From His Heart

Speaker 1

Life is hard, but God is good. The proof is found in Psalm 31. Here's Pastor Jeff Shreve.

Speaker 2

You know what's really cool about this psalm? Nothing has changed externally in David's situation. From the time that he's talking about how difficult things are till the end, nothing has changed but his attitude, but his focus. He went from problems to praise, from trouble to triumph.

I know that God is getting ready to do something. God knows what he's about, so you can trust him and you can rejoice in Him. He can heal every scar with real truth, real love, real hope from his heart.

Speaker 1

When King David wrote Psalm 31, he was in serious trouble. And we can all relate because we all have trouble in this life, but we can still praise the Lord. This is from his heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve and today, part two of the lesson called From Problems to Praise.

It's from Pastor Jeff's nine lesson series Life is Hard, but God is Good. You'll be encouraged today as he shares what to do when the sorrows and troubles come like a flood and begin to engulf our lives. You'll discover how to turn trouble to triumph.

This extensive series on this subject this month is also our gift of thanks for your support of any amount from His Heart. You can get your copy when you go online to fromhisheart.org.

Now though, open your Bible to Psalm 31 as Pastor Jeff provides a little catch up from last time, and then the conclusion to the first message in the series From Problems to Praise.

Speaker 2

David has sorrow on steroids. Saul tried to kill him, and then Absalom's trying to kill him. His enemies tried to kill him. Goliath tried to kill him. I mean, he said he's had people come against him for a long time in his life, and things were hard at this particular time in his life. And he teaches us what to do when the sorrows and troubles come in like a flood and begin to engulf your life.

See, this psalm is so great because it's so true to life, and it ends on such a positive note. Because David went from problems to praise, from trouble to triumph. He shows us how to do it too. So I want to share with you three encouragements because you may be here today and you say, "Hey, that's me. The troubles have come in like a flood, and I don't know what to do. And I am getting ready to go under."

**Three Encouragements**

**Encouragement number one:** Remind yourself that troubles and sorrows are part of life. The book of Job, which is a book of troubles and sorrows in spades for poor Job, teaches us in Job 5:7, "Man is born for trouble as sparks fly upward." Job 14:1 tells us that "man who is born of woman is short-lived and full of trouble," full of turmoil, full of problems. And people with problems say, "Amen, I can relate to that." And that's just the way it is.

Then remember this: God's choicest servants often experience severe heartache, pain, troubles, and trials. I mean, that's just true in the scripture. You read in the scripture, the ones that God uses seem to have the most problems. That's part of the deal, especially for a Christian, especially for a Christian that God wants to use in a powerful way. So that's the first encouragement: remind yourself that troubles and sorrows are part of life.

**Second encouragement:** Get alone with God and share your heart with him. David is such a model for us to follow because David did that. David would get alone with God and he'd share his heart with him. David wrote in Psalm 62:8, "Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us." He's a safe place for us. You can share your secrets with God. You can pour out your heart to God, and that will unburden your soul.

Now here's the thing: when you share with God, when you pour out your heart to the Lord, don't sugarcoat your pain. Don't tell God what you think he wants to hear. Tell him what's really going on. Be honest with God. Now, David was honest with God. I like what it says in the Good News Bible, verses 9 and 10: "Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in trouble. My eyes are tired from so much crying. I am completely worn out. I am exhausted by sorrow, and weeping has shortened my life."

Tell God exactly what's going on and don't conceal your fears. Lots of times we don't like to admit that we're afraid. Don't conceal your fears and tell the Lord how you feel and let yourself be vulnerable. See, when you really open up your heart to the Lord, and here's the thing that's so wonderful about Psalms: David lets you see deep in his heart. Most people wouldn't do that. You know, it's like that's a private thing between me and God. But he's letting you in. Led by the Holy Spirit, he's letting you in to see what was going on in the king's heart, in the man after God's own heart's heart.

He is struggling with fear. He is struggling with all these things coming in upon him. He is struggling with sorrow. He's bawling his eyes out. And David was a man after God's own heart because David had an intimate relationship with the Lord. Intimacy came because of honesty, and honesty brings vulnerability, and vulnerability brings intimacy. So you can't be intimate with somebody until you're just laying it all out there.

And when you lay it all out there, then, "Okay, Lord, I'm naked before you. And Lord, you could kick me out. You could say, 'I don't want that.'" But the Lord never does that. When we're honest with him, that's when he can do his deepest work. Honesty brings vulnerability, and vulnerability brings intimacy. God works in those situations when you're honest with him, when you don't try and pretend that you're this stoic person, that nothing hurts. Things hurt. David was hurt. David was dealing with fears. And David shared all those with the Lord. He cast his cares upon him because he knew that God cared for him.

So, hey, what do you do when the troubles come? You remind yourself that troubles and sorrows are part of life. You get alone with God and share your heart with him.

**Thirdly,** you get your eyes on the Lord and make a declaration of faith. Now David is hurting. His eyes are on his problems. He feels like this broken piece of pottery, but he doesn't stay there. Look at verse 14: "But as for me, I trust in you, O Lord. I say, 'You are my God. My times are in your hands, Lord. My times are in your hand. I trust you.'"

All this is going on in my life. It's real. But I trust you. You're my God. And I look to you, and I know that my life is in your hand. I've put my faith and trust in you. My life is in your hand. Nothing can get to me that you don't allow to get to me.

You know, I think one of the things with the COVID stuff that bothers me so much is that people are so afraid that things are, "Oh, I can't do this, I can't do that, I can't do the other," because the COVID is gonna get me. Hey, my life is in God's hand. Things don't sneak up on God. You know, the people that have died with COVID—I mean, I mourn for them, but they're in God's plan. I mean, if you don't die of COVID, you're going to die of the flu, or you're going to get hit by a bus, or you get in a car accident. You're going to die. People die.

You know, I don't care if we get a new president or not. People are still going to die. You know, that's just part of the deal. And so when you know you're in God's hand, then you know, "Hey, he knows how many days I have." That doesn't mean you're stupid. That doesn't mean you're foolish. You still live wisely. But you know that, "Hey, my life, I am invincible in a way until God chooses to take me home."

I mean, the devil is not going to come and short-circuit God's plan for my life. If I walk in the light with him, the Lord will accomplish what concerns me. And David knew that my times are in your hand. And then he begins to pray. And we need to pray. Pray for deliverance and pray with boldness and confidence.

See, he says in verse 15, "My times are in your hand. Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me. Make your face shine upon your servant. Save me in your loving kindness." He's praying for deliverance. He's praying for boldness. And he prays for it. "I need this quickly."

Lord, look at the first verse in the psalm: "In you, Lord, I have taken refuge. Let me never be ashamed; in your righteousness deliver me. Incline your ear to me. Rescue me quickly. Be to me a rock of strength, a stronghold to save me. For you are my rock and my fortress. For your name's sake, you will lead me and guide me."

Lord, I need you to answer quickly. I need you to put your ear down to my lips. "Incline your ear to me." That's what that means. It's kind of like if you were talking to somebody who is on their last breath. They don't have the strength to project, so you have to lean down to hear them whisper. God is doing that to us. He was doing that to David. "Incline your ear to me so that you hear my prayer."

And he's praying boldly. He's coming before his throne of grace with boldness, with confidence. "God, I need you to deliver me, and I need you to do it quickly." And then praise God for who he is and what he has promised.

See, David makes his request, and then he says in verse 19, "How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you have wrought for those who take refuge in you before the sons of men." God, you're good. He says in verse 7, "I will rejoice and be glad in your loving kindness because you have seen my affliction and you have known the troubles of my soul, and you have not given me over to the hand of the enemy. You have set my feet in a large place."

Two things he mentions there: God is good, and God is love. And God loves me. David said, "God, you're good, and God, you love me." And when you understand that God is good and that is down in your soul, that is chiseled on your heart, that is a non-negotiable. God is good all the time. Not some of the time, not most of the time. All the time. God is good, and God loves you. Not some of the time, not most of the time, but all of the time. Because God is love. Everything God does flows out of a heart of love.

Listen, here's the danger: we look at circumstances, and circumstances can be the lens from which we see God if we're not careful. That's how you see God. And if your circumstances are bad, then you look through this bad lens and you see God is not good. You see God is not loving you. God must not love me because my life is falling apart. God must not love me because sorrow has filled my heart. God must not love me because I'm a broken vessel and everything has fallen apart in my life.

No, you need to see all of life's circumstances through the lens of God is good and God loves me. And God's at work in my life. Obviously, he's good, he loves me, and he's a refiner of silver. He is working in my life. Why does he have me in the furnace of affliction? Because he's scraping the dross off my life. Because he wants to use my life in a great way. The ones that God uses the most, he afflicts the most. So that there comes out a vessel for the smith. He takes away the dross from the silver so there can come out a vessel for the smith.

So you praise God for who he is, and you praise God for what he has promised. And you bring those promises back to the Lord. "Lord, you said you would deliver. Lord, you said you'd be a rock. Lord, you said you would be my strength." Those are promises from you. And so I quote those back to God. That's why it's so important in prayer to pray the word back to God. Because God loves His Word. And so when you say, "Lord, this is what you said, this is what you promised."

Philippians 4:19, "And my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." That's a great verse to quote back to God. "Lord, I've been young and now I'm old, but I've not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging bread." God, you promised that you would meet my needs. God loves it when we do that. He longs to hear you pray his word and cling to his word and stand on his word. David was doing that.

And then you face the day with strength, courage, and hope in the Lord. Hey, when you direct your prayer to God, when you make a declaration of faith, "God, you're my God, and my times are in your hand," and "I'm not going to walk in fear, and I'm not going to walk in doubt. I'm going to trust you," then you can face the day with strength, courage, and hope.

Look how this psalm ends, beginning in verse 21: "Blessed be the Lord, for he has made marvelous his loving kindness to me in a besieged city, a city that is encompassed by enemies. They're getting ready to come in and wipe him out. But God's love has been made marvelous. As for me, I said in my alarm, 'I'm cut off from before your eyes.' Nevertheless, you heard the voice of my supplications when I cried to you. O love the Lord, all you his godly ones. The Lord preserves the faithful and fully recompenses the proud doer. Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord. Be strong. Let your heart be encouraged because the Lord is going to act.

All you who hope in the Lord, all you who wait on the Lord, all you see hope in the Bible is confident expectation that God is going to do what he said he's going to do. Hope in the Bible is faith for the future. It's faith for a time that hasn't come yet. "Lord, I'm hoping. I have faith for this time that hasn't come yet. And God, you promised that you would deliver me, and you're not done with me yet. I'm going to be here until you finish everything that concerns me, your whole plan for my life."

You know what's really cool about this psalm? Nothing has changed externally in David's situation. From the time that he's talking about how difficult things are to the end, nothing has changed but his attitude, but his focus. He went from problems to praise, from trouble to triumph. I know that God is getting ready to do something.

See, it's a lot like Psalm 27 where it says, "Wait for the Lord. Be strong and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the Lord." And God is never late, and he's never in a hurry. He is Jehovah Nicotine. And he comes just at the right time, at the perfect time. Jesus came into the world at the fullness of time. God has things orchestrated. He knows what he is doing. God knows what he's about, as the poem said. So you can trust him, and you can rejoice in him.

In closing, I want you to think about some things that he says here. Verse 14: "You are my God," he says. Verse 4: "You are my strength." Verse 3: "You are my rock and my fortress." God was personal to David. Now God is a rock. God is a fortress. God is a strength. God is a shepherd. But what makes all the difference in the world is when you can put "my" in there. God is my God. God is my strength. God is my fortress. God is my shepherd.

Psalm 23:1, the most famous psalm, David said, "The Lord is my shepherd." Is he a shepherd? Yes. He's the good shepherd that lays down his life for the sheep. The Bible says he's the great shepherd. The Bible says he's the chief shepherd that's going to come back again. But he's my shepherd.

The declaration was made in John, chapter four, by the Samaritans: "You, Jesus, are the savior of the world." That is great news that he's the Savior of the world. But hey, I got better news. That's personal news. He's not just the Savior of the world; he's my Savior. He has saved me. It's personal.

And listen, Psalm 31 is a great psalm. If the Lord is your God, if the Lord is your strength, if the Lord is your fortress, if the Lord is your redeemer. But if not, if it's not personal, then the promises of God don't apply. You are outside, and you're fixing to get run over by the problems. There's only safety in the Lord.

I'll close with this story. Back in the 1800s, a man was traveling from one city to the next. He ran across a young shepherd boy, 10, 11, 12 years old. The man that was traveling was a Christian, and he started to engage this shepherd boy, talking to him about the things of God, talking to him about Jesus. He said, "Son, do you know the 23rd Psalm? You're a shepherd. Do you know the shepherd psalm?"

And he said, "The Shepherd Psalm says this, son, the Lord is my shepherd." And he said, "There's an easy way to remember it. Stretch out your hand. The Lord is my shepherd." He said, "Son, when you get to the fourth word, 'my,' hold that finger. See, that's your ring finger. That's your wedding finger. That's the finger of love. That's the finger of commitment."

He said, "Hold that finger to remind yourself that the Lord is not just a shepherd; he is my shepherd. He's a personal God, and he'll save anybody who'll put their faith and trust in him." Well, then he went on his way. That boy went home and told his parents that he had met this guy, and he was talking to me about Jesus and the shepherd psalm.

About six months later, there was a huge snowstorm. It was wintertime. There was a huge snowstorm. He was out with his sheep, got caught in the snowstorm. He didn't come back. They couldn't go out; it was too harsh for them to go out and look for him. When they finally were able to go out and look for him and the sheep, it took them a long time to find him. And when they found him, they had to dig him out of the snow. They were too late. He was gone.

But they noticed with his lifeless body that he was grasping that finger. He's my shepherd. He's my shepherd. He's my God. He's my rock. He's my redeemer. I can say that. Can you say that? And if you can't say it, then don't leave this place until you give your heart to Jesus. Because this world is filled with trouble, and it's just going to get worse in the last days. Difficult times will come. We're getting ready to face difficult times.

And if the Lord is not your rock, your redeemer, your strength, your Savior, you're going to get rolled. But if you'll put your faith and trust in Jesus, this will be true for you: the Lord is my shepherd.

Speaker 1

If Jesus truly is the Lord and Savior of your life, when God looks upon you, he sees the righteousness of his son. He doesn't see your sin. But if you realize today, as Pastor Jeff Shreve has taught so clearly from God's word, that you truly don't know Jesus in a personal way, would you take a moment right now and recognize that the Holy Spirit is seeking to move into your heart and is prompting you to come to Jesus through repentance and faith in Christ alone? Would you sincerely and repentantly ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior and surrender your will to him? If you do that, you'll be a child of God, which means your life here will change because you will desire to serve God and do that by serving others, and you'll be assured of your home in heaven forever.

To find out more about what that means, just go to fromisheart.org and click the "Why Jesus" link to help you get started in your Christian walk. But listen, even those who love and live for Christ continually have ups and downs. The Book of Psalms provides a great source of spiritual comfort, strength, and encouragement for the trials and tribulations we face. And that's what we're studying now. This month, in the nine-message series called "Life Is Hard But God Is Good," we share important and critical lessons from Psalms to help you remember that although life can be very hard at times, God is always good and worthy to be trusted.

The series is available on CDs, DVDs, a USB flash drive, or immediate MP3 download to help us finish this fiscal year on a powerful financial footing. Finishing strong means we'll do much more than just reach a financial goal this month. Together, we'll reach more souls because, as we look toward the next 20 years of ministry, God is opening up doors wide for From His Heart to expand our global broadcast, equip more believers, train the next generation, and be a lighthouse of clarity.

Thank you for your fiscal year-end gift today. You can make your gift when you call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or go online to fromisheart.org and request the series "Life is Hard but God is Good." When you do that, we'll also include the companion booklet "Strong Faith for Tough Times." Get these timely resources today so they can bring you real hope only found in Christ.

Well, it's been a great and hopeful day on From His Heart. I'm Larry Nobles, trusting you were blessed, and I pray that you'll join Pastor Jeff tomorrow for the next lesson in his "Life Is Hard But God Is Good" series. Join us on Wednesday for the lesson "What Song Are You Singing?" That's next time when Pastor Jeff will open up God's Word and share real truth, real love, and real hope from God's heart here on From His Heart.

Speaker 2

There is truth there is blessed There is hope that you always bring love he can heal every scars of real true, real love, Real hope from his heart From.

Speaker 1

His Heart is the listener supported Broadcast Ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve speaking the truth in love to a lost and a hurting world. Remember, no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Find out more. Go to promisheart.org.