When times are pleasant and enjoyable in our
lives, I believe that it's often easy to remain
aloof or indifferent to the presence of the Lord
in our lives, to the things of God in our lives.
When things are pleasant and enjoyable in our
lives, it's very easy to be forgetful of God
and to neglect the fact that God is, in fact,
with us as his people. Why is that, brothers
and sisters? Why is it that when times are good
and pleasant, It's so much easier for us to be
neglectful of the Lord and the fact that he is
with us. Well, it's because the good blessings
that God has given to us in this life, the kind
things that God has given to us in this world,
steal our affections away from the one who has
given them to us. The earthly comforts, the earthly
pleasures, the earthly things of this world steal
our heart's affections away from the living God
who has given them to us. Then comes suffering
into our lives. The earthly comforts are stripped
away. The earthly pleasures and enjoyments are
peeled back so that all that remains is the Lord.
So that all that remains is Christ. So that all
that remains is faith. So that all that remains
is strength from God. Suffering we will see today.
can actually be very, very beneficial in the
life of the believer because it brings us to
a place of intimate communion with God himself.
David says in Psalm 23, Even though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no
evil, and listen to what he says here, for you
are with me. The first thing we have to consider
this morning is the intimate communion that David
has come to enjoy in the darkness of his life.
In verses 1 -3, David is talking about the Lord.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He
makes me lie down. He's not using direct speech.
He's not having direct interaction and fellowship
with the Lord. He's talking about the Lord being
his shepherd. But then in verse 4 and following,
we read that he says this, You are with me. It
becomes direct. He speaks directly with the Lord.
He comes to a place when the trouble comes in
his life that he experiences and enjoys intimate
communion and fellowship with God. We see that
he's no longer talking about the Lord. Now he's
talking to the Lord directly and intimately.
This communion with God coincides with and is
simultaneous to the arrival and the appearance
of the valleys and the shadows. Is it not, brothers
and sisters? So we see that the arrival of suffering
in his life, the appearance of affliction in
David's life, incurs and invokes and brings about
and puts him in a place and brings him to a place
where he's in an intimate fellowship with the
living God, his shepherd. The affliction brings
this about. You see, something that suffering
does in this life, in the life of the believer,
is that it brings them nearer and closer to the
Lord. Now, one thing that we have to recognize,
and we'll see this, Lord willing, we'll see that
it's not that the Lord comes and goes so much,
but it's the fact that in suffering we are driven
to the Lord because we are distant. We are further
away. We fluctuate in our nearness and our closeness
to the Lord himself. It's not the Lord so much
as it is us and our feeble affections and our
feeble hearts and our feeble minds. Because we
go up and down. We come and go. Not the Lord.
So suffering can bring us to a place That is
beneficial because it brings us closer to the
Lord. It makes God real to the believer. It makes
their faith real to the believer that suffers.
No longer are these theoretical realities. No
longer are these theoretical ideas and concepts.
that we can merely talk about. But now when hardship
comes in our life, our faith, our heart religion,
is put to the test. Our religion is tested and
tried. Does our faith really work? Do we really
trust in the Lord? Do we really believe His promises?
Do we genuinely have hope? Our religion, our
heart religion, is tested and tried. And the
effectiveness and the invincibility of faith
is demonstrated time and time again as the believer
suffers. We see in 2 Corinthians chapter 12,
this very thing takes place in the life of the
Apostle Paul. We read in 2 Corinthians chapter
12. Starting in verse 7. Because of the surpassing
greatness of the revelations, because of the
surpassing greatness of the revelations, for
this reason, to keep me from exalting myself,
there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger
of Satan to torment me. To keep me from exalting
myself. Concerning this I implored the Lord three
times. That it might leave me. And he said to
me. My grace is sufficient for you. My power
is perfected in weakness. Most gladly therefore
I will rather boast about my weaknesses. So that
the power of Christ may dwell in me. In verse
10. Therefore I am well content. with weaknesses,
with insults, and distresses, with persecutions,
with difficulties, for Christ's sake. For when
I am weak, then I am strong. What do we see in
the Apostle Paul's life? That the Lord is creating
weakness in his life to make him strong in the
Lord. The Lord brings about pain and suffering
in his life to make him more useful in Christ.
That his power might shine forth through the
apostle. He's making him reliant upon faith.
He's making him reliant upon the Lord and not
himself. You see, suffering, brothers and sisters,
is the great... Pride crusher. It demolishes
pride in the life of people. It crushes pride
on the head and smashes it and obliterates it
to a million pieces. It does away with self -confidence
and arrogance and pride and haughtiness in the
life of God's people. And it brings them low
so that they are cast on faith in Christ. and
the need for His power, and His strength, and
His might. They're brought to a place where all
the human reliances they have in their life,
the human dependencies, the worldly and earthly
dependencies in their life, are taken away and
ripped away from them. They don't have them anymore.
So what do they have left? They have faith in
the Lord Jesus. And they grow strong in that
faith, the Lord Jesus Christ. So, suffering is
beneficial. Now we see that this is what takes
place when we see that this is a reality in David's
life because of this communion that he's enjoying
with the Lord. So we also have to consider that
the communion that David is enjoying is built
on the fact that God is with him. David says,
for you are with me. Now the imagery presented
here, we can imagine it. I'm sure you have it
in your mind's eye already. You have the sheep,
and you have the dark, deep valley. You have
the gloom. You have the frightening imagery and
the frightening darkness approaching. You're
in it, but the sheep are not alone. The shepherd
is with them, guiding, directing, and providing
all the while. David says, you are with me. This
leads us to the inevitable question, one I'm
sure that many of us have asked through our lives,
and we've asked time and time again as we read
the Bible and the Scriptures, what does that
mean exactly? That God is with me. I know what
it means when my mom or my dad or my brother
or my sister or my child is with me. Because
they're present with me. But what does it mean
when the Bible says that you are with me speaking
of God? Now, to answer this, we must first understand
the nature of God. And we must understand that
men are always in the presence of God, as it
were. Men are always before God. And this is
because of the nature of the living God. We could
look at Proverbs chapter 15, verse 3, which says
this, The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
watching the evil and the good. God sees all.
God observes all. God watches all because God
is omnipresent. Everything, whether a person
recognizes it or not, is quorum Deo, before the
face of God. Every single thing is quorum Deo,
before the face of God. There's no escaping that
reality, whether you're a believer or an unbeliever.
What you do, what you think, how you live, your
actions, your thoughts, everything, is quorum
Deo, before the face of God, because he's a holy,
righteous, infinite, spiritual being. He sees
and knows all. Nothing is concealed from him.
Nothing is kept from him. We read in 2 Chronicles.
Chapter 16. Verse 9. Oh, I'm sorry. Hebrews chapter
4. Verse 13. Which says this. And there is no
creature hidden from his sight. But all things
are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with
whom we have to do. Everything is open and laid
bare before the sight of God because everything
is in the presence of the living God. Everything
is set before him. Everything is in front of
his face. Now to help us understand this, I want
to read a quote. from a theologian, John Frame.
He says this, and this is really, really important
with our understanding of who God is. God is
not a vague, abstract principle or force, but
a living and true God, as opposed to all the
deaf and dumb idols of the world. Knowledge of
him, therefore, is also a person -to -person
knowledge. God's presence is not something that
we discover through refined theoretical intellect
or intellectual thinking. And here it is, brothers
and sisters, listen to this. Rather, God is unavoidably
close to His creation. We are involved with Him
all the time. Do you know why that is? Because
God is omnipresent. God is an infinite, eternal,
self -existent, sovereign, spiritual, personal
being. A person. Not a force or a principle who
is everywhere all the time. He is always. and
we are always set before him. The deepest secrets
of our heart, brothers and sisters, can you conceal
those from the living God? The most subtle thoughts
in your mind, which nobody else around you knows,
are those kept from the face of the living God?
No. Now what we'll find is that this is incredibly
comforting. for the believer in suffering, but
this ought to be incredibly frightening and terrifying
to the unbeliever who doesn't know Christ. The
believer ought to find comfort in the fact that
the living God is with them. The unbeliever ought
to be terrified and frightened out of their boots
that they are in the hands of the sovereign God,
that He sees and knows all that they do. He knows
that they reject Christ. He knows that they love
their sin or are unwilling to forsake it for
the gospel of His Son who gave His life. Believers
ought to find great encouragement and strength
and the character and nature of the living God.
And unbelievers ought to consider this reality
that everything is laid bare. And they ought
to be frightened and fearful. I've seen something
recently going around that says, When Jonathan
Edwards wants to encourage believers, he reminds
them that they are in God's hands. But when Jonathan
Edwards wants to instill fear in the unbeliever,
he reminds them that they are in God's hands.
You know why that is? Why does that bring encouragement?
To the believer. With faith. Who has been given
the righteousness of Christ. And why does that
instill fear. In the heart of the unbelieving
man. Encouragement for those in Christ. Because
he is a loving father. Who cares for us. Who
is present and involved. In our hardships. But
for the unbeliever. They don't have the righteousness
of Christ. They don't have faith. God is a holy
and a righteous God. And they are in His hands
and they hate Him. And there's enmity with this
holy and righteous God. He can drop you at any
moment into the pits and depths of hell because
He's a sovereign God. It should incur and bring
about and stir up the longing for repentance
in your life. It should create an urgency in
your soul because God could drop you at any moment.
You are in His sovereign hands. the believer
will never be dropped. They will be carried to
the celestial city. They will be carried by the
sovereign, powerful, mighty right hand to the
great city of God. And he will never drop the
believer. So we have to understand the fact that
God Is an infinite. Eternal spiritual being.
Who is omnipresent. And he is personal. But we
also have to understand. And we must grasp. That
David is speaking. Not in a general way. David
is speaking in a unique way. That God is with
him. In a covenantal sense. The Bible. does not
say that God is with the unbeliever. That is
something that is unique and distinct to those
in covenantal relationship with God. We see it
that God was with the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. We see that God was with Israel, the
nation. His covenant people. We see that God
was with Moses. We see that God was with Joshua.
We see that when the birth and the announcement
of the Messiah is announced in the Gospels early
on, what is the name of this God that would take
on flesh? Emmanuel. God with us. In a redemptive,
covenantal sense, brothers and sisters. So David
isn't speaking about the fact that all men are
with God and God is with all men. No, he's talking
about the fact that God is uniquely and distinctly
with His covenant people in their suffering.
Psalm 34 .15 says this, The eyes of the Lord
are continually toward the righteous and His
ears open to their cries. Whose eyes are the
Lord's toward? Who is the Lord's eyes toward?
Who is his gaze set upon? The righteous man.
Those who are God -fearing. Those who have faith.
Those who are in covenant relationship with God.
The people of God. Whose cries does he hear?
His people. He's in covenant relationship with
them. We read in... 2 Chronicles chapter 16,
verse 9. For the eyes of the Lord move to and
fro throughout the earth, that He may strongly
support those whose heart is completely His.
The Lord in all His sovereignty, in all His might,
in all His infinity, brothers and sisters, in
all His omnipresence, is for the believer, is
for the righteous man who has been given faith
and made new by the power of God. He's speaking
in a covenantal sense. The Bible explains many
ways that the Lord is with his covenant people.
He is with them to help them and strengthen them.
We read this in Psalm. 46, 1 -2 and verse 7.
He is a very present help in times of trouble.
He is with his people in trouble. He is with
his people to uphold them and sustain them by
his mighty right hand. Isaiah 41, 10 -14. His
sovereign hand exists and serves the people of
God by upholding them, bearing them up, sustaining
them. He is with them in that capacity. He is
with his people to support, care for, provide,
lead, and protect. We could look at Psalm 73,
23, or 45, verses 16 through 17. He is with his
people to give them victory and to fulfill his
promises in their life and to fight on their
behalf. You remember when Joshua... was getting
ready to go into the promised land. And he's
obviously fearful of the enemies of God. Now,
these promises were given through Moses, and
Moses told Joshua these things earlier on, but
then God reiterates these same things to Joshua
himself. And what's the justification that God
gives to Joshua for not being fearful? I am with
you. The Lord will go ahead of him. The Lord
will conquer the enemies. The Lord will drive
out the enemies on his behalf. The Lord will
give him success. The Lord will fight for him.
The Lord is with him. And Joshua girded up his
loins and obeyed the Lord and led the nation
of Israel into the promised land. God is with
his people. So when we consider the answer to
this question, this inevitable question of what
does it mean that God is with us, or what does
it mean when David says, for you are with me.
What does this mean? It means the Lord, because
of his covenantal promises, his gracious promises,
His love for His people, means that He, as a
gracious and loving Father, in the darkest, as
a gracious and loving Father, is intimately present
and actively involved in the darkest hours of
your life as a believer in Jesus Christ. Intimately
present and actively involved. And what's He
doing? He's strengthening you. He's preserving
you. He's sustaining you. He's protecting you.
He's fighting on your behalf. He's working for
you in your life. His mighty right hand is with
you. Psalm 73 talks about how the Lord has taken
hold of my right hand. Now the Lord has strengthened
Asaph, I believe. Now the Lord has given him
strength in his life. That's how the Lord is
present and with his people. He helps them in
their trials, in their sufferings. Now I want
to encourage you with this, brothers and sisters.
When we think about this and the fact that God
is with David in his trial, In the valleys and
the shadows. David always had people around him.
He always had the royal court. He always had
faithful friends. He always had individuals around
him. But listen, in this text, David doesn't
say, Bathsheba is with me. He doesn't say that
his advisor is with him. He says, for you are
with me, the Lord. is with me. There are some
trials and there are some sufferings and afflictions
in life, brothers and sisters, which are so severe
that it seems as though there isn't anybody else
with you because nobody understands. Nobody knows
what I'm going through. Nobody can feel what
I'm feeling. Nobody can endure what I'm doing
because it's so hard. But listen here, believer.
Hear me, the Lord is with you in those moments.
When nobody else can get into your soul and know
what's taking place, hear me well, God is with
you. You can say as those with faith, you are
with me. Some of our sweetest moments. of communion
and fellowship with the living God are often
taking place in some of the darkest moments of
our lives. Have you ever thought about that?
Some of the times when you enjoy God the most,
some of the times when you... You enjoy the presence
of God and you know that He's real and you know
that He's working and you know that He's helping.
Some of the sweetest moments of communion with
the Word of God and prayer and the fellowship
of the saints and the preaching of the Word and
the gathering of the church. When are some of
those moments, brothers and sisters? Often when
are those moments? In the darkest moments of
our lives. Now this does not mean... That we'll
always have the sensible presence of God. This
does not mean that we'll always have the felt
presence of God in our lives. Job knew that God
was with him. He knew and he believed that God
was working his purposes. But Job, in Job 23,
it's clear and evident that he could not sense
God's presence with him. But he believed. That
God was with him. He knew that God was in the
midst of his suffering. He knew that there was
a purpose in the pain. He knew that there was
a purpose in the affliction. It was by faith.
So, don't cast off the darkness. Don't cast off
the suffering in your life. Let it cast you down
onto Christ. Don't push it away. Embrace it,
brothers and sisters, and let it do its work
in your life and drive you to Christ by faith.
To rid yourself of the vanity and the pride and
the arrogance and the ingratitude and the sin
and the corruption and to bring you to a place
where you are more reliant and dependent on the
living God by faith. That's one of the grand
purposes. Of suffering in the life of God's people.
So, David has this communion because the Lord
is with him. We also must consider that David
enjoys this communion. Because he recognizes
that God is with him. For you are with me. What
is he doing? He's consciously recognizing the
fact that God is with him. He has the knowledge
that God is with him. He's setting the Lord before
himself. In a sense, we could say David is putting
himself into the presence of God. By recognizing
that God is with him. Psalm 16 .8 says, I have
set the Lord continually before me. What's he
mean? He means that he is recognizing that God
is with him. We are always before the face of
God, right, brothers and sisters? We know this.
We are always in his presence. But that does
not mean that we always set the Lord before us.
That does not mean that we always put the Lord
in front of us. It does not mean that we always
recognize and remember and recall the fact that
God is with us. That's what David is doing here.
He's recognizing that God is with him. And this
knowledge that God is with him is a source of
great strength. It is a source of great confidence
and boldness. What does he say? Your rod and
your staff, they comfort me. He derives comfort
from the reality that God in his sovereignty
and his power is with him in the suffering. But
we also find in the second half of Psalm 16,
8, he says, because you are at my right hand,
I shall not. be shaken. What about when David
says, I fear no evil? What's the basis for that
statement? The fact that the Lord is with David.
He derives great comfort, peace, hope, and confidence
to endure and press on in trial from the fact
that God is intimately involved, intimately with
him. and actively present and working in his
situation. Knowing who is with you has a great
effect on our confidence in life, I believe,
brothers and sisters. Yes, trials can be large
and big and expansive. Suffering can be and seem
overwhelming. Hardship in our lives can seem
continual, like a battering ram that picks us
up and whacks us down all in one movement, over
and over and over, and we think, what is going
on? They seem like giants at times. They seem
insurmountable at times in our lives. When the
darkness is all around us and we're in the midst
of the valley, it can seem very, very frightening
and very, very overwhelming. But this is when
it's important to remember who is with you. To
remember who... is at your right hand in the
midst of your trial, in the midst of your suffering,
in the midst of your affliction. Yes, this affliction
may be severe, but is it bigger and greater and
mightier than God himself? No. God is with me.
Is this suffering or this trial so expansive
that it cannot be controlled and it cannot be
used for your good? No, God is with me, brothers
and sisters. The knowledge of who is with you
has the distinct ability to strengthen you in
this life. To bolster you for the suffering and
to face the suffering that you're presently in,
in your life. All of this should encourage us
to seek and enjoy communion with God in our lives
all the time, but especially in suffering, brothers
and sisters. When trials come in your life, that
is not the time to throw away your Bible. That
is not the time. To stop getting on your knees
and seeking the face of God. When the darkness
arrives, that is the time to seek out the face
of God more than you ever have. That is the time
to fellowship with Him more than you ever have.
That is the time to lean into your fellowship
and your communion with the living God by faith.
We will not. As stated earlier about Job, we
will not always have the sensible or felt presence
of God in trials. At times you will, and you
will enjoy that blessing. At other times, you
will not. So what do we need to do in the darkness
and in the suffering? When it arrives, we need
to look to the Word of God. Over and over and
over. Because these are promises. The fact that
God is with David, that's a promise, brothers
and sisters. And that means that we have to go
to the word of God and we have to believe that
promise and we have to lean on that promise like
Jacob leaned on his staff. We have to cast ourselves
on it. We have to bring those promises before
God. Lord, you said you would be an ever -present
help in my times of trouble. Bring them to the
Lord and recognize that God will never leave
you and he will never forsake you. And do you
know why? Because Christ died for sinners. No
promise of God will be revoked. And no promise
of God will be left incomplete or unfulfilled
in the life of the believer. That means that
he will always be with the believer. That means
he will always be present. And that means he
will always be actively working in your life.
In the dark moments and in the pleasant moments
of your life. Because Christ died. He secured
the guarantee of God's promises. All the promises
of God are yes and amen in Christ, brothers and
sisters. So, when we're tempted to doubt that
God is with me or with you, look to the cross
of Calvary. Christ died for me. The Spirit of
God makes those promises effective in me. God's
providence supports me in my life. Look to the
cross when you are threatened to doubt. Look
to the cross and be reminded of God's faithfulness
and the fact that He will fulfill every promise
to His people.