The objective of this lesson: To affirm that when struggles do not challenge your dependence on God, those struggles can still make you ask “Why?”
The struggle goes on and on! When you are a young adult, you are impressed that money, power, human resources, or human abilities are the answer to life’s uncertainties. Most young adults do not fear enemies—unless the crisis is severe! The attitude is more a declaration of “bring it on!” than the question, “How will we ever cope and survive?”
As the Christian ages, it becomes increasingly obvious that human struggles do not end and needs are constant. As we look at a situation in our youth we are sure it has an easy answer/solution. Then later in life we realize the situation is far more complex than previously imagined. There are real factors that young adults often do not see or did not consider.
As our age advances and we see that the physical is uncertain and difficult, our confident bravado erodes as it is replaced by the realization that struggles never end. “Permanent solutions” do not exist. No matter what we do, struggles continue.
Young adults pursue permanent solutions passionately while older adults accept the fact that enduring solutions do not exist. Both have advantages and disadvantages. The “can do anything so do not get in the way” and the “can do nothing so do not try” attitudes are not a blessing. Change is such a constant in determining needs that each generation must learn how to assert values as it faces its new reality.
Perhaps nothing makes us think as does seeing the struggles of people who have no spiritual family. To see people who face the stark moments of life alone underscores the value of mutually dependence on God. To lose or abandon that blessing is to forfeit one of physical life’s great gifts.
How often have you wondered how a person or a family coped with a demanding circumstance when they had zero connection with a congregational family?
In Psalms 11, the psalmist declared his refuge was God. A difficult time had enveloped the psalmist. As is often the case in difficult times, there was an abundance of advice. The advice given the palmists: Flee to an inaccessible place where you can successfully hide from your enemies.
Be clear that the situation did not produce a faith in God crisis for the psalmist. God was his refuge. However, the crisis caused him deep concern. He was compelled to cry out to God as he asked why. Finding refuge in God does not prevent crisis or the felt need to ask why.
“Psalmist, you should know your enemies are determined to destroy you, and they will not fight fair. They will use the cover of darkness to hide their movements. You and the righteous will honor the rules of engagement, but they will not! They gladly will shoot you in the darkness.
They do not care who they hurt—all they care about is winning! It is time to run—save yourself from your uncertain danger!”
The advice was the old standby encouragement: “Save yourself—that is the only important consideration!”
The righteous psalmist declared there was more to consider than his physical safety. Righteous people are concerned about honoring values—God’s values. “If we do not care about honoring
God’s values, there is far more to be lost than our physical lives!”
The values that motivated the psalmist to be a righteous person were at stake. Something much bigger than personal safety was at issue. Christians need to understand that there are bigger issues than personal safety when God’s values are the issue.
Righteous people never forget that the Lord is in control! No matter the physical cost or the “right now” situation, the righteous do not forget who the Lord is or where He is. Because of who He is and where He is, He sees everything that happens. “Happenings” tested all people—the righteous and the wicked. God knew what people did and why they did it! Nobody got away with anything! It was impossible to deceive God! God would take care of the wicked—leave that in His hands and focus on being righteous! He would act in ways you never could, in ways that will defy imagination! However, He would certainly do it!
God being in control means God knows. God being in control and knowing does not mean that what God does is obvious to us. God knowing does not mean that all is fine physically with us. Let us focus on being righteous people and allow God to work His purposes in all situations—good and bad. Because evil does the “bad” does not mean God is not continuing His purposes in spite of the “bad” being done.
The Lord was righteous and He loved the righteous. The upright should not worry about the enemy—they would see the Lord’s face! He never abandoned the upright!
God has not abandoned us because the moment or situation is undesirable for us. God’s blessing is often the strength to endure the trial.
Perhaps Psalm 12 followed Psalm 11 because the situation depicted was dire. The psalmist was pleading with God for help. He was not pleading because he doubted God, but because the situation was so severe. People who were godly were vanishing! It seemed as though wicked people were winning. The faithful were disappearing—it seemed they were no match for the wicked. Thus, the psalmist asked for God’s help. Obviously, the psalmist was baffled by the problem’s existence.
It is not an unrighteous act to cry out to God for help in difficult situations. We just must exercise care not to become selfish and self-centered in such situations. As God works, He does not need our approval. We need to concern ourselves with trusting, not approving. God is in charge; we are not.
This problem seemed to be caused by the effective deceitfulness of the wicked. They knew how to gain a person’s confidence through flattery. The wicked knew how to say just the right thing to make their declarations believable to those who sought to be righteous people. However, when the wicked spoke, they spoke falsely with a double purpose (the self-serving purpose of the wicked was not evident to the righteous).
The problem was caused by deceit effectively misdirecting the righteous. Deceit caused the righteous to focus on the wrong things.
The psalmist did not ask the Lord to “zap” the wicked out of existence, but to destroy their ability to flatter and deceive. The wicked were confident that they could do anything through their speech! No one could get the better of them because they knew how to use flattery to make anyone their victim. Everyone was troubled by something! Everyone had needs or struggles that overwhelmed them. All the wicked needed to do was to figure out how to exploit the situation produced by the trouble, the struggle, or the need!
The request was NOT for God to destroy the wicked, but to end the deceit. We are warned not to let evil exploit us (consider Ephesians 4:26, 27 and James 4:7).
The psalmist understood part of the problem was produced by the eagerness of the righteous to have a “quick fix” solution to troubles, struggles, and needs. The answer: Turn to the Lord for answers, and not to the flattering words and deceitful promises of the wicked. God truly addressed a situation. He did not deceive—He addressed the real problem. His words could be trusted as though they were the finest, most expensive silver. He would be with those who belonged to Him, and those who belonged to Him had a future that could not be destroyed—never would the righteous vanish!
We become part of the problem when we decide God must function “in the way we desire.” That attitude opens the righteous to deception. The solution is found in trusting God.
The wicked might go about in the extreme confidence that they were in control, but their work depended on the gullibility of people. The righteous depended on the steadfastness of God!
Any effort that depends on humans for effectiveness is doomed. People fail; God endures.
When horrible things happen like the death camps of WWII, the genocide of Sudan, or the death and destruction of 9/11/2001, it seems the wicked have all the advantages. However, the righteous depend on a force superior to any earthly happening. Wickedness will self-destruct because it depends on the deception of humans. Righteous shall prevail because it depends on the enduring God. To be righteous, one must see further than the immediate situation.
People are capable of terribly wicked behavior just as they are capable of incredible righteous behavior.
For Thought and Discussion
1. When we are young adults, what impresses us? Why?
a) Money, human power, human resources, and human abilities impress us.
b) We feel the human is the answer to life’s problems and questions.
2. Often, the attitude of the young adult is what? Often, the question of older adults is what?
a) The young adult often has the attitude of “bring it on!”
b) The older adult asks, “How will we ever cope and survive?”
3. Discuss this statement: “Permanent solutions” do not exist. What makes us think?
a) The discussion should include the awareness that each generation must deal with its own realities.
b) Seeing people struggle with problems when those people have NO spiritual family to help and encourage makes us think.
4. What advice did the psalmist receive in his time of difficulty? The psalmist declared what?
a) The advice: “Save yourself from the danger confronting you.”
b) The psalmist said there is more to consider than my physical safety.
5. Righteous people never forget what? What do “happenings” do?
a) Righteous people never forget the Lord is in control.
b) “Happenings” test all people—the righteous and the wicked.
6. In Psalms 12 why was the psalmist pleading with God? Discuss the situation.
a) The psalmist pleads with God for help because the righteous are falling to deception.
b) The discussion should include that it seemed to the psalmist as if the wicked were winning.
7. The psalmist understood what?
The psalmist understood the righteous were making themselves vulnerable by wanting “quick fix” solutions.
8. Contrast what the wicked depend on with what the righteous depend on.
The wicked depended on the gullibility of people and the righteous depended on the steadfastness of God.
9. In our “today world” when does it seem the wicked are winning?
The wicked seem to have all the advantages and sometimes do terrible things.
Link to Student Guide Lesson 6
Copyright © 2010
David Chadwell & West-Ark Church of Christ