WHEN TROUBLE COMES - Psalm 20

1- May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! 2- May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion! 3- May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah 4- May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans! 5- 5- May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions! 6 - Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. 7- Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. 8- They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. 9- O Lord, save the king! May he answer us when we call. (Psalm 20:1-9 ESV)

Each and every one of us will at some time face some sort of trouble in our lives.  It's a given fact.  No one is exempt from it and no one can escape its clutches as it is all around us.  That being said, there are some things that we can do to help us during troubling times.  Psalm 20 is written by David just as he was about to enter into battle.  His words and thoughts give us some needed help and inspiration WHEN TROUBLE COMES.

1. RELY ON GOD'S PROTECTION (verses 1-4)

In this Psalm David gives us help when trouble comes...

A. Ask God to Protect You (verse 1).

That word King David uses for protect is the Hebrew word that actually means to make lofty, or I like the word, inaccessible. The enemy is active and he wants to destroy the plan of God. Jesus declared in John 10:10 that the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. When your day of trouble comes, the devil will attack your mind and many times, thoughts will arise that are against God and his plan. It is in this time you need to draw your attention toward God and ask God to make you inaccessible, to set you in a place the devil cannot attack you.

B. Ask God to Help You (verse 2).

You cannot live the Christian life without God’s help. It does not matter how strong you may be, how popular you are, how rich you are, you need God’s help EVERYDAY!

C. Ask God to Remember You (verse 3).

Even though you are busy at times and forget a few things, God will never forget you. Jesus encouraged us in Matthew 28:20, I am with you alway, even to the end of the world. God loves each person in this building and he will NEVER forget you.

D. Ask God to Answer You (verse 4).

God can hear you wherever you are and at any time.  Call out for God to answer you in the day of trouble.

II.  PRAISE GOD CONTINUALLY  (verses 5-7).

This concept of trusting God is what gave Israel problems throughout their history. After Israel had crossed the Red Sea, they could not trust God to give them food. They could not trust God for water. It was very difficult for them to trust in God when times were not going their way. Many people are doing the same today. Many are placing their trust in something(s) other than God.

 What are you trusting in today?  Notice what David said..."Some trust in chariots and some in horses..."

Why did not David trust in chariots and horses? These things can fail us at any time.  Man's resources can fail.  Technology can fail - BUT GOD NEVER FAILS US.

Christians should trust God because salvation comes from Him (verse 5). Salvation in this context means deliverance. David knew God would deliver him from the hand of the enemy.

Scripture informs us that there were many times David was surrounded by the enemy. The story of David and Goliath, David and King Saul, and others demonstrate how David was surrounded by the enemy, and God delivered him. I am sure many of you have troubles and problems that seem overwhelming. I want to encourage you today by telling you to trust God. Talk to some Christians who have been believers for many years and listen to their stories of God’s salvation in their life and they will certainly tell you to trust God.

Christians should trust God because He hears our prayers (verse 6). There are many verses in the Bible that validate God’s attentiveness, yet one of my favorite scriptures is in Isaiah 59:1, "Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear." God hears you the first time you pray.

In order for you and I to have protection in the day of trouble, not only must we rely on God’s protection and continue to trust God, but finally... IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE... we must:

III. REMEMBER GOD'S PROMISE OF VICTORY - (verses 8-9). 

I do not like to lose. I am not sure if I know anyone who does enjoy losing. I am sure if a professional athlete would talk to the media and tell them he/she will be playing to lose in tonight’s game, the athlete would not be on the team very long. Yet when I read the Word of God, I find out that I am on the winning team.

God promises we will stand (verse 8). It is SO comforting to know that even though trouble is all around you, YOU WILL STAND! Even though your enemies will fall, YOU WILL STAND!

Conclusion: Horatio Spafford was a great Christian man who knew about sorrow. He had lost his only son, 4 years old, to pneumonia. He lost part of his life savings in the Chicago fire. When he started to get his life turned around, someone told him to go to England to hear a preacher in Revival there. So he got tickets to take a ship there with his family, but at the last second, someone told him he needed to stay an extra day and clean up what the fires had destroyed. So he stayed while he sent his family to England. On the way, the ship his family was on collided with another ship and he lost all three of his daughters. But he found true comfort with the Lord. On his way to England to be with his wife, he told the captain to let him know where his daughters had died. After he saw the place, he went to his room and wrote these words...

When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrow like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, It is well, It is well, with my soul. Tho’ Satan should buffet, tho’ trails should come, let this blest assurance control, that Christ has regarded my helpless estate, and has shed his own blood for my soul.

Maybe you are here today and you have never given your life to Jesus, I want to invite you to do so today. Maybe you are here today and you are in the middle of trouble, I want to assure you that you can come here to the altar and someone will be here to pray with you. You are not alone! You can trust God for protection in the day of trouble, because God will give you the victory.

(Original sermon from Pastor Drake Caudill)