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Crying Out to the Lord in Distress
Psalms 107:1-32
Andy Nagahara
I will divide Psalm 107 into two parts. Today we will go through verse 33.
Here, the people of Israel were redeemed from various hardships and brought together, which is appropriate for us as we have just resumed our on-site worship service this month!
The first three verses describe the gratitude and joy of being redeemed and called together. After that, four different kinds of hardships are recorded.
Each of us, as a people who have been freed from various hardships and called to this place, should listen carefully to the message of Jesus as it is spoken to us.
A. Church: Family that God has brought together (1-3)
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say this– those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.(1-3)
We were born and raised from very different backgrounds and joined the Your Church community at different times.
The reason for this is that each of us was in a situation where we felt like we couldn’t bear the difficult circumstances we were in, and when we asked for help, Jesus called us and we were freed from that situation.
Why not just be freed? Why be gathered? Wouldn’t that be a new kind of bondage? Some of you may have such questions
It is true that there are many troublesome aspects of human relationships. However, we are only able to live in relationships.
This is because God created us to be “lovers”. We can’t be lovers without having someone to love. That is why God brings us out of suffering and into the midst of people!
And it’s not just a big, vague community called the world, but a visible community within it, the church, the family of God.
There will be trouble here too, but the crucial difference is that the head of this family is Jesus.
The church is described as the body of Jesus. Each part of this body is nourished by God to heal the wounds caused by past hardships and to fulfill the role assigned to each part.
That role can be expressed in only one word: love. It is to love.
Even if you don’t stay in the church, you may be able to do some whimsical acts of love, but they are not likely to last. They won’t last because you won’t receive the nourishment that comes through the body of Jesus.
Without the feeling of being loved, we cannot continue to love others. Because we are accepted and loved by God, we can love without asking for anything in return.
You are here to love people. Even if nothing comes in return, the love remains the same. This is because Jesus, the Oasis which is the church has been given to us as the base camp of our lives.
Let’s take a look at the four hardships from which we have been redeemed.
Unfortunately, these hardships actually come back again and again even after we become followers of Jesus.
However, for those of us who have come to know Jesus, if in the past we were in a boat by ourselves, now we are in a boat with a captain named Jesus at the helm who can take us through any stormy weather.
We will look at each of the four troubles in turn, and the same phrase appears in each of them.
The phrase is: Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. Give thanks to the Lord, for his mercy and for the wondrous things he has done for the children of men.
What I want you to receive most today is that if we cry out to the Lord in our distress, He will rescue us from our suffering. If we are grateful and thankful for that, our relationship with the Lord will become more intimate, and we can help others who need help to meet the Lord.
B. Crying out to the Lord in our distress
1. Crying out to the Lord as we wander (4-9)
4 Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle.
5 They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away.
6 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle.
8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men,
9 for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
I’m sorry to begin with a rather personal thing, but the reason I sought Jesus was because I was lost in life. To be lost is to lose one’s way.
There is a place called Aokigahara at the foot of Mt. Fuji. It is a large forest called Jukai (sea of trees), and it is feared that if you get lost there, you will lose your bearings and will become stranded.
It is said that the human body has its own habits, and even though we think we are walking straight, we tend to walk unevenly to the left or right.
In such circumstances, you may think that if you walked in a straight line, you would be able to get out, but in fact, you will just be going around and around in a big circle, and you will never be able to escape.
You may not know how to live, where to go, or even who you are. You may not even know what meaning your existence has. Or the value of your life. And if you go further, you may think that your existence is useless, and that you are a hindrance to others.
We are thrown into such a mess when we are betrayed by someone we trusted, when the values we believed in collapse, or when the path we are on is blocked.
But the good news is we have one who we can cry out to for help, that is Jesus Christ. He is the one who said that he is the way, the truth, and the life.
Believing and following Jesus means walking the path of truth, the path of life, the path that connects you to God.
2. Crying out to the Lord in bondage (10-16)
10 Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men,
16 for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.
There are not many people who are physically in prison for a crime they did not commit. But bondage can afflict us in many ways.
The bondage for the Israelites was the slavery in Egypt that we talked about last time, and the fact that many of them were abducted to Babylon.
Are you in a situation where you want to escape, but you can’t?
For example, a believer living in a country that does not recognize faith in Jesus has no choice but to cry out to the Lord in his heart.
We are bound by various constraints, yet we are ” freed ” into this big family. The family is here to cry out with us for our suffering.
Bondage is diverse. The old male dominance, community customs, and domination by the majority bind people.
There may be not be anyone holding you back, but your own beliefs may be crippling you.
Sometimes people are unaware that they are unconsciously tormenting others with their bondage.
Start by crying out for your own freedom, for the freedom of others who suffer. Your cry will be heard, you will be told what needs to be done, and you will be given the strength to do it.
3. Crying out to the Lord in bondage (17-22)
17 Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
18 They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.
20 He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.
21 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.
22 Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy.
Let us remember that even in our large family, there are many who are sick and suffering.
Some people believed in Jesus because they were healed of their illness, while others got sick and ended their life in this world without being healed.
The belief that there is no such thing as healing, or that if you pray you will be healed of everything, are both not the beliefs that Jesus taught.
Jesus can take away the pain and suffering of the moment, or make it bearable.
That is why we cry out in our pain. We cry out for healing, whether it is our own pain or the pain of others. And the Lord will answer.
But the most important thing is that when this life in the body is over, everyone will be completely free from all illnesses and the soul will still be with the Lord.
That is where the ultimate hope lies.
4. Crying out to the Lord in the storm (23-32)
23 Others went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. 24 They saw the works of the LORD, his wonderful deeds in the deep. 25 For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves.
26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.
1 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders.
Our lives also have stormy times that are best described this way.
Some of us came to know Jesus and were rescued and began to walk with Him when our lives were in danger. For those people, the amount of gratitude they have can never be enough.
And this is something you might not want to think about, but it can happen to you, your family, and your friends!
So, we turn to the testimony of this psalmist. “they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them from their distress.” Who is this Lord? I would like to end by reading Luke 8:22-25.
22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. 24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”
Let us pray!
God, who redeems us from trouble. We praise you with all our hearts. Those who have been rescued from troubles and those who are still in them, we trust in you and praise you. Please rescue us from our current troubles.
As you once spoke to us amid our troubles and delivered us, please deliver us.
Remind us of those who are suffering, teach us what we can do to help them, and give us the strength we need.
Grateful, expectant, I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Summary
“…they cried out to the LORD in their trouble and he delivered them from their distress.”
“Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind.”
These words are directed to us today. When you cry out to the Lord in your distress, he will deliver you from your suffering. Our relationship with the Lord becomes more intimate as we thank him and continue to praise and worship. We can also lead other suffering people to the Lord.
For Discussion
1) Can you think of an experience of suffering in which you encountered Jesus?
2) When have you most recently cried out to the Lord?
For the children
Read 23-32 and Luke 8:2-25 together with the children and discuss what Jesus did and said. Tell them that a person’s life is like a ship’s voyage, sometimes there will be storms, but if Jesus is with us, we will be okay