Crying "LORD, Help!"

Today it is my pleasure to read Psalm 107 for you in the New Living Translation. (I'll explain why). Four times the text says "LORD, help!" - These represent four situations in life where people get discouraged. So often our hope and faith flourish in blessings, but when trials come, we falter. This can often prove that our joy is based more on ourselves and our circumstances, than the enduring goodness of God.

Let's investigate different trials you might face this year. Some of this may be raging in your life right. Crying for the help of the Lord, in full faith, is about accessing wisdom and glory and power infinitely greater than your own and stronger than all your problems.  May we be a people of constant praise! May we tell the world - family, brethren and neighbor - that we cried to God and He answered with deliverance!

- Why is internal faith work so important to external life goals?

- What good is people, plans and a good attitude without trust in God?

- Do we cry "LORD, Help" in times of trial that are not our fault?

- Do we cry "LORD, Help" in times of trial that are absolutely our fault?

- What does God do with the storm, when we cry for His help amidst it?

Transcript

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Welcome to the Excel Still More podcast. I am your host, Chris Emerson. I'm here to encourage you in your walk with God. Thank you for joining in. Today's podcast is sponsored by a wonderful company, Creation to Revelation. This group of Christians believe it is extremely important that we teach the Word of God to our kids. They have original graphic illustrations from the beginning of the Bible to the end, featuring the beautiful and consistent presence of Jesus throughout. You can explore all of that at Creation2revelation.com. I'm so thankful you're here, so let's get started. Welcome to the ESM program. I hope that you are having a wonderful new year. And I am prayerful that today's content will set the theme for the entire year laid ahead of you. It is my genuine privilege today to read Psalm 107 for you, discuss how it alone has the power to shape how you interact with everything that is coming in your life, and then wrap this episode up with three super practical ideas to help lock the psalmist's words into place and to give you some things to attend to right away. Today's episode content is a part of a conscious effort to convince you that the most valuable changes you will make this year will start on the inside. I know we like to think externally, planning things, starting things, setting habits into place. And if you go back to the episodes in the month of December, we spent some time on that. Particularly the December 19th episode building a team. That included a couple of important external decisions that you make. One, the people that you draw in close to you to help you meet your goals, and two, the way you systematically and intentionally build the ladder that gets you to the next level. But internal, emotional, personal growth is often the thing that gets overlooked. And yet, as I said last week, incremental internal changes will lead to dramatic external results. And yes, that certainly includes your attitude, making adjustments within yourself so that when you do interact with people, places, or things, you have fostered an environment wherein a positive outcome is not only possible, but probable. But there is another crucial element to that internal work, and we usually just call it faith. No proper team can be assembled unless first you turn to the Lord for help. No ladder that takes you to the next level can be constructed unless God is present to keep the sides in place. And no attitude of humility will persist within you unless it is motivated by your belief in the power of Jesus and your confidence that the Lord will help. Our episode is titled Crying Lord Help. This is taken from the four times in Psalm 107 that those words are uttered, and it is my appeal to you to cry for God's help with full confidence of His hearing and His response in every trouble, in every trial, in every twist and turn that is almost certainly coming in this calendar year. Because look, if self-help and getting better and reaching your goals is just a matter of the right people and the right strategy and the right attitude, a whole lot more people would be in a better place in their life. Unfortunately, and exclusively in the secular world, that puts all of your success on your own abilities, your own strength, your ability to overcome your own mistakes and somehow mitigate the bad behavior of others. We are rarely, if ever, able to do that without God. So I'm asking you, what is your relationship with the Lord in times of trouble? Let me read something for you that I hope you fall in love with. I have read this psalm maybe ten times in the last couple of weeks, and I'm encouraging you to give it some daily attention. It was a part of my daily Bible read, so I would have run across it anyway, but kind of an interesting short story. For Christmas, we got Ella a new Bible, an Inspire Bible, with nice wide margins for note-taking and some written out text that you can color in. To try to help with her own daily reading at the age of nine, we got her a new living translation version. If you're not aware of it, it's more of a thought-for-thought translation than a word for word. I think the technical term is dynamic translation as opposed to literal translation like the New American Standard. Anyway, it feels like I have to caveat everything these days, so I would say it is not advisable for deeper study, but it is tremendous for casual reading. In fact, that morning I took it and snuck into my room and sat in my reading chair and read Psalm 107. Here we are a couple of weeks later, and the richness of that text still has an impact on me, and that's how I knew I needed to share it with you. So it is a bit lengthy, forty-three verses, and I'll give you little indications along the way of how much progress that we've made. But for the next several minutes, just listen, please. You'll note that that phrase, Lord, help, appears four times. So we will come back through and take a look at those after the read. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His faithful love endures forever. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out. Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies, for he has gathered the exiles from many lands, from east and west, from north and south. Some wandered in the wilderness, lost and homeless, hungry and thirsty, they nearly died. Lord help, they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress. He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live. Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Verse ten Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned in iron chains of misery. They rebelled against the words of God, scorning the counsel of the Most High. That is why He broke them with hard labor. They fell, and no one was there to help them. Lord help. They cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom, he snapped their chains. Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. For he broke down their prison gates of bronze, he cut apart their bars of iron. Verse seventeen. Some were fools, they rebelled and suffered for their sins. They couldn't stand the thought of food, and they were knocking on death's door. Lord help. They cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death. Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and sing joyfully about his glorious acts. Some went off to sea in ships, plying the trade routes of the world. They too observed the Lord's power and action, his impressive works on the deepest sea. He spoke, and the winds rose, stirring up the waves. Their ships were tossed to the heavens and plunged again to the depths. The sailors cringed in terror. They reeled and staggered like drunkards, and were at their wits' end. Lord help, they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness, as he brought them safely into harbor. Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation. thirty three. He changes rivers into deserts, and springs of water into dry thirsty land. He turns the fruitful land into salty wastelands, because of the wickedness of those who live there. But he also turns deserts into pools of water, the dry land into springs of water. He brings the hungry to settle there and to build their cities. They sow their fields, plant their vineyards, and harvest their bumper crops. How he blesses them, they raise large families there, and their herds of livestock increase. When they decrease in number and become impoverished through oppression, trouble, and sorrow, the Lord pours contempt on their princes, causing them to wander in trackless wastelands. But he rescues the poor from trouble and increases their families like flocks of sheep. The godly will see these things and be glad, while the wicked are struck silent. Those who are wise will take all this to heart. They will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord. That psalm is awesome, and it shares the seed that I want to plant deep in your heart very early in season five. Let me start with this. Listen to the first and last verse of Psalm 107 again. Verse 1. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His faithful love endures forever. Those who are wise will take all of this to heart. They will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord. It is probable that the Psalmist is taking Israel back throughout different stages in their history, but today our focus is upon yours and mine. But the key principle to note here is that the Lord's faithful love always endures. His faithful love is available to all, and it is always available. This infuses every one of us with this incredible principle called hope. No matter what is happening around you, no matter what messes you have made on your own, God's faithful love is always in the room, his power to save, to redeem, to restore. Now the psalmist did not mean that every person will be constantly flourishing in God's love no matter how they behave. Verse 34 tells us that God can turn the fruitful land into salty wastelands if we choose to live wickedly. And of course, sadly, there is a lot of salty wasteland around us in our culture and world because of the wickedness of others. And you can certainly let that dampen your optimism, put out your fire for hope and progress, and lament all that is lost. Or you can believe in the enduring love of God and you can cry, Lord, help. Did you pick up on that in the read? There were four stanzas in that psalm that included that phrase. I want to walk through each one of them with you briefly and talk about how it may mirror circumstances in your life. In the first stanza, verses four through nine, he talked about those who were wandering in the wilderness. They were hungry and thirsty. The text does not indicate that they had sinned, only that they were in destitute and difficult circumstances. Instead of just accepting that that is all there is, here is what happened next. They cried, Lord, help in their trouble, and God rescued them from their distress. He led them straight to a city of safety. As a response to this, they praised the Lord for his love and for the wonderful things that he had done, as he satisfied the thirst and filled the hungry with good things. Look, I know there are things that have happened to you that are unfair, but wallowing in the self pity of what ought not be will not change your life. Cry to the Lord for help and expectation of that help. Look for the care that God provides to the faithful and praise his name openly for his good gifts. The two middle stanzas take things in a different direction. They both talk about the consequences of personal sinfulness. In verse 10, it says some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned, because they rebelled against the words of God and scorned the counsel of the Most High. I am not too proud to say that I know exactly what that feels like. In the earlier years of my life I sought to run from God and live my own way. In God's wisdom and love, he made sure that those things did not produce blessings for me. He helped me to see even in his patience that when I live in sin, I live enslaved to the tempter and subject to none of the lavishings of a good God. Are you in that slavery now? Are you living in sin and waiting for blessings? Because the psalmist prescribes something very simple. Cry, Lord, help in your self-inflicted trouble. The result? And they praised him for his love and the wonderful things that he did when they turned to him. It's interesting to me in that third stanza that it returns to this concept of difficulties in life as the result of sin. Verse 17 says, Some were fools, they rebelled and suffered for their sin. And you might say, Well, that sounds just like the stanza before it, but I see it more sequentially in my own life. There was a time when I ran from God, was fully enslaved in the ways of the world, I cried for help and God embraced me like the prodigal son. But since that time there have been other moments, many other moments, when I was just foolish in my faith, when I let the flesh dictate my behavior, and I was stripped of all of the joy and hope that is found leaning upon the breast of the Savior. I was standing back at death's door, knocking for entry. I hope from last week's attitude and humility study that you're ready for me to ask you this question. But is it possible that many of the things that are not going well in your life is because of your foolish behavior with regard to the perfect will of God? If so, here is the best and likely only recourse for your future to cry, Lord, help in your trouble, so that he will save you from your distress. The Bible says he sent out his word and he healed them, snatching them from death's door, and as a result they praised his great love, they praised the wonderful things that he had done for them again, and they even joyfully offered up sacrifices of thanksgiving. The fourth occurrence of our title phrase occurs after verse 23, where it talks about people who just went out on the sea to pursue their trade routes. It doesn't indicate that they're in any great sin, but they do come across a storm. Interestingly, the text indicates that God caused that storm, that they were tossed about and fearful for their lives. This certainly takes our minds back to the disciples on the Sea of Galilee when they were scared to death in the storm and begged Jesus to wake and save them. Jesus wondered why they simply didn't have the faith to believe that he was with them and would care for them. And I guess that's kind of the question for you. You know, some of the turmoil and struggles we'll face this year is just because life has storms in it. There are times of testing, some things sent to us by God just to see where we will turn when things are hard. This oftentimes discourages many people, but not people of true and abiding faith. For though they may stagger under the burden, the text says they cried out, Lord, help in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. It goes on to say they not only praised him for his love and his wonderful deeds, but they exalted him publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation. Don't we need more of that in our time? We need more of it in our families, in our churches, and in our nation. We need people who face the uncertainties and storms of life in faith, who turn and cry to God and receive his promises and provisions and then tell the world about it. So it's not just some private prayer and God helps you around the corner and you hold your breath for next time. It should look instead a lot like the opening of this psalm. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his faithful love endures forever. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out. Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies, or we might add from wandering in the wilderness hungry, from imprisonment for your own sin, or distress from your own foolishness, or staggering in the restlessness of the sea. God has tested me, and I have turned to him, and for that reason he has led me through. So look, I hope this read and discussion has been encouraging to you, but let me finish with three very practical and somewhat challenging ideas for implementation. The first thing sounds the simplest, but it's probably the hardest. There must be no doubting. God isn't asking you to be strong enough or smart enough or to do everything, but he is asking you to fully surrender yourself, fall into his arms, and believe that he is wise enough and strong enough to get you through. James chapter one talks about praying with doubt. You shouldn't expect to receive anything from the Lord. Maybe you find this in prayer or in spending time with faithful people or in Bible study, but you must find the capacity to trust Him in things that you cannot control. Give it a try. Go all in. God, I don't know what to do, but I completely know that you will help me. Even the smallest amount of sincere faith can move a mountain. Number two, remember your past is a part of your story. All I'm saying here is please don't forget all that God has already done for you, how God has redeemed you from your own sinfulness in the past, how God has led you through many things, kept you alive, and continued to bless you in wonderful ways, maybe not exactly the ways you requested, but in ways that honor his wisdom. I remember 15 years ago I was preaching somewhere and I said, Look, we've all been through a lot, but God has brought us through. We all still have ten fingers and ten toes. And a guy in the back row raised his hands and he was missing a few of those fingers. That guy lost some fingers, and we talked after the lesson, but he still had his life and a huge smile on his face. Please don't forget all that God has done when you consider what God is doing and will do. And then lastly, and maybe we'll devote an entire episode to this soon, but God restores that which he approves. In other words, take some time this January and decide the things I think God needs to fix, does God really need to fix those things? The blessings that I am asking for, crying for, do those things even matter to God? And deeper question, if God gave them to me, if he calmed that storm and gave me that job or promotion or opportunity, would it bring me into his arms and lead me to praise him openly? Or would it lead me further away from him? Sometimes I think we're crying for God to fix things that don't need to be fixed. We're asking for God to calm storms that are actually serving his purpose. And like Jesus in the garden, isn't it God's will being done that we want more than anything? Related to that point, here are a couple of things you can do as we close. One, when you're praying, make sure you reference that it's God's will that matters most and that you only want him to deliver you in ways that bring glory to him. And then more practically, think about all of your goals this year, things that you want God to help you with, things that you will plead for help in accomplishing. Are those things designed to bring glory to his son's kingdom and to his holy name? If we cry out in faith, knowing that he has helped us so many times before and for the purpose of doing his will, God will rescue us and deliver us. So please give Psalm 107 a read in any version that you prefer, and then go about showing your family and your brethren and the world the source of your strength by crying, Lord, help. Thank you so much for joining in today. If you enjoyed this program, consider sharing it with your family and your friends. As always, you can go to excelstillmore.life to sign up for the email, order the three-month journal, or just catch up on old episodes. And also, if you are looking for financial advice or future planning, give John Cunningham a call today, 205 913 1720. And remember this whatever you choose to do today in the name of the Lord Jesus, excel still more.