God encourages His people when they turn to Him in critical circumstances that threaten to overwhelm them. Our lives are a sequence of dramatic events, and the closer we get to people, and as we place more importance in the state of our surroundings we place ourselves at greater risk of being hurt when circumstances separate us from those things we so value. When we put our love and trust in other people we may find ourselves discouraged when our relationships with them become strained and broken. When we embrace one another in love we often suffer the greatest of sorrows and grief when we lose one we love to separation that comes from broken relationships or from death. When we place great importance on our life circumstances we suffer discouraging loss when those circumstances change. We can also place great importance on those material things around us and then suffer discouraging loss when they are taken from us.

The cynic would teach us to avoid such pain of loss by protecting ourselves from close attachments that put us at risk of loss. We should not place our trust in people when people are so undependable. We should not love one another so much when that love puts us at risk of pain. We should not place such importance in our life circumstances when to do so would place us at risk. If we follow the teaching of the cynic we indeed may protect ourselves against hurt, but we do so by placing a protective barrier around ourselves and miss out on many of the most important joys and blessings of life.

There is no place for such cynicism in the Christian life, a life that is characterized by a genuine and unconditional love, a love that puts us at the greatest risk. The scriptures continually teach us to love one another. We are to invest our lives in one another and into our vocational calling as we do all we do as unto the LORD. There is no justification for holding back our commitment to others and to our calling from the LORD. This wide-open, full-throttle approach to commitment places opens us up to injury when the context of those commitments dramatically changes.

Consequently, the question is not so much “How do we respond IF we get hurt?” the question is, “How do we respond WHEN we get hurt?” How do we get through the tough times when everything around us seems to be falling apart? How do we get through those times when we are discouraged and we are looking for answers? How do we get through times of grief that are accompanied by great loss? Where is God in these tough times?

1. In Drought (Ps. 42:1-2)

When have been some of the times in your life when you needed encouragement? What sort of circumstance places us in need of encouragement? We are going to look at a song of David that is believed to have been written when David was remembering when he was running for his life from the attack of King Saul. He was hiding in the back of a cave in the En Gedi desert. Look in the book of 1 Samuel for what was taking place:

And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood. ... Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand. … And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon. Saul also and his men went to seek him. ... And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them. But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land. Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Selahammahlekoth (the cliff of escape). And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at Engedi. And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi. Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.  1 Samuel 23:15 ff.

What had happened in David's life up to this point? He had been the youngest, smallest, and least respected son of Jesse, selected and anointed by Samuel to succeed King Saul. He had experienced an epic victory over Goliath and won all of the spoils that the victory brought him, including the hand of Saul’s daughter, Michal in marriage. He became an honored member of the King's court, serving as the King's aid and personal minister. Given leadership over Saul’s army, David had experienced ten times the success that Saul had ever realized. David had the world in his hands, living on an emotional and spiritual mountaintop with the greatest hope for the future. How could life get any better?

What went wrong? Saul recognized David’s righteousness and his own wickedness. Saul knew of David's successes in battle that exceeded his own, and how the people had great respect and love for David. Saul developed an extreme jealousy of David, and perceived him as a threat to his throne. Saul’s hatred and jealousy grew to the point that Saul sought to kill David, and as the King of Israel he had enough resource to fulfill his wishes. David had to flee from Saul’s continuing search, and he found himself hiding in a back of a cave in the desert of En Gedi, having seemingly lost all he had ever attained.

Visualize En Gedi for a moment: It is a rocky, very hot, dry, and hilly area so devoid of water that only a few small desert plants survive. However, there are a few deer and ibex that manage to survive by taking part in a life-and-death struggle to find the few springs of water that are in the region and the plants that surround those springs. David had fallen from a position of highest influence and comfort to living like a rat in the desert, struggling to survive as he was running for his life from a madman who had been his friend. How did this affect David's spirit? He became very depressed.

As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. ²My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

There are many sources of discouragement in our world today. What are some of them? What causes depression? Some depression is clinical and some is situational or circumstantial. David describes three forms of depression in these verses: drought, distress, and discouragement.

The first of these is indicated in verses 1-2. David was experiencing a spiritual drought. He felt like he was separated from the LORD and grieved the loss of relationship with Him. He had been confident in all of his undertakings, as he felt close to God, and was (at least to his understanding) following God’s will in his life. This brought him great success. However, we tend to consider lack of success, in some way apart from God. We view failure as a lack of blessing and even a punishment from God. David found himself separated from friends, family, home, and he thought, from God. He yearned for a return to the way things were; he yearned for the same type of closeness to God that he felt in the good “old” days. In this yearning for what he had lost, he learned its value. He compared the deer in the desert in its desperate pursuit of water and its life-giving refreshment to his own thirst for God. Recall that their culture had a localized view of God. We see God as omnipresent, knowing that He is everywhere. They saw God as local, abiding in the tabernacle, and influential within their political borders. Back in the rear of the desert cave, David felt as though God is not there.

Are there ever times in your life that you feel like God is not there? What are those times like? Are there ever times when you feel like your prayers are not getting through, like God has turned his back on you? Are there times that you feel as though you cannot pray at all? How do you feel? Probably, you feel separated from God. What can separate us from God? Take a look at Romans 8:38-39:

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, ³⁹Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39.

What is there that can separate us from God? This list is rather conclusive: there is nothing that can separate those who have placed their faith in God from him. Paul was convinced of this fact. Then, if the communication between us and God has broken down, at what end of the link has the communication stopped? Obviously, it is at our end. At one time in my own life when I felt like David, separated from God, He revealed Himself to me with a clear message that I had put up a wall of sin that left me unable to see or hear the one and Holy God. I had to recognize the sin (anger and bitterness toward an individual who had betrayed me, not unlike the Saul/David relationship), and turn from it by giving it to Jesus, the One who had already paid the price for that sin. My relationship with God was restored, and I had learned a lesson that made the whole experience profitable for God's kingdom. Though I have recently suffered a similar betrayal, I was not tempted to fall into the valley of depression by harboring the anger that would again separate me from my relationship with God. There are many examples of how sin separates us from fellowship with God, (Judges 16:20-21; Isaiah 59:1-2.) Often spiritual indifference accompanies sin, and we withdraw from God, (Ezek 10:4-19; 11:23.)

What can we do when we feel separated from God? Rather than focusing on our circumstances, we can focus on God and ask what it is that God is teaching us through this because we know with confidence that:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28.

Many Christians are familiar with this verse, but ignorant of the verse that follows. This verse identifies the reason why God allows “all things” to happen in our lives.

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8:29.

We often cry out “what is your purpose in this, God?” as though His purpose in our suffering is a great mystery. We need only read the rest of Paul’s sentence to find that God’s purpose is to mold us and shape us, like a potter and his clay, into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. Each experience can serve to bring us closer to “Christ-likeness” as we grow in spiritual maturity, learning to depend more upon God, and allow Him to bring out the fruit of our faith in our lives. Each experience prepares us for the next as we grow closer to Him.

In the next two verses, David describes a second characteristic of his depression:

My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? ⁴ When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.

What indications of grief and distress do you see here? David demonstrates prolonged periods of crying. We see a demonstration of grief and frustration that comes from experiencing great distress. Living in distress can be like living with a pair of permanent dark glasses. Though you see the world around you, everything you see is affected by the filter of those glasses. Have there been times in your life when you felt that kind of sadness?

Note that we are not alone at these times. What does the last half of verse 3 reveal? When David was struggling to find God, his friends and supporters were both watching him, and discouraging him. We have a testimony that shows through our grief. How we respond to the inevitable experience of grief reveals a lot of how committed we are to the Lord. Our response to grief and depression indicates where we draw our strength from. It is evident when we crumble under depression that we are not successfully drawing our strength from God. We may even be “shaking our fists” at Him, blaming Him for our circumstances and screaming out in rebellion. Such a response is seen by others and is a testimony to who we are. When we stand strong under stress, giving God the credit for our strength, we communicate a far different message.

How can we be a testimony for the Kingdom in these circumstances? One thing we can do is avoid the trap of anger and bitterness and the downward spiral it encourages. David recalls one of the spiritual highlights of his life. Instead of dwelling on the negative circumstances, he used the memory of a time he was close to God to affirm to himself the truth of how close he really is to God; or how close God really is to him.

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. ⁶ 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. ⁷ Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.

Distress is often followed by discouragement. What signs of discouragement to you see in verses 5, 6 and 7? How did David deal with his discouragement in verse 6? Though, he felt separated from God, he remembered Him, and put his focus on Him and those times when God was there to help, rather than on his current circumstances. How is it helpful for us to remember the times when God helped us? We can remember what brought us out of the difficulty and draw from it. We can draw strength from the knowledge that the circumstance will not last forever, and that God will be with us through the entire experience. With the above passage in Romans in mind, we can ask, “What purpose is God working in my life through this experience?” We are assured that there is one in Romans 8.

David, still battling with his discouragement, vacillates between focusing on God and focusing on his circumstances. What does David say, immediately after recalling how God is there to help? He refers to the spring floods that come to the Jordan River following the thaw of snow in the mountains. He feels like the river will sweep over him. Working through times of depression will inevitably have its periods of highs and lows. When we find closeness to God, we find strength that is only diminished when we take our eyes off of Him and place them back on the circumstances, worrying those circumstances like a dog worrying a bone.

What are some of the overwhelming problems that people face? Some may include divorce, addictions, illness, death, long-term health problems, job loss, and separation from families, financial difficulties, and many more. In 1992 I lost my job, our home, and fellowship with our family because of the forced move. I lost my ministries as minister of music to my church, association, and State convention, as well as two ministries at the college campus where I taught. We lost our church to a hostile takeover, we lost the joy of our neighborhood when a business next door embroiled us in a lawsuit over land, and then when we had just about been delivered from these things, Ann suddenly and unexpectedly lost her Dad who she loved and depended on very much.

We quickly found ourselves alone, 750 miles from home, in a place that to us at that time was not entirely different from the En Gedi. Needless to say, this was a very difficult time four our family. I was considering purchasing my family T-shirts that said, "I survived 1992." We found ourselves, much like David, looking back over the good times when God was there, knowing full-well that God was still there. It was hard not to be angry and bitter. We thought we were overwhelmed.

Look at these great words of encouragement:

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. ³For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: Isaiah 43:2-3a.

Note that the writer does not imply that our lives will be free of crisis. We will pass trough the waters. We will have to cross the rivers, and there will be times when we must walk through the fire. We would like to live a life that is free from crisis, but that is simply not God’s plan and purpose for us. However, God has given us a promise that He will always be with us in times of crisis, and that He will always temper the crisis so that we will not be destroyed by them.

O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. ⁴Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God. ⁵Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

Note that this Psalm is really an extension of the previous one. Some scholars feel that they are really one Psalm, separated for use in worship.

What did David ask for here? He asked God to send light and truth. Consider these two things for a moment. What does God's light do? It illuminates, providing truth and exposing falsehood. Illumination is one of the several acts of the Holy Spirit that God uses to communicate His will and His purpose to us. These include revelation, inspiration, understanding, and wisdom for application. David also asks for truth. Actually, it is probably hard to separate completely the use of light and truth, because when God illuminates something, it is the truth that we ultimately see. Oftentimes when we are depressed, discouraged, or in distress we tend to miss the truth and replace it with a lie. For example, when anger is allowed to run unabated, it is followed by bitterness, and ultimately loss of self-worth. We start to give authority to our captor, and agree with its position. The dark glasses hide the truth from us. God’s love has the power to remove the dark glasses.

Where does our hope come from during these times? When we try to find it in the circumstances, we find ourselves overwhelmed. When we try to find it in ourselves, we are frustrated by the knowledge that it is though our own power we are suffering in the circumstance.

A song has been on my mind for the last few weeks, and now I know why. Consider its words:

All things work for our good; though sometimes we can't see how they could.
Struggles that break our hearts in two sometimes blind us to the truth.
Our Father knows what's best for us, his ways are not our own.
So when your pathway grows dim, and we just can't see Him, remember you're never alone.
He sees the master plan. He holds the future in His hands.
So don't live as those who have no hope all our hope is found in Him.
We see the presently clearly, our Lord sees the first and the last.
So like a tapestry He's weaving you and me to someday be just like Him.
God is too wise to be mistaken. God is too good to be unkind.
So when you don't understand. When you can't see His plan,
When you can't trace His hand, trust His Heart. (“Trust His Heart.” by Babbie Mason & Eddie Carswell.)

David had spent a lot of time considering the consequences of the meeting between himself and Saul. Certainly, the scenarios he had predicted all ended in his own death. Let’s take a look at what actually happened to David when he and Saul finally met. Let's go back to 1 Samuel.

And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily. … So David stayed his servants with these words, and permitted them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way. David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself. … Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the LORD had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the LORD’S anointed. Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it. … And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. And thou hast showed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the LORD had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. … And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand. … And Saul went home. 1 Samuel 24:3 ff.

God revealed to David through this experience, that He was, indeed with him. When Saul entered the cave, David had the opportunity to kill him. Saul never had an opportunity to kill David. By killing Saul, David would not only end the pursuit, but Saul’s death would surely have resulted in his immediate Kingship. David’s antagonist was revealed as the one who was vulnerable, not David. David’s act of mercy was a result of his respect for the position held by Saul, one ordained by God, and act that in itself was in obedience to God. Later when David made the event known to Saul, the pursuit temporarily ended. Saul would forget David’s mercy, and the chase would start again. The chase ended when Saul took his own life in a battle against the Philistines at Mount Gilboa (1 Chr. 10:4 ff).

Note that David was ultimately delivered, as we are always delivered from all of our crises. All of David’s worry about his impending demise was unfounded in truth. Often when we find ourselves discouraged we make matters worse by imagining negative outcomes that never happen. We find ourselves predicting an outcome that is devoid of God’s deliverance. David could have never predicted that Saul’s chase would end the way it did. Nor could David predict that Saul would take his own life. Likewise, we are not prophets and cannot predict the future outcome of our distressing circumstances. Therefore, wisdom teaches us that we do not need to worry about the outcome of our distressing events when we put our trust in the LORD. If the outcome is positive, we can praise God for deliverance, and if the outcome is negative, we can praise God that He brought us through. Either way, God is sovereign and His plan is unchanged. Either way, God is always by our side and we are never left alone. We are never left without God’s love, nor His hand of protection.

Let us never forget these lessons when we find ourselves in times of Crisis, times of depression that are brought on by drought, distress, or discouragement. Focus on God, not the crisis, remembering that God always delivers. Look for ways that God plans on using these circumstances for our benefit and for the benefit of His kingdom. Use the situation as an opportunity to testify to our trust in God.

So when you don't understand. When you can't see His plan, when you can't trace His hand, trust His Heart.