Seeking Godʼs Will and Perspective in Difficult and Stressful Times
(The Lightning has Struck and we are Shocked or Burned!)

Introduction: Have you ever felt overwhelmed and couldnʼt make a decision? You needed some obvious guidance, so you asked God not to be subtle. David felt that often and he prayed a great prayer: “Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies — make straight your way before me”—Psalm 5:8. (“Make the path straight and obvious, O Lord...”).

 

Some believe this Psalm (along with Psalm 3) may have been written while David was being pursued and betrayed by his son, Absalom; or it could have been when he was in battle and being chased by his other enemies. As we saw with Psalm 3, he did a very helpful thing. 2 Samuel 16:14—“The king... arrived at their destination exhausted. And there he refreshed (strengthened) himself.” As he refreshed himself in the Lord, he may have begun to write and sing this Psalm.

Notice the breadth and depth of David's prayer while he is experiencing great adversity. First:

1. He asks for spoken words and unspoken thoughts to be heard. Psalm 5:1 (NIV)—“Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing (meditation).” (See Psalm 139:23)
   
   
   1. David wants God to consider his words...the words he is ABLE to articulate. Words like: “I'm hurt, crushed at the rejection and betrayal of my son.” (He wants to share with brutal honesty!)
   
   
   2. David also wants God to listen to those emotions he CANʼT articulate; theyʼre so deep and hard to unravel. In other words, he wants God to hear the sighing and meditation of his heart.
      
      Have you ever been lost for words, unable to articulate the deep longings of your heart?Maybe you donʼt even know whatʼs wrong, or why youʼre depressed, down, or feeling lousy.)
   
   
   3. Sometimes we have an awareness of our thoughts and meditations, but theyʼre jumbled, so filled with emotion that itʼs hard to separate one from the other, or to even talk about them.
      
      
      
      • Iʼm convinced we all need to find a way to evacuate our souls and get our stuff to God (words/sighs), or weʼll never grow and mature. (The sighs may represent hurts, anger; abuse we canʼt admit and/or feel we canʼt share. Itʼs buried deep.) Why is this so important?
      
      
      • If we donʼt share, the mind, the emotions, will find other ways to deal with what weʼre struggling with (or those areas of our life that weʼre just not honest with God about).
      
      
   4. Weʼll call them the NEGATIVE IMPACT BEHAVIORS (some of the ways we deal with sighs).
   
   

   isolation/retreat from relationships (family, etc.) addictive behaviors (drugs, pornography, gambling) distracted/busy/preoccupying self (no thinking time) dismissive/façade (not dealing with conflict) self-blaming/condemnation/self-hatred; itʼs all on me angry/bitter/resentful/volatile/violent, or striking back bury/ignore/trying to forget/hoping it goes away

   autopilot mode/hoping life dictates actions behavioral escapism (out-of-control actions) self-neglect/punishing/ignoring self/needs self-injury/suicide, cutting, debt, no sleep self-medicating to escape reality passive/let things happen/little response depression/not treating but living with it

   
   Do any on the list sound like our unhealthy reactions/responses, or those of people we know? Do Christ followers have these problems? (See Eph. 4:11-15; Luke 8:14.)
   
   
   5. HEALTHIER BEHAVIORS. This is the opposite of the previous list. (See Two Hand theory.)
      
      

      Meditation/study Scripture—Heb. 5:14; Psalm 1 Introspective/reflective/journal—2 Tim. 2:7 Ministry/action/interaction/helping others —2 Cor. 7:4; 1 Thess. 2:20 Verbally processing with friend/spouse—Prov. 27:9 8:26-27

      Asking for assistance/counseling—Prov.15:22-23 Asking for intercessors—2 Cor. 1:10-11; Phil. 1:19 Personal prayer/praise/thanksgiving—Jude 1:20; Rom. 8:26-27; 1 Cor. 14:14-15

      
      Summary on Healthier Behaviors. We need to engage (“work out our salvation with fear and trembling”—Phil. 2:12-13) like never before. If we donʼt, weʼll be swept away by coming stress and pain. Thank God it isnʼt all up to us, because as we work, He works—see v. 13.


2. The king submits to his Kingʼs rule and direction for his life. Psalm 5:2—“Listen to my cry for help, my KING and my God, for to you I pray.” (See 1 Samuel 15:23.)
   1. Hereʼs an important factor in Davidʼs spiritual health; he submits to his Kingʼs direction.
   
   
   2. He isnʼt a perfect man, but he is a submitted/humble man—James 4:6-10; 1 Peter 5b-6. (Without submission to God [and those God gives to lead us], weʼre vulnerable to attack, stress.)
   
   


3. David chooses a specific time to pray - the morning. Psalm 5:3—“In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.” (Mark 1:35)
   1. Morning prayer is intimidating to many, but often, bad days begin with bad mornings.
   2. We should not make instruction about prayer restrictive/a prescription; everyoneʼs different.
   3. It's a Person, not a procedure. Steps to friendship are similar to building a relationship with Him.
   4. It's creative, not confining—Mark 4:32-39; Matt. 14:23; Luke 4:1-2; 6:12; 23:34; John 11:41-42; Mark 8:6; 1:35. Jesus had a wide range of emotions—John 17; Luke 10:18-21; Matt. 26:36-38.
   5. It's getting to know Him, not impressing Him. (Please, have a “creative routine” with God.)
   
   


4. He prays with expectation. Psalm 5:3—“In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in EXPECTATION.” Sometimes the wait is as important as the solution, because the wait prepares the solution - and us, too!


5. He communicates with honest expressions of anger and emotion—Psalm 5:4-6. (No sighing.)
   
   1. Itʼs acceptable to process our emotions with God. (David tells God how he sees it; he goes for it!)
   2. Itʼs obvious he has an accurate view/a better view of God than many of us. How? (The wilderness.)
      How can we learn about God? Go through Stuff! (1 Peter 5:6-11) Davidʼs journey taught him that God takes no pleasure in evil—v. 4a. This is the beginning of Davidʼs list. (See vv. 4b-6.)
6. He prays with reverence and awareness of mercy. Psalm 5:7—“But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house; in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple.” (We pray differently when we know who God is. We donʼt come demanding; we come bowing!)


7. He asks God to be clear and close. Psalm 5:8—“Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies - make straight your way before me.” This is our 2 x 4 prayer. Itʼs okay to bring our perspective about our enemies to the Lord, but we have to leave the outcome with Him.
8. He articulates the traits of the wicked—Psalm 5:9-10. (His prayer needs instruction from the NT!)
9. He calls the congregation to praise God—Psalm 5:11-12.

Conclusion: Psalm 5 can be a wonderful blessing to us as David leads us in prayer.