Honest with God: Psalm 74 “Confidence in a Crisis”

INTRO> You and I have seen this word plastered every where in the headlines, right behind COVID-19 (PICS). It’s the word CRISIS. The O.E.D. defines crisis as “a time of great danger, difficulty, or confusion when problems must be solved or important decisions must be made.”

APP> Are you in a crisis? Are you at a turning point in your life and relationships? A crisis forces change, wither you want to or not, for better or worse.

CONTEXT> That’s Psalm 74. The backdrop of Psalm 74 is found in 2 Chronicles 36:17-19 “Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand. 18 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. 19 And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels.”

APP> What do you do? How do you continue in a crisis? 1) Lament the pain. 2) Look at God’s Power 3) Lean on God’s Promises

1. Lament your pain. v1-11

“O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture? 2 Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage! Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt. 3 Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary! 4 Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place; they set up their own signs for signs. 5 They were like those who swing axes in a forest of trees. 6 And all its carved wood they broke down with hatchets and hammers. 7 They set your sanctuary on fire; they profaned the dwelling place of your name, bringing it down to the ground. 8 They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land. 9 We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long. 10 How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever? 11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them!”

• • “Why isn’t God doing anything?” “How long will this last?” “Why is God silent?”

APP> Just like a child asks their Parent, “Why?” Being honest is a sign of relational health, hiding is unhealthy.

APP> Lamenting is living in the hurt and longing for the hope.

*ILL> Working for a Plumber, “The water has to go somewhere.” true of emotions

Lessons for Lamenting:

1. Lamenting helps us learn how to feel. vs numbing feelings= addict

2. Lamenting leaves behind the victim mindset. (loathing vs lamenting)

3. Lamenting is how we live with other hurting people.

4. Lamenting leads us to God. (complaining leads us away)

2) Look at God’s power. v12-17

“12 Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. 13 You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. 14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness. 15 You split open springs and brooks; you dried up ever-flowing streams. 16 Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun. 17 You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you have made summer and winter.”

– Asaph does something crucial here, three is a shift in the tone.

– Notice how what God is doing, the sea, the ancient Leviathan, The exodus

APP> You have to filter your circumstances through God’s character, you don’t filter God’s character through your circumstances.

APP> When God doesn’t seem to be active in the present, recall what God has done in the past.

APP> God controls the chaos!

3) Lean on God’s promises. v18-23

“Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs, and a foolish people reviles your name. 19 Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts; do not forget the life of your poor forever. 20 Have regard for the covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence. 21 Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame; let the poor and needy praise your name. 22 Arise, O God, defend your cause; remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day! 23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!”

– Remember used or referenced 6x!

*ILL> My Kids, especially Roman, reminding me of a promise I made!

APP> A Covenant is God pledging himself to his people based on his own character.

What does this look like for us in 2020, in light of Jesus?

• • • 18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” 20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body.” John 2:18-21
    • “20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” Luke 22:20

Big Idea > Confidence in a crisis comes from Christ!

Application Questions:

• • • Are you numbing your pain/emotions?
    • Have you filtered God through your suffering or have you filtered you suffering through God?
    • Do you think you have to hold it all together?