reliance upon anything else. His suffering increased his thirst for the Lord. I think of Peter’s declaration to Jesus in John 6, when many stopped following the Lord, Jesus asked His disciples if they were going to go away also. Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Suffering, the removal of things we loved and lived for, the hardships of the pilgrimage, reveal the Lord’s true followers. Many people, when hardships come, will walk away because they have no firm root (Mark 4:17). But those who belong to the Lord will recognize their suffering as an instrument to help their faith to see more clearly that Christ is all. The sufferings that crush and confuse you may tempt you to flee, but let them cause you to flee to Christ, thirsting for Him.
- Trust looks for the steadfast love of the Lord (143:8). Hardships can obscure our sense of God’s love. When we have waited for an answer from the Lord for a long time, or when circumstances turn for the worse and there seems to be no deliverance, or when we feel alone, it can be hard to believe that the difficulty we are experiencing has been permitted and given to us because God loves us. His aim for each of His children is for them to fight the good fight and finish the race. He desires to give them a crown of righteousness. He waits with the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” But He knows there is no glory without suffering and no crown without a cross. He is making us ready for the kingdom He has prepared for us, a citizenship purchased for us by the death of His Son because of His great love for us. His love brought us into His kingdom, and His love knows the exact pilgrimage that will bring us safely there.
- Trust flees to God for refuge (143:9). Whatever our “even when” circumstance is, we can lean on God. He is a strong tower for those who flee to Him. He is the rock upon which we can stand. He is the wisdom we need in perplexing times. He is strength for the weary and comfort for the downcast. What do you need in your most trying times? You will find it in the Lord and in His Word.
- Trust looks to God for instruction and follows the Spirit’s leading (143:10). God promises in James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” David asks God for the wisdom he lacks when he cries out to the Lord to make him know the way he should go, to teach him, and to lead him. Suffering well to the glory of God requires much wisdom and direction from the Lord. As we walk through situation we never would have chosen for ourselves, we will constantly be confronted with opportunities to seek God for wisdom because we just won’t know what to do. Believing God, taking Him at His word, means that we will come to Him and ask Him for the wisdom and direction we need confidently resting in His promise to give it generously because we asked. The primary way God directs us and leads us by His Spirit is through His Word. So when we cry out to God for wisdom, we can’t neglect His primary tool for gaining wisdom: the Holy Scriptures.
- Finally, trust recognizes God’s sovereign rule over our lives (143:12). David ends this psalm saying, “I am your servant.” We, too, need a humble recognition that the Lord rules. He reigns over the entire universe. All things are under His dominion. From the immensity of the galaxy, to the tiny atom. He rules. And for His children, His sovereignty and dominion over our lives is a benevolent dominion. He is governing our lives for our good. So while there will be things we don’t understand, we can trust His wise rule and His loving care. We can humbly say, “Your will be done,” even when ________.
Let’s pray through Psalm 143 that we would evidence a heart of trust that believes the Lord even when we are greatly afflicted.
143:1-2 Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.
Let’s pray:
▫️Despite the difficulty and length of our trial, we would continue to come to the throne of grace and plead for mercy for our situation. Pour out your soul now to the Lord concerning the details that make your situation seem unbearable and what you desire to see Him do in your situation and in you.
▫️The Lord would answer speedily and we would have the eyes to see that His answer demonstrates His faithfulness and His righteousness.
▫️If we are struggling with guilt or remorse because we are reaping what we have sown, we would confess our sin and then rest in the forgiveness that is ours in Christ and rest in Christ’s perfect righteousness.
143:3-4 For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.
Let’s pray:
▫️Even when we feel crushed, in darkness, overwhelmed, and appalled, the “God, who comforts the depressed”(2 Corinthians 7:6) would comfort us with His Word, encouragement from a friend, the simple graces of life, or ________.
▫️We would aim to openly show the life of Christ even when we feel afflicted and perplexed (2 Corinthians 4:7-10).
▫️We would not lose heart.
143:5-6 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
Let’s pray:
▫️The Lord would help us to take captive the thoughts that would consume us about our situation, and we would instead turn our attention to what God has done. We would focus on the evidences of His faithfulness that we have seen.
▫️Our souls would long for the living God. We would say with the psalmist, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Psalm 42:1-2, NASB). The removal of other things would help us to truly understand that only God satisfies.
143:7-8 Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
Let’s pray:
▫️We would be rooted and grounded in the love of God, and we would be able to comprehend the breadth and length and height and depth, we would know the love of Christ with surpasses knowledge and we would be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:17-19). The knowledge of His love for us would help us endure our hardships.
143:9-10 Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord! I have fled to you for refuge. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!
Let’s pray:
▫️We would flee to God for refuge. We would not be afraid because He is our refuge and strength, a very present help in our time of need (Psalm 46:1-2).
▫️We would trust His promise to give us wisdom when we ask (James 1:5), and we would ask Him for wisdom and direction before seeking solutions. We would not neglect the wisdom His Word provides.
143:11-12 For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble! And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant.
Let’s pray:
▫️The Lord would preserve our lives and bring our soul out of trouble. He would orchestrate events and people for our deliverance. He would guard us against our enemies and surround us with His shield of protection. He would destroy the adversaries of our soul.
▫️We would humbly submit to His providence. We would gladly say, “Your will be done in my life.”
May the Lord do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Photo credit to rayhennessy
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