SESSION 4 THE SHELTER OF GOD S ENCOURAGEMENT. 62 Session LifeWay

Transcription

1 SESSION 4 THE SHELTER OF GOD S ENCOURAGEMENT 62 Session 4

2 The Point God encourages me when I feel overwhelmed. The Passage Psalm 42:1-3,6-8; 43:3-5 The Bible Meets Life We can often feel overwhelmed by our circumstances. For many people, the festive days of the Christmas season are followed by the harsh reality that we are financially overextended. For others, it is health or family issues. In the Bible, we read the words of a psalmist who experienced a down time, but his words also give us encouragement by pointing to the God who is above our circumstances. The Setting The repeated refrain in Psalm 42:5,11 and 43:5 leads many Bible students to conclude that initially the two psalms were actually united as one. Whether that was ever the case or not, both psalms reflect that the composer was distressed and depressed over his inability to worship God on His holy mountain. He repeatedly reminded himself to put his hope in God and to praise God as the remedy for his depression. GET INTO THE STUDY 10 minutes GUIDE: Direct the group to look at the picture (see p. 62; Personal Study Guide [PSG], p. 60). DISCUSS: Question #1 (PSG, p. 60): When do you tend to get the blues? GUIDE: Direct attention to The Bible Meets Life (PSG, p. 61). Note the emphasis on circumstances that threaten to make us feel overwhelmed. Acknowledge that senior adults have likely faced varied circumstances over the years that have felt overwhelming. But we likely could also testify that we found encouragement in those times in our relationship with the Lord. GUIDE: Introduce The Point (PSG, p. 61): God encourages me when I feel overwhelmed. SAY: Some of us may be feeling overwhelmed today. We find in Psalms 42 and 43 that the psalmist dealt with the same kinds of feelings. But he overcame through his faith in God. SUGGESTED USE WEEK OF DECEMBER 28 63

3 THE POINT God encourages me when I feel overwhelmed. STUDY THE BIBLE Psalm 42: minutes READ: Invite a volunteer to read Psalm 42:1-3. GUIDE: Stress that feeling distant from God can cause the type of feelings we read about in these verses. Note the author s illustration of a child who has become separated from his parents (PSG, p ) and the frantic feelings of being lost. State that we all may have been in such a situation and experienced the panic of thinking: Where is the one who is supposed to take care of me? Sometimes life gets in the way of our faith, and we have the same kind of panic when God seems absent. It is during those times that we need to act like the deer in verse 1. DISCUSS: Question #2 (PSG, p. 63): What does it feel like to continually long for something? Psalm 42:1-3 1 As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, God. 2 I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and appear before God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while all day long people say to me, Where is your God? There are times when we experience a longing for God because we feel abandoned. Many Bible interpreters believe Psalms were originally one united psalm. The repeated words of lament and confidence in Psalm 42:5,11 and 43:5 demonstrate a clear connection. Some believe the psalm was divided into two for use in worship; others suggest Psalm 43 was composed as a complement to Psalm 42. All agree the psalms were deliberately connected in ancient times. The psalm is ascribed to the sons of Korah. The name Korah first appears in the Bible in the line of Esau, Jacob s brother (Gen. 36:5,16). Another Korah, a Levite, rebelled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness and perished for his sin (Num. 16). However, it appears from references in the Books of Chronicles, many of this Korah s descendants led in Israel s public worship (2 Chron. 20:19), while others served as gatekeepers to the tent of meeting (1 Chron. 9:19). Some interpreters believe this group composed many hymns, 11 of which are preserved in the Book of Psalms (Pss. 42; 44 49; 84 85; 87 88). If Psalms were originally one psalm, then the sons of Korah also composed what we now call Psalm 43. Psalm 42 s note in the heading for the choir director also suggests its use in public worship. Most interpreters believe the term maskil designates either a teaching psalm, a reflective psalm, or a psalm requiring special skill to perform. In Judah s wilderness, water is scarce. Occasional patches of green or a few lone trees indicate a water supply perhaps a spring or an underground pool. Shepherds know how to find 64 Session 4

4 these sources and lead their sheep there (Ps. 23:2). A deer in that region also would know where water sources were, though it placed itself at risk by approaching, since predators might come to the same place seeking both water and prey. The Hebrew translated longs for also can be rendered pants. The two concepts are clearly related; the thirsty animal pants as it longs for a drink. Streams of water flow abundantly certain times of the year, but may run dry during summer, when no rains come. The text does not designate the type of water source only that the deer eagerly sought it. As the psalmist reflected on deer seeking water in the wilderness, he noted a spiritual parallel. So I long for You, God reflects the psalmist s understanding that his relationship with the Lord stood above all else in life. The psalmist needed water to sustain him physically just as he needed the Lord to sustain him spiritually. All he needed physical or spiritual was in God s hands. I thirst for God calls to mind David s words in the wilderness (Ps. 63:1). Perhaps Psalms 42 and 63 originated in the same general vicinity. The Judean wilderness is majestic in its openness. Life is simple; even today, some choose to live there, away from the distractions of the city. They have little in the way of worldly goods but would say they lack nothing they really need. Some even say with fewer distractions, they find it easier to see God. The description of God as the living God occurs only one other time in the Psalms in Psalm 84:2, another psalm of the sons of Korah. The expression occurs fairly often elsewhere in both Old and New Testaments (1 Sam. 17:26,36; Matt. 16:16; Rom. 9:26). He is indeed the source of all life. The psalmist longed for God and longed to come into His presence. When can I come and appear before God? suggests he currently could not appear before God, but gives no reason why. Perhaps he wished to appear at God s temple in Jerusalem, but circumstances prohibited his travel there. Certainly a descendant of Korah, who often assisted in leading others in worship in Jerusalem, would want to be there. My tears have been my food finds parallels in Psalm 80:5 and 102:9. All three verses stress the extreme anguish and sorrow the worshiper felt, with nothing to sustain him but his own tears, which flowed in abundance. Perhaps we should not understand day and night literally, but as an indication that sorrow lingered without relief. SUMMARIZE: The psalmist thirsted for the only true God. He knew false gods could never satisfy. For many of us, the false god is the so-called security of financial wealth, which falsely assures us that gold, silver, stocks, bonds, and real estate is all the security we need to protect us from the storms life throws at us. Emphasize that when we are tempted to follow the false gods of the 21st century, we must decide that, even in the midst of the unpredictable and overwhelming nature of life, we would rather have God s presence more than everything else. GUIDE: Encourage the group to consider whether or not they thirst for God as the psalmist did. Call attention to the bulleted statements on PSG page 64. Briefly review these with the group to help members privately evaluate their spiritual desires. My desire for God Himself. The psalmist wanted God above all other things; his grief was profound when he was not in the presence of God. (Cont. on p. 66.) 65

5 THE POINT God encourages me when I feel overwhelmed. My desire for Scripture. The strength of your spiritual life is tied closely to your willingness to be a student of the Bible. My desire for worship. Whatever holds a higher priority in your life than your relationship with God is what you worship. My sorrow when I don t feel God s presence. When we feel distant from God, we should have an unyielding desire to be restored to a close relationship with Him DISCUSS: Question #3 (PSG, p. 64): How would you say in your own words what the psalmist experienced? (Alternate: What do you long for when you feel overwhelmed?) TRANSITION: Emphasize that the psalmist s depression continues in verse 6, but his memory of the Lord helps him turn the corner. All day long his opponents mocked him. Their question, Where is your God? really suggested God was far away. The psalmist felt utterly abandoned. Believers today may feel God has abandoned them as well. Financial stresses, the death of a loved one, strained relationships all these can lead to a sense of overwhelming discouragement. The Lord has promised never to leave or forsake us (Heb. 13:5), but He does sometimes allow us to walk through dark valleys. In those moments, He teaches us about Himself and ourselves if we have courage and faith to listen and trust. Psalm 42:6-8 6 I am deeply depressed; therefore I remember You from the land of Jordan and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. 7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and Your billows have swept over me. 8 The Lord will send His faithful love by day; His song will be with me in the night a prayer to the God of my life. KEY WORDS: Depressed (v. 6) The psalmist portrayed how he felt emotionally. He despaired of his circumstances, even as he asked for God s touch. Deep calls to deep (v. 7) This expression almost certainly denotes the powerful, rolling headwaters of the Jordan River that originate in northern Israel at the base of Mount Hermon. When we experience depression, remember, God is in our lives. I am deeply depressed reflects the psalmist s despair. The Hebrew word translated depressed occurs four times in Psalms (Pss. 42:5,6,11; 43:5) and ties the two psalms together. It brings the hearers back again and again to the psalmist s sense of being overwhelmed. 66 Session 4

6 I remember You helped the discouraged one turn a spiritual corner. Remember in the Bible frequently contains the sense of imminent action; that is, the rememberer is about to act on what is remembered. The Lord remembered Israel in Egypt then called Moses to lead them out of Egypt (Ex. 2:24). He remembered Hannah and gave her a son (1 Sam. 1:19). The thief on the cross asked Jesus to remember him (Luke 23:42). Here, the psalmist remembered the Lord, who was bigger than his discouragement. The land of Jordan certainly identifies the Jordan River valley, connecting the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Earlier, the psalmist had despaired since he could not worship God in Jerusalem (Ps. 42:2). A traveler in the Jordan Valley was at least 15 miles from Jerusalem, and from Jericho it was a serious uphill climb over 3000 feet! The peaks of Hermon marked Israel s northern border. Mount Hermon, about 120 miles from Jerusalem, rises to a height of over 9,000 feet. Runoff from the winter rains and snow feeds the Jordan River headwaters. The reference to Mount Mizar is uncertain; the Hebrew means small thing and may designate one of the smaller mountains in the Mount Hermon range. We do not know the psalmist was actually this far from Jerusalem; perhaps he intended to remind himself God was with him no matter how far away he was from Jerusalem or how far away he felt from God. Deep calls to deep highlights a powerful reality during the winter rains in Israel. Above the Sea of Galilee, the streams that merge to form the Jordan flow down from the higher elevation near Mount Hermon. As they do, they form powerful waterfalls whose waters crash down wildly and noisily. Downstream, the water provides life-sustaining blessing, but in this region, the crashing waters promise only death. Anyone who falls in will suffer serious injury as he is dashed against rocks with little chance to survive! Breakers and billows likewise stress the crashing and rolling of the churning waters. The psalmist felt utterly engulfed. Further, he felt God had done this to him, or at least had abandoned him when he felt overcome with depression. Despite his sense of dread, the psalmist somehow found courage to respond with confidence. The Lord had not abandoned him! The psalmist knew God would send (literally command ) His faithful love (or lovingkindness ) to him. STUDY THE BIBLE Psalm 42:6-8 READ: Invite a volunteer to read verses minutes GUIDE: Note in verse 6 the statement, I am deeply depressed. Call attention to the bulleted statements on PSG page 65: The doctor called with an unexpected diagnosis. You re starting to see symptoms of Alzheimers in your spouse. Your grandson announced on Facebook that he is gay. Acknowledge the crushing nature of such circumstances and how they threaten to throw us into differing levels of spiritual depression. (NOTE: The psalmist s distress isn t the same as ongoing or clinical depression, which can have a diversity of roots and causes. God, the source of both physical and spiritual restoration, also works through medicine and counseling to bring healing.) 67

7 THE POINT God encourages me when I feel overwhelmed. SAY: When we feel stunned by life, we have a unique opportunity to remember God s goodness. SUMMARIZE: The psalmist remembered the promised land God gave to His people, which was a sign of God s blessing. It was a reminder that God never gives up on His promises, and one of those is His presence in our lives, even in overwhelming times. DISCUSS: Question #4 (PSG, p. 66): When you feel overwhelmed, what truths about God help you put one foot in front of the other? (Alternate: How would you like to respond when trouble comes your way?) SAY: Remembering God s character gave the psalmist courage to respond with confidence, knowing He is the source of hope in every circumstance. The psalmist had lamented that his tears had been his food day and night (v. 3). In verse 8, these times of day appear again, this time in a positive sense. The Lord s faithful love would come to him by day, and the Lord s song (literally a song ) would be with him in the night as he rested. This song took the form of a prayer as the psalmist sang his meditation to the Lord. His further consideration of God s presence had changed his emotional state from one of discouragement to one of confidence. He described the Lord as the God of my life. God had not abandoned him! Christians may think they will never experience depression or discouragement, but difficult times do indeed come to all of us. In such times, circumstances may tempt us to believe even God has abandoned us. Of course, He has not. The greatest proof of all is that He sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to bring us salvation (John 3:16)! Even when great challenges even the threat of death loom before us, He is the God of our lives. Meditating on this truth may not take away all the difficult feelings, but it will give us strength for the struggle. (NOTE: While we all get discouraged at times, that is not the same as ongoing or clinical depression. The roots and causes of clinical depression can be varied and diverse, and God also works through medicine and counseling.) Psalm 43:3-5 3 Send Your light and Your truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy mountain, to Your dwelling place. 4 Then I will come to the altar of God, to God, my greatest joy. I will praise You with the lyre, God, my God. 5 Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God. 68 Session 4

8 We need to trust God s guidance, knowing He is the source of hope. The psalmist continued to struggle with his circumstances. In Psalm 42:9-11, it seemed perhaps God had forgotten him after all, and his enemies taunts felt crushing. He clung to his hope in God. He asked the Lord to vindicate him and rescue him from the ungodly and unjust, and affirmed the Lord as his ultimate refuge. Nonetheless, he acknowledged his sorrow was great (Ps. 43:1-2). The psalmist began his final petition with, Send Your light and Your truth. He affirmed that the Lord Himself is light (27:1). Psalm 119:105 asserts that God s Word is a lamp for our feet and a light to our paths. It seems the psalmist here intended both concepts. God had committed to guiding him; the truth of God s Word would lead him. They would bring him again to Jerusalem, site of the Lord s holy mountain, where the temple stood God s chosen dwelling place. When King Solomon dedicated the temple as God s dwelling place, he acknowledged the irony of the task. Heaven itself could not contain God; how could the temple be His dwelling (1 Kings 8:27)? This is true; God is much larger than anyone can imagine He cannot be confined to an earthly dwelling. At the same time, God had chosen Jerusalem as His special city, and Solomon s temple as a place to put His name. He established it as a place His people could gather to worship. Today, God s presence is not limited to our houses of worship. We can pray to Him, and He will hear us no matter where we are. Nonetheless, the Lord commands His people to meet together regularly for worship and fellowship (Heb. 10:24-25). God has promised to be in our midst whenever we gather, even in small numbers (Matt. 18:20). We also can receive the Lord s encouragement through other believers as we gather. Hearing their stories and testimonies of God s faithfulness encourages us for our own journey. The altar of God designates the altar of burnt offering that stood in the court outside the temple where the priests offered sacrifices. Worshipers could see the smoke of the offerings rising. Since all sacrifices occurred on that altar, the psalmist compared coming to the altar with coming to God. As a Levite, he may have served in the temple courts. Nowhere else on earth did he feel as close to the Lord. Interestingly, the psalmist next described God as my greatest joy. Notice the shift in his perspective throughout STUDY THE BIBLE Psalm 43: minutes READ: Invite a volunteer to read Psalm 43:3-5 GUIDE: Lead the group to see how the psalmist progressed to where we want to be. In 42:2, he referred to the living God. It is the acknowledgement of knowing there is really only one true God. Then in 42:8, he moved to the phrase the God of my life. It is the leap you have to make from knowing that God is there to believing that God is there for you. Finally, in 43:4, he called God, my greatest joy. As the psalmist s view of God and his relationship with Him changed, so also did his outlook on life and his circumstances. 69

9 THE POINT God encourages me when I feel overwhelmed. SUMMARIZE: Note the psalmist s dependence on God s guidance. Ultimately, God s light and truth bring us into His presence. But we get there by faith in what God can do and what He reveals to us. The psalmist praised God and placed his hope in his Savior. Worship, whether in private or with other believers, has the ability to turn our turmoil into hope. By focusing on the King of heaven, the turmoil of life has less hold on us. (ENHANCEMENT: To support the previous statement, direct attention to Pack Item 3: Focus On God. ) Worship helps us to declare the truth about life. We are able to state clearly that depression does not rule us. It is God who is the true King of our lives and the true Savior of our hearts. DISCUSS: Question #5 (PSG, p. 69): What are some ways to trust God when you don t know what to do? (Alternate: How has God encouraged you through worship?) Psalm In 42:2, he described God as the living God, in 42:8 as the God of my life, and now, God was his greatest joy. As the psalmist s view of God (and his relationship with Him) changed, so did his outlook on life and his circumstances. Believers today who face discouragement or depressing circumstances likewise often need a deeper understanding of God, a deeper relationship with Him. As we grow closer to Him, we see more clearly how much bigger He is than any of our problems. Things that overwhelm us do not overwhelm God. He will teach us through our discouragement and use the process to perfect His plan for us. As He does, we often find our discouragement gives way to contentment and joy. Praise occurs commonly in the Psalms. It carries with it the idea of thankfulness and often is translated give thanks (Ps. 136:1-3). The lyre was a common stringed instrument often used in worship settings (Pss. 33:2; 43:4). Many people played lyres when David brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6:5). Secular settings also featured the playing of the lyre (Gen. 31:27; 1 Sam. 16:23). The psalmist s designation of the Lord as God, my God highlighted his personal relationship with God. As Psalm 42 began, God seemed more distant. Now, as his view of God deepened and grew, the psalmist recognized God s personal interest in him and God s personal guidance of his life. One day, all he longed for would be realized; he would return to Jerusalem, he would praise God in the temple, and he would worship. Until then, God s grace was sufficient to sustain him, even amidst overwhelming circumstances. Verse 5 again echoes the refrain of Psalm 42:5,11. The psalmist raised two questions: Why am I so depressed? and Why this turmoil within me? The Hebrew word translated turmoil comes from a word that also can refer to the roar of a crowd (Jer. 6:23) or of crashing waves (5:22). The psalmist offered a solution put your hope in God. When we put our hope in God, the natural result is praise. The psalmist pledged, I will still praise Him. Again, he affirmed the Lord as my Savior and my God. Interpreters suggest various reasons for including verse 5 at the end of the psalm. Perhaps the psalmist continued 70 Session 4

10 ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/BRITISH MUSEUM LONDON to struggle, despite the confidence he affirmed in the prior verses. Another possibility is that he returned to the lament one last time to remind himself that God had overcome his discouragement. The key to his spiritual victory was to embrace God and to trust Him completely. This is the key to our spiritual victory as well. Just as the psalmist called God his Savior, God is our Savior in the person of Jesus Christ, who died to pay the penalty for our sins. As believers, we put our faith, hope, and trust in Jesus, who has overcome sin, the Devil, and death! Mycenaean krater (bowl) decorated with stags and birds; from Greece; dated to Late Helladic III period ( B.C.). The following excerpt is from the article, Deer as Imagery in the Old Testament (Win ), which relates to this session and can be purchased at biblicalillustrator. Inspired by a world so powerfully and purposely crafted, the biblical writers found in creation numerous examples to explain and explore their trust in the world s Creator and Redeemer. Animals, in particular the undomesticated creatures that fill God s world with wildness and wonder, display in the Scriptures a certain strength and wisdom. In addition, they serve as vivid and visual reminders of the radical dependence of all of God s creatures on the Creator s sustaining power and loving care. Read Waterfalls and Wadis: Water Imagery in the Psalms in the Fall 2014 issue. Previous articles, Loving-Kindness: A Word Study (Sum. 2004) and From Hermon to Jordan (Spr. 1999), relate to this session and can be purchased at Look for Bundles: Bible Studies for Life. Subscribe to Biblical Illustrator at or call DO: Call attention to the activity, Encouraging Hope (PSG, p. 65). Invite volunteers to share their responses. SHARING THE GOOD NEWS Jesus offers hope to us all. The circumstances that get us down are momentary, but Jesus offers us eternal life full of the joy of His presence. Each week, make yourself available either before or after the session to speak privately with anyone in your group who wants to know more about becoming a Christian. See the article, Leading Someone to the Greatest Decision of All, on page 2 for guidance in leading a person to Christ. Remind group members that page 2 in the PSG offers guidance in how to become a Christian. Encourage believers to consider using this article as they have opportunities to lead others to Christ. 71

11 THE POINT God encourages me when I feel overwhelmed. LIVE IT OUT 5 minutes DO: Recall The Point: God encourages me when I feel overwhelmed. GUIDE: Review Live It Out (PSG, p. 70; see text to the right). Note that we do not have to give in to depression when we feel overwhelmed. We can choose God s presence. Encourage group members to choose at least one of the application suggestions to follow through with this week. Wrap It Up GUIDE: Remind the group of this line from the hymn, Moment By Moment : Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine; Moment by moment, O Lord, I am Thine. Then lead the group to read Psalm 43:5 together. LIVE IT OUT It may not always feel this way, but you have a choice during hard times. The false gods of this world will always seek your allegiance, but don t let them rule your heart. The waves of doubt will crash around you, but don t let them drown you. Depression will seek your embrace, but choose the presence of God instead. Which one of the applications below fits best with where you are in your spiritual growth? > > Worship regularly. You don t have to wait until Sunday to worship. Make worship a part of your daily routine as you pray and study God s Word. This week, memorize Psalm 43:5. Repeat these words aloud to yourself and to God each day, especially if you are facing a difficult situation. > > Ponder hope. This week, find the word hope in a Bible concordance. Identify 4-5 verses about the hope you can find in God verses that speak to you in a personal way. Write these down. Pray over them, and ponder them every day this week. Ask God to send you a fresh breeze of hope. > > Encourage someone. Your experience of following Christ over many years may be just the right medicine at just the right time for a person who feels overwhelmed. This week, ask God to show you who needs hope. Listen. Then obey Him. PRAY: Father, even though circumstances may threaten to overwhelm us, we choose to praise You and place our hope in You, our Savior and our God, through Christ our Lord. Amen. 72 Session 4

12 My Thoughts My Group's Prayer Requests Additional suggestions for specific groups (women, men, boomers, and singles) are available at BibleStudiesForLife.com/blog. And for free online training on how to lead a group visit MinistryGrid.com/web/BibleStudiesForLife. What to Do When Emotionally "Under Seige" My family has experienced its share of stress these last few years. Hospitalizations, the passing of beloved family members, and unexpected job loss are examples of these stresses. A good friend of mine is more or less raising her grandchild, an unanticipated, but necessary, situation due to circumstances beyond her control. In these demanding situations, any one of us may begin to feel emotionally under siege. To continue reading What to Do When Emotionally Under Seige from Mature Living magazine, visit BibleStudiesforLife.com/articles, and enter the article title in the search bar. Or use your smartphone to access the article directly by scanning the QR code. 73