Weekly Word Archives

Suffering Series

Suffering and the Big Picture
Part 5

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In previous lessons we have learned that suffering can be the result of:

1.	Living out the consequences of our own choices. Some of those choices are a result of believing the lies of Satan about God’s character and about ourselves.

2.	Living in a fallen world where we each choose to sin.

3.	Living in a fallen world where our bodies decay and die.

4.	Living in a fallen world where the environment is no longer perfect (weeds, insects, tornadoes, hurricanes).

5.	Living or dying because of the sinful choices of others, seeing our loved ones in pain or death because of the actions of another person.

6.	An attack of Satan.

We have also learned that God has a big picture of what He wants to accomplish in this world. As a believer, we are part of the big picture to accomplish God’s purpose even when we don’t know what our part is or what the picture will look like. There may be times of suffering or affliction brought on by others as we wait on God’s timing to accomplish His purpose.

Surely of all the Biblical examples we have of people going through difficult times, none stands out like David. David is a key character in the Bible. He is considered a patriarch by the Jewish nation. Jesus is called “Son of David”. Many chapters in the Old Testament are about his life and he wrote many of the Psalms. He was a brave warrior but also a man who went through much heartache, much suffering and affliction. Many Psalms reflect his despondency, his emotions that he poured out to God. There is much to be learned about our relationship to God through studying his life.

In this lesson we are just going to take one aspect of his life. We will look at those days after God anointed him as the next king but Saul was still on the throne. Like Joseph, David spent lots of time waiting through difficult circumstances. A big difference in their lives though is that David knew what his part in the big picture was going to be, he was going to be king. God had not given Joseph the big picture as he endured.

You can read about this part in David’s life in I Samuel 16:12-23, 18:1-24:22, 26:1-27, 31:1-13; II Samuel 1:1-27. In those passages God anoints David as the next king while he is still a boy, a shepherd. “The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.” Yet Saul was still ruling as king. David would go in and play the harp to comfort Saul. David became a mighty warrior. Saul turned against David because of jealousy. The people loved David.

Saul began to chase David and try to kill him. Yet David never fought back. He chose to elude Saul instead. He was even close enough to Saul that he could have killed him but refused to do so. David always saw Saul as God’s anointed one. He would not interfere with the reign of Saul and would not allow any of his men to do so.

David suffered unjustly. He was betrayed. He was separated from his best friend. He did not deserve anything that he received. What did he do? How did he respond? He did not demand his rights. He did not attack or fight back those who were pursuing him. He did not turn his back on God.

He did wait on God to take care of those who attached him. Many times he cried out to God. He trusted God to take care of him. Was he ever sad or down in the pit? Yes, he was down. He struggled with what was going on. He didn’t like it. But he always went back to his trust and confidence in God. David was a very emotionally expressive man. The Psalms are full of David’s emotions.

Some of the feelings he wrote in regard to Saul’s pursuit of him were:

“The cords of death entangle me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help.” (Psalm 18:4-6)

“Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills His purpose for me. He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me; God sends His love and faithfulness.” (Psalm 57:1-3)

After he poured his heart out to God, David always emphasized his trust and confidence in God. He wrote some of our most comforting verses about who God is. He wrote the 23rd Psalm — “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” He also wrote many other passages about God —

“I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my strong hold. I call to the Lord, who is worthy of my praise, and I am saved from my enemies.” (Psalm 18:1-3)

Have you ever been in a situation of being unjustly attacked either physically or verbally by someone? How did you respond? Many of us will fight back or seek revenge. We will try to hurt or discredit those who have hurt us. How do we endure unjust attacks? How do we wait on the Lord to finish the big picture when we are fearful?

We have to be assured of His care and involvement in our lives. David said “Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you.” (Psalm 55:22)

We trust in God. “When I am afraid, I will trust in you.” (Psalm 56:3)

We run to Him. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)

We worship God and are satisfied in Him. “I have seen you, in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life.” (Psalm 63:2-3) “I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love... O my strength, I sing praise to you; you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.” (Psalm 59:16-17)

We give up doing it our way and follow His way. “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.” (Psalm 37:5-6)

And we wait. “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.” (Psalm 37:7) We can wait through difficult times, suffering or adversity because of Him!

God’s grace, my surrender.