Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - When God Feels Far | The Writings | Psalm 56

Episode Date: May 15, 2024

Does the presence of suffering in your life indicate the lack of God's presence or care? How do you react to bad news and trials? Instead of questioning God's goodness, Jensen shares how David reacts to suffering in Psalm 56. Read the Bible with us in 2024! This year, we’re tackling a group of Old Testament books traditionally known as “The Writings”— Psalms, Chronicles, Proverbs, Daniel, Ruth and more! Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter@TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Psalm 56

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair. A couple weeks ago, Beth Moore shared a post on Instagram that I was deeply moved by. She'd gotten some lab results that worried her doctors and had to get further testing done to find out whether or not she had cancer. In the in-between of getting the tests and waiting, she shared a post about getting these tests done. She later added a PS, letting her followers know that the tests had come back and everything was okay. Her doctor wasn't concerned. She said she was happy and grateful, and she could have left it there.

But she continued on, and I want to read what she said because I found it so profoundly encouraging. Now listen carefully to what I'm about to say. I would have been no less loved by God, nor less attended to by God, nor heard by God, if the news had been different. It was simply not on his divine schedule for my journey presently. Other things are. I just don't want the enemy to mess with your head if I got good news and you didn't. He loves us all so very much. See, so often I hear people in the church wondering,

is God here with me? Does he care about me? Does he love me? In the midst of suffering and hardship, in the midst of divorce, illness, fracturing relationships, false accusations, job loss, death of a loved one. In the midst of these things, it's not uncommon for us to look at the mess around us and wonder if the presence of suffering indicates a lack of care from God. See, Beth Moore knew that it may be someone's inclination to wonder if God cared less for them

because they didn't get good news, because they were facing a cancer diagnosis that day. But she also knew that whether her news had been good or bad, she would have been no less loved, attended to, or heard by her God. She knew something that David knew when he wrote Psalm 56. The presence of suffering in our lives does not change anything about who God is. Let me say that again. The presence of suffering in your life does not change anything about who God is. You see, in Psalm 56, David is fleeing from Saul, who is seeking his life. He tries to take refuge with the Philistines but finds no safety there, only more enemies. And so again, he's forced to flee into the wilderness. It's within this conscience. It's within this conscience. context, the David writes Psalm 56. Throughout the chapter, David shares of the suffering he faces. In verse 1, he says, be gracious to me, oh God, for man tramples on me. All day long an attacker

oppresses me. My enemies trample on me all day long. For many attack me proudly. Later in verse 5, he says, all day long they injure my cause. All their thoughts are against me for evil. They stir up strife, they lurk, they watch my steps as they have waited for my life. David is no stranger to suffering. He's innocent, and yet he has pursued, injured, trampled on, oppressed, attacked. And yet, rather than question God's goodness in the midst of these attacks and setbacks, we read David's response throughout the chapter. In verse three, When I am afraid I put my trust in you, in God whose word I praise in God I trust I shall not be afraid what can flesh do to me later on in verse eight you've kept

count of my tossings put my tears in your bottle are they not in your book see david knew that god was keeping watch over him verse nine then my enemies will turn back in the day when i call this i know that god is for me david knows that god is on his side that he is for David, God is dependable. Verse 10, in God whose word I praise, in the Lord whose word I praise, and again, almost verbatim to verse four, David says this, in God I trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? So twice, amid suffering, David says, in God I trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? If we read David's words correctly, we have to reject the notion that if God is for you, then you will not face suffering. If God loved you, you wouldn't have cancer. If God cared

about you, he would heal your marriage. If God heard you, he would change the hearts of the people who attack you. That line of thinking is a lie. It is a lie used by the enemy to make us mistrust God, to make us question his goodness, to lure us away from God's goodness. David is attacked, oppressed, trampled on, homeless, wandering, and he knows that God is for him. He knows that God is trustworthy. Despite all that surrounds him, he is not afraid. What can man do to him? Again, not a promise that man can do nothing to you. Remember, men have attacked, oppressed, trampled on, and sought his life. See, David's refrain is not a belief that with God we should expect to be untouchable by suffering, that with God no one can touch me.

No, David is saying that because God is for me, because the creator of the universe has me in his hands, has promised to care for me, is walking besides me at all times, I will not fear, even when I face suffering because no man can take God from me. He is our greatest good. His presence, his mercy, his love will never leave us or forsake us. Romans 838, for I am sure that neither life nor death nor angels nor rulers nor things present,

nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God and Christ Jesus, our Lord. What can man do to me? See, motivated by his love for creation, God became a man and lived a life of suffering for his creation. The religious leaders of Jesus' day beat him, they whipped him, they falsely accused him, and they murdered him. And yet, three days later, he rose from the grave and out of an abundance of his love for you, he will one day return and give his resurrection life to creation and all who faithfully follow him. No one can take that away from you.

What can man do to you? On one level, from the lives of David and Jesus, we know the answer is a lot. They can do a lot to you. You should know that you will face suffering in this life. But if your trust is in God, God is for you. God is loving and steadfast and faithful to his people. What can man do to you? The presence of suffering in your life does not change anything about who God is. If they oppress you, attack you, trample you, even if they kill you, God is for you. He is trustworthy, dependable, and nothing, not even death, can separate you from the love of God. God is dependable, faithful, present, and loving. If your trust is in God, your future is secure. Your hope lies not in the life of comfort and ease, but in a future resurrection, where you will live

alongside your creator in His kingdom of love, justice, and peace forever. And God, I trust. I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?