"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE WHEN YOU ARE IN TROUBLE"
Psalm 108:12 Give us help from trouble, For the help of man is useless.
Psalm 108:13 Through God we will do valiantly, For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.
Some explanatory thoughts/application/questions and a prayer:
This 108th Psalm was written by King David. It is a Psalm where he praises God, and expresses his faith and confidence in God, and in God's ability and strength. He is also looking to God for help in the midst of trouble.
1. God will give you help when you are in trouble.
Psalm 108:12a Give us help from trouble,
David was specifically asking God to give him help from the trouble he was experiencing. We are not told what the trouble was, but David needed help, and he was looking to God for help in that trouble and with that trouble.
The word trouble here, means, enemy, adversary, distress, affliction, foes, narrow, strait. It was used to speak of being in a narrow and tight spot, to be in hard times. To be experiencing oppression.
2. The help of man is really useless.
Psalm 108:12b For the help of man is useless.
David was not discounting the love and support of his friends and of his armies. But, rather, he was comparing what God can do with what man can do. And, there is no comparison. God can do what man cannot do.
And, God does not call us to put our hope and trust in either ourselves, or in others, but rather in God Himself.
And, that's what David was seeking to do.
3. With God's help we can do mighty things.
Psalm 108:13a Through God we will do valiantly,
Here David expresses what man can do with God as his helper. This is what David was counting on, and it's what we can count on as well. That through God we can do valiantly. Or as the NLT reads, "With God’s help we will do mighty things," How true this is. Is there anything that is too hard for the Lord. Nothing is impossible with God, even though circumstances may look otherwise. God is all powerful. There is no one greater than He is. No one can thwart the plans and the intentions of God. And, God want us to put our trust in Him.
4. God is the one who will deal with our enemies.
Psalm 108:13b For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.
Now David specifies why he needed God's help. It was because of the enemies of David. David did not want to try and deal with his enemies by his own strength, or in his own power. Rather, He was looking to God to deal with them. He realized that God could tread them down. He knew that God could trample down His foes.
This is also how God calls us to act and to trust. Leave your enemies in God's hands. If anything, pray for them as Christ has instructed us. But, leave them with God. Let the Lord take care of the situation. He is faithful. He will deal with them in His own way, and in His own time, of that you can be sure. David was.
Some questions:
1. Are you in some kind of trouble at this very time?
2. Do you know that God will help you if you look to Him?
3. You can try to fix it yourself, and even enlist the help of others, but God is the better one to look to.
4. God is able to really help you. His power is unlimited. Will you take a moment and pray right now.
5. Also, it is good to pray for our enemies. As mentioned, this is what Jesus told us to do. Will you do it now?
A prayer:
Father, You never told us that life would be without trouble. In fact, You have told us just the opposite. But, You have also told us to look to You during times of trouble, and to cast our cares upon You, because You care for us. So, today, we would like to take whatever trouble we may be facing or dealing with, or that has come upon us, and give that over to You by prayer and faith. Lord, help us through the day, to continually look to You, and to remember how great You are, and how You are able to deal with our troubles. In Jesus name, amen.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia.
