Psalms 34:19 Many [are] the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
There are two promises in this verse. We can expect to be afflicted if we want to be men and women of God. You’re going to be where everything that is happening will test your strength. The righteous will be afflicted but the “Lord delivers him out of them all.”
Three times in this chapter we find this deliverance. In verse 4, deliverance from fear, in verse 17, deliverance from troubles, and in verse 19, deliverance from all afflictions. 1 What an encouraging promise, we live in midst of a world that is full of problems, and these problems cause us heavy burdens, but God is able to deliver us from them.
I-NOTICE THE CAUSE OF OUR BURDENS:
It is impossible to make a list of all of them, but let’s look at a few.
A-Some Are Caused By Sickness:
1-Many people are weighed down by this heavy burden of sickness.
2-When I was in the hospital back in the 70’s, I met a man in the x-ray waiting room. He was very upset for he just found out that he had cancer of the lung. He had come in the hospital for a physical as he was about to enroll in FBI school. He told me life wasn’t fair for he had just got the break he had been looking for. I asked him about his relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ in which he said, “none.” And he would not even talk to me about the Lord. Many are like him in that they have serious sickness, but they don’t have Jesus to support them in their time of need.
3-The Bible tells us about a man who was burdened down with a illness but after getting it settled with the Lord, he didn’t let it stop him form doing a great work for the Lord. Of course we are talking about “Paul.” (2 Cor. 12:7-10)
4-For most of his life, historian Francis Parkman suffered from very poor health. He had rheumatism, severe headaches, extremely poor digestion. He was in such pain he couldn't bear to write for more than five minutes at a time. On top of that his vision was so poor he could scrawl only a few large words on each sheet of paper. Yet he was able to write The Oregon Trail and nearly twenty other superb historical books. Where there's a will, there's a way. 2
B-Some Are Caused By Sorrows:
1-One of these sorrows are family sorrows. Some homes have a plaque which say, “Home Sweet Home.” But the real truth is that many of these homes are not sweet, most have conflicts which cause sorrows.
2-I was visiting with a pastor during a revival in which I was preaching. As we visited, the husband began to cry, and said, “Pastor, I am sorrow I wan not at Church Sunday, but my wife pitched a fit that morning.” Then he began to cry and said, “I think she is going to leave me for she told me she wanted a divorce.”
3-Another sorrow is the sorrow of death. Anything we lose in life hurts but the loss of a love one hurts the most.
4-I was visiting the AMG building one day in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The guide showed us the TV studio and told us that Pastor W.O. Vaught a preacher in Little Rock, Arkansas was suppose to be using the studio at that time to tape some Bible studies. But, he just couldn’t do it for he was still burdened down by the loss of his wife.
5- Joseph Bayly, in his book The View From A Hearse, tells of what he said to offer hope to a woman whose small son was dying. "It's good to know, isn't it," I spoke slowly, choosing my words with unusual care, "that even though the medical outlook is hopeless, we can have hope for our children in such a situation. We can be sure that after our child dies, he'll be completely removed from sickness and suffering and everything like that, and be completely well and happy." "If I could only believe that," the woman replied. "But I don't. When he dies, I'll just have to cover him up with dirt and forget I ever had him." It is sad, but more often than not, this woman's words express the hopeless plight of so many people all around us. 3
C-Some Are Caused By Sin:
1-I believe this is one life biggest burdens. So many fail to confess their sins and get right with the Lord
2-I was visiting a hospital a couple of years ago in which the man in charge told me that some of the people were there because they didn’t know how to handle guilt. He was telling me that they didn’t know how to handle their sins.
3-As I was traveling from a revival in Tennessee, I heard a story on the radio about a man who had came into the local police station and turned himself in for the murder of his wife. He told them he had committed the perfect murder for no one had suspected him. But after 10 years, he couldn’t not stand the guilt or sin of it. He said, arrest me, I can’t stand it any longer.
II-NOTICE THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR BURDENS:
A-Burdens Can Lead To Doubt:
Psalms 55:1 Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.
1-David is asking God if He is still there. He is doubting God’s abilities.
2-While I was pastoring my first Church, I had a 21 year girl killed in an accident. She was a Christian, in fact, the night before she had redicated her life to the Lord. As I was visiting her family the day of the funeral, her father, said to me, “preacher, there is no God, for if there was, He would not have taken my little girl. “ I glad that is not the end of the story, for later on, the Lord delivered him, and called him to be a preacher.
3- My father's way may twist and turn,
My heart may throb and ache,
But in my soul I'm glad I know,
He maketh no mistake.
My cherished plans may go awry,
My hopes may fade away.
But still I'll trust my Lord to lead
For He doth know the way.
Tho' night be dark and it may seem
That day will never break;
I'll pin my faith, my all in Him,
He maketh no mistake.
There's so much now I can not see,
My eyesight's far too dim;
But come what may, I'll simply trust
And leave it all to Him.
For by and by the mist will lift
And plain it all He'll make,
Through all the way, tho' dark to me,
He made not one mistake. 4
B-Burdens Can Lead To Disprovement:
Psalms 55:2 Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;
1-David is complaining to the Lord, he is saying I’m miserable and I going make everybody else miserable too.
2-There are some people when they come into a room, they just bring joy, but there are others who bring joy when they leave the room.
3-There was an inveterate grumbler who couldn't find anything about which to give thanks or praise. Although financially he was a very successful farmer, because of a very sour attitude, no one enjoyed his company. Nothing seemed to please him. His pastor tried to help brighten the outlook, all to no avail. At the time of the potato harvest, the disgruntled farmer enjoyed a bumper crop. Wanting to strike a more cheerful note, the minister suggested, "Brother I understand you've had a tremendous season with potatoes this year. That certainly must be cause for rejoicing!" The chronic complainer never even smiled, but sourly responded, "Yes, it's true. The harvest was good enough. But my problem is, I don't have any bad potatoes to feed my pigs." 5
4-I was riding the elevator the other day in a hospital when a woman got on also. I said, “It sure is a pretty day”. She snapped back and said, “whats good about it?”. As I talked to her, I found out she had a complaining spirit because she had been let go at her work place.
C-Burdens Can Lead To Despair:
Psalms 55:4 My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.
1-Some people get so burdened down that they just throw in the towel, they just give up.
2-They quit attending Church, quit reading their Bible, quit praying, and just quit on the Lord in general.
3-I read in the Newspaper several years ago where a young man in North Alabama committed suicide by jumping off a mountain. He left a note which said, he just couldn’t face his drug problems.
4- In 1835 a man visited a doctor in Florence, Italy. He was filled with anxiety and exhausted from lack of sleep. He couldn't eat, and he avoided his friends. The doctor examined him and found that he was in prime physical condition. Concluding that his patient needed to have a good time, the physician told him about a circus in town and its star performer, a clown named Grimaldi. Night after night he had the people rolling in the aisles. "You must go and see him," the doctor advised. "Grimaldi is the world's funniest clown. He'll make you laugh and cure your sadness." "No," replied the despairing man, "he can't help me. You see, I am Grimaldi!" 6
5-The answer for despair is found not in some earthly answer, but in our Lord.
6-Have you ever been in despair? The answer is simple. Quit looking at your circumstances and look at God. A pessimist finds a problem in every opportunity, but an optimist finds opportunity in every problem. Don't despair, for God is the answer. 7
D-Burdens Can Lead To Dislike:
Psalms 55:15 Let death seize upon them, [and] let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness [is] in their dwellings, [and] among them. {hell: or, the grave}
1-He was saying this guy did me wrong and I want to pay him back.
2-In our world today, people like to take revenge on those things or people who trouble them.
3-I read a joke about a passerby who called the police when he saw a man drive his new car into the fenders of a parked car. He explained that both cars belonged to him and that he was having revenge on the old car for giving him so much trouble. 8
4-If ever a person had a right to hate, or to be bitter, it was Jesus. But you want find one place where He was bitter, in fact, He was always showing love.
5-In 1900, a writer in The New York Times prophesied that the advent of the automobile would solve the parking problem, since the automobile occupies less space at a curb than a horse and wagon. Well, the automobile didn't solve the parking problem, but there is one solution to our problems--Jesus Christ. 9
III-NOTICE THE CURE FOR OUR BURDENS:
A-One Part Of The Cure Is Christians:
Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
1- Suffering comes to all of us, and no one can suffer for us. Even so, we can be supported in those difficult times by the prayers and understanding of loved ones and friends. It's when we are too proud to admit our need to others that we are in the greatest danger. The Sequoia trees of California tower as much as 300 feet above the ground. Strangely, these giants have unusually shallow root systems that reach out in all directions to capture the greatest amount of surface moisture. Seldom will you see a redwood standing alone because high winds would quickly uproot it. That's why they grow in clusters. Their intertwining roots provide support for one another against the storms. Support is what Jesus wanted from Peter, James, and John in Gethsemane as hefaced Calvary. On the cross as the world's sin- bearer He would experience His Father's wrath and abandonment. That was the awful cup He prayed would be taken from Him. In that dark hour, He looked to His disciples for prayerful alertness and compassion. But oh, how they disappointed Him! Somehow the sight of His sleeping disciples must have made the isolation of Gethesemane that much more painful. If Jesus looked to human support in His crisis hour, how much more do Christians need one another when they suffer! Let's be willing to ask someone to pray for us and with us. And let's be alert for opportunities to lend our support to others who are suffering. 10
2-The Bible tells us to rejoice with those around us, but it also tells us to weep with those around us. One of the joys in belonging to the Lord’s Church is to belong to a family that cares.
B-One Part Of The Cure Is Christ:
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
1-Someone has said, “Jesus is still the great physician and He still makes house calls.” If we will only come to Him and If we don’t, we will not get any relief from our burdens
2-A man and a little boy about five years old were walking homeward from a certain town; the former carrying a parcel. Presently his little companion said, "Please, let me carry the parcel." "My dear child, it is too large for you." "Oh no! I can carry it. Please let me have it;" using his best endeavors to lay hold on the parcel. "Very well: you have determined it. The parcel is no burden to me: but, I tell you again, it is too large and heavy for; but, as you will have it, here it is." The boy did his best; but it grew heavier, and his strength began to fail. He said, "It is very heavy, indeed!" "I told you it was too heavy, and yet you would have it." "It is very heavy -- too heavy: will you please carry it?" "Surely I will! Why did you not ask me before?" This occurred nearly twenty years ago. To this day the story serves to discipline the man who had the burdened child for his companion. It has helped him for these years to consider that it is better to roll the lightest burdens at once on God, who is the willing, the gracious burden-bearer, than carry heavy burdens one's self to God's dishonor. 11
Conclusion: An old seaman said, "In fierce storms we can do but one thing. There is only one way (to survive); we must put the ship in a certain position and keep her there."
Commenting on this idea, Richard Fuller wrote:
This, Christian, is what you must do. Sometimes, like Paul, you can see neither sun nor stars, and no small tempest lies on you. Reason cannot help you. Past experiences give you no light. Only a single course is left. You must stay upon the Lord; and come what may -- winds, waves, cross seas, thunder, lightning, frowning rocks, roaring breakers -- no matter what, you must lash yourself to the helm and hold fast your confidence in God's faithfulness and his everlasting love in Christ Jesus. 12
1-Ray C. Stedman
2-Bible Illustrator
3-Bible Illustrator
4-A. H. Overton
5-Bible Illustrator
6-A Joke A Day Ministries
7-Bailey Smith
8-Paul Lee Tan
9-Bible Illustrator
10-Bible Illustrator
11-The Witness
12-Bible Illustrator
