What's Your Focus:
Your Trial or the Lord?

What's Your Focus:
Your Trial or the Lord?

by Patricia Dailey
Senior Pastor, Bethel Revival Center
43 Norwood St.
Everett, MA 02149

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Psalm 42:5-11
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance. O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember Thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.

Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of Thy waterspouts: all Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over me. Yet the LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.

I will say unto God my rock, Why hast Thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

When we go through circumstances that are dark periods — times of troubles and distress — it's so very easy to get our minds on what we're going through, and it causes our souls to be cast down. It can cause us to be frightened and to worry, and even cause us to doubt God and His Word.

Walk by Faith, Not by Sight

As long as the writer of this Psalm kept his eyes on the Lord, everything was fine. And this is the same with you and me: We need to keep our minds and our eyes on Jesus and not on the circumstances. We do not walk by sight nor by feelings, though there is the tendency to do so. One wants to feel God, and it is nice when we can feel His presence with us.

Yet there are those times when we're going through a very heavy trial in our life when we don't feel His presence. It feels like the heavens are brass when we pray.

Listen, we're not walking by sight nor by feelings in this Christians walk. We are walking by faith. Even though we may be in a dark period of time when we don't feel God's presence, we know that He is with us because He told us He was — and His Word is true. He said He would never leave us nor forsake us, and that He would be with us even to the end of the world (see Hebrews 13:5 and Matthew 28:20). Thus, even in a dark period of time, when we may not feel His presence, we can know that He is with us.

Realize we have an adversary who works to veer our attention off of the Lord onto the circumstances, onto the dark time we are going through. It's so very easy to get distracted, to get sidetracked, to be drawn away from trusting God. We begin to fear because we are looking at the circumstances we're going through, and some of those things can be very frightening.

Pray, Don't Fret

If we begin to worry and fret, begin to have anxiety over what we are going through, we no longer walk by faith, but by sight.

We need to pray about the things we find ourselves facing and leave them in God's hands. When we place our trust in Him, in His perfect timing we will find everything taken care of.

He said to lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. It may be a slow process, or it may happen right away; but if we simply keep our trust in Him, He will fulfil His Word.

He said we have need of patience that after we have done the will of God we might receive the promise (see Hebrews 10:36). We need to stand on His promises in faith believing, whether we see any signs of release or not.

We need to quit worrying about this old flesh. Satan will be there to try to cause us to be frightened over every little thing that comes our way. If we're not careful, we can make such a big mountain over such small things — getting our eyes on that great big mountain we created and off the promises of God.

Here in Psalms we see where those who get their minds on their circumstances find their souls cast down and disquited within. It causes them to be frightened — to worry, and fret, and be anxious — and to doubt God and His Word.

Hope in God and His Word

The writer of this psalm said that his soul was cast down and disquieted within him, but he spoke up: Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.

This is the secret: to get our eyes on God, and not on the circumstances. Once we get our eyes on God, the circumstances won't control our feelings. We are not to walk by sight nor feelings, but by faith. When we do this, He will bring us through.

Now, there are those who will say that we are just wishful thinking when we have hope: setting our eyes on the Lord, hoping in Him, trusting in Him and trusting in His Word.

I don't see how that can be true because hope is expecting from God; hope is having faith in God's promises; hope is knowing that our help does come from God.

We need to keep this in mind. If we go to the arm of flesh for help, we will find the arm of flesh can fail us. But as long as we place our trust in the Lord — keeping our eyes on Him, hoping in Him — we will come through with the victory.

It's not wishful thinking, like some say, but it is standing on God's Word.

When someone says that trusting in Him is just wishful thinking, what they are really saying is that His Word is not true. How can they say it's wishful thinking to believe God and His Word, to hope in Him? How can they say it's wishful thinking to trust Him to heal when He says in His Word that He will heal us of all our diseases and that there is nothing too hard for Him?

If we believe what He has promised in His Word, we will take it to heart and not doubt.

Psalm 89:34
My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips.

When God speaks, He means what He says. Yes, He will do what He said He will do. It might take awhile to see it, but it's in His hands: in His way and in His time, He will bring the answer.

This writer seems to have God in the back of his mind, yet, like a lot of people, he also seems to waver up and down.

Many are up and down in their experience with God. They are up one day, having faith to stand and believe God, but the next day something comes along to throw them right down. They're like an elevator: up and down, up and down. One day they believe God, and the next day they doubt God.

But we need to keep our faith in God if we're going to see the end result and get the victory that was purchased at Calvary.

Psalm 103:1,2
Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits

We have to be careful that we don't get our eyes on the circumstances, drawing aside from trusting God. We have to be careful that we don't let the devil talk us out of all the blessings God has for those who will really trust Him.

Encourage Yourself in the Lord

I Samuel 30:6
And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.

David and his men were living in Ziklag. The Philistines had given them that place to live when he was fleeing from Saul. The Philistines wouldn't let him go with them against Israel because they feared he would turn against them. The king found no fault in David but sent him back to Ziklag because of the Philistines. When David and his men got to Ziklag, they found the city was burned, and their wives and children were taken captive.

They lifted up their voices and wept until there was no more power to weep. Why? Because they had their minds on the circumstances. Then David's men turned on David and were going to stone him. But we see where David encouraged himself in the Lord.

And this is something we must always remember to do. Instead of looking at the circumstances, even though it may be very dark and a very fearful time, we need to encourage ourselves in the Lord.

This wasn't an easy thing for David to go through. His wives and his children were gone, too, yet his men wanted to kill him.

I Samuel 30:8
And David inquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And He answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.

We can learn something from David's experience and follow his example when we are facing a difficult time. Even though it was a very distressful time for David and his men, David encouraged himself in the Lord. And you and I, too, can encourage ourselves in the Lord. We can encourage ourselves from the Word of God and through prayer — seeking the Lord and asking Him what we should do. We can ask Him to give us wisdom with the situation we are facing, to give us help, and to give us grace to continue on with Him.

The Lord Will Encourage Us

II Chronicles 15:8
And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.

Asa found encouragement in the words of the prophet, and he got right down to business in cleaning up the land and entering into a covenant to seek the Lord.

I Chronicles 16:10,11
Glory ye in His holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. Seek the LORD and His strength, seek His face continually.

Yes, the Lord can encourage us when we pray; He can encourage us when we get into His Word; and He can encourage us by sending someone along to speak encouraging words to us.

I want the Lord to talk to me. I want to hear the voice of the Lord. Several months ago He told me, "Be not deceived," and I have seen why. Another time He told me that help was on the way. Did help come? Yes, it did.

Yes, I want to hear from God. I want to hear His voice. I want Him to give me great wisdom. In myself, I can do nothing. I have to have the Lord to instruct me and direct my path.

We need to really seek God to encourage us when we are going through a difficult time. We cannot let the devil sidetrack us by causing us to look at the circumstances. If we do, we will get discouraged and give up.

Peter

Matthew 14:22-27
And straightway Jesus constrained His disciples to get into a ship, and to go before Him unto the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, He was there alone.

But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

We want to look at Peter here and learn from his example, for this is what most people do:

Matthew 14:28-31
And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and got them on the storm. And when he did, he began to sink.

See how easy it is to get distracted with our circumstances, with those things we have to go through. It's so easy to look around and become fearful. We can go along for a day or so, sailing right through. Our faith seems to be high, and our eyes are on the Lord. But the next thing we know, we begin to stumble. Why? Because we start to look around at the circumstances, and we start to sink low. We become depressed, discouraged, despairing, despondant — all because we took our eyes off of Jesus and began looking at the circumstances we found ourselves in.

Jeremiah

Lamentations 3:7
He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: He hath made my chain heavy.

Jeremiah had been put into a dungeon, and we are told that they laid a stone upon it (verse 53). They expected Jeremiah to die in that dungeon. They wanted to silence him. They didn't like the message God had given to them through him: He said that their beautiful city was going to be destroyed because they would not hearken unto the voice of the Lord.

All God wanted them to do was to repent — putting away their sinful ways — and to cry out for forgiveness. God would have then received them and spared their city: but they were stubborn and rebellious.

Jeremiah knew there was no way to get out. The dungeon was deep, and there was mire in the bottom of it (a miry place is a muddy place).

Just imagine being put way down into a dungeon, sinking down into the mud, and having a stone placed over the opening.

Lamentations 3:18
And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD

Jeremiah thought his hope was perished from the Lord because of what he was going through. I'm sure this would be a very scary thing to face. We hear of miners who have been trapped underground. Many have lost their lives, while others have been rescued. But to know that you are trapped way down under the ground and your hope is almost gone! Many who have been rescued have been down there for hours, and even days, before anyone has been able to get to them.

Jeremiah came to a place in his life where his hope was almost gone. He knew that if something didn't happen soon, he would die in that dungeon. He almost lost hope . . . almost.

Lamentations 3:21-23
This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.

Wouldn't it be a scary thing to be down in a dark cold dungeon with no way to get out? They had to lower Jeremiah down with cords, as there was no other way. He was trapped.

When Daniel was thrown into the lions' den, they put a stone over the opening to shut him in. But that stone didn't hinder God from rescuing him from those lions. God closed the mouths of those lions; and when the king saw that Daniel was still alive, he had the men lift him up out of that den.

Then those who had thrown him into the den were thrown in with their wives and families. Before they could reach the ground, they were torn apart by those lions.

I believe that when we go through trials, and things may appear hopeless, if we stop to encourage ourselves in the Lord, we will see His love, His mercies, and His grace upon our lives. We will see that He is working, even when we are going through a horrible time.

We need to take time to reflect on God and see His love and compassion manifested every day unto us.

God really used Jeremiah. Jeremiah was faithful every day to go and give out the Word of God. We see where, even though he was put down into this dungeon, God was with him. God's hand was still upon his life. In himself, Jeremiah thought his hope and his strength was perished from him, and that surely death was going to be his end.

Lamentations 3:57,58
Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon Thee: Thou saidst, Fear not. O Lord, Thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; Thou hast redeemed my life.

Isn't that wonderful! Right in the midst of that dark trial, God told Jeremiah to fear not. It looked like all hope was gone, yet God spoke to him while he prayed.

The Lord spared Jeremiah's life. The devil could not destroy him. It was not his time to leave this world. And we see how the Lord answered his prayer from that dungeon — even though it looked like there was no hope, looked like he was going to be cut off completely and would die in that place.

Would you relish being in such a place? I don't believe any of us would want to experience what Jeremiah went through: but we never know what we might have to face in the future.

God's Faithfulness

One thing we do know: God is faithful.

Jeremiah 38:7-13
Now when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; Ebed-melech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying, My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city.

Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. So Ebed-melech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.

And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

God has a people who will listen to him, a people whom He can use to help someone who cannot help themselves.

Jeremiah got his eyes on his circumstances; but when he remembered God's mercies and God's faithfulness, when he began to cry out to God, God told him not to fear.

Those are beautiful words, encouraging words, comforting words to anyone who is going through a hard time.

So, we need to keep our eyes on the Lord no matter how dark it may be. It might look hopeless, like all hope is gone — and it does look that way at times — but if we get our eyes on the circumstances, then we're in trouble. When we keep our eyes on the Lord, He will bring the victory — for we are more than conquerors through Him (see Romans 8:37).

Yes, we have the victory in the Lord Jesus Christ and in His atonement. The victory was purchased for us at Calvary.