Freedom from Self
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Introduction
Introduction
Many of the Psalms give us insight into David’s life. David was a great king who had a sling shot and faith, and slayed a giant named Goliath. Some say that that was just a story and really didn’t happen. For those naysayers I simply ask, “Why have a faith and a book about that faith if it is not real?” I am one that believes that the Word of God is true and I can depend on it and apply it to my life today.
Even though David as a young boy conquered that which seemed unconquerable, he was chased most of his adult life by Saul. This put a heavy strain on his thought life as well. Like many of us, David felt the pressures of life, many that were self-imposed. As a result, he became chained to limitations that were created on himself. There are many places in the Psalms where we read his lamenting. An example of that is .
As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while men say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go with the multitude,
leading the procession to the house of God,
with shouts of joy and thanksgiving
among the festive throng.
Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.
By day the Lord directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?”
My bones suffer mortal agony
as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
We see in this Psalm words like tears, downcast, and disturbed. If we are really honest, there are many of us who have experienced these words. These words are often associated with what many call anxiety.
Anxiety is a worry or fear that gets in the way of doing life. Medical professionals tell us it can come from a chemical imbalance. It can also come from learned patterns by what one experiences in life.
gives us great insight to how David handled the bondage of self and how we can allow things to get to us and bother us even to the point of having anxiety that denies us from living the life that God has intended.
David gives us a formula to deal with the bondage we often put on ourselves and shows us with God’s help how to find find freedom from self.
First, we see the REACTION.
Reaction
Reaction
David uses these three words that describe his reaction that I just mentioned: tears, downcast, and disturbed. The King James Version uses tears, cast down, and disquieted. These reactions happen as a result of the way we are designed. Certainly our emotions come in to play when we are sad.
Tears are our reaction to that which makes us sad and sometimes they come with joy. In this passage, David is man enough to say that “my tears have been my food day and night.” It is the same use of the word that Job used in :
For sighing comes to me instead of food;
my groans pour out like water.
Sometimes things happen that cause us great grief. I have known people that have experienced grief so intensely that they literally died as a result. David was grieving because he was not where he wanted to be. He wanted the comfort being in the presence of God with the multitudes of the people and worshiping his God. The practice of corporate worship was instituted when the Passover came into be. David continued this practice when he commanded all the people to worship. We see this in 1 Chronicles 29:20:
Then David said to the whole assembly, “Praise the Lord your God.” So they all praised the Lord, the God of their fathers; they bowed low and fell prostrate before the Lord and the king.
1 Chronicles
David was not able to be part of corporate worship and was deeply grieved. When was the last time you grieved for not being able to worship in your church? Perhaps you know people that say I don’t need to be in church I can worship at home or the lake or the golf course and besides, that is just what happened in the Old Testament. Even in the New Testament, we have record of people coming together worship:
And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
The early church had a strong emphasis on congregational worship. This is not the topic for today, but while I am here let me remind you that our coming together for worship gives encouragement, strengthens faith, provides a sense of identity and fellowship as well as giving biblical instruction. We should grieve just like David when we miss that opportunity!
Sometimes, it is the added stuff that causes us to grieve and like David, our tears become our food day and night. David certainly had some with his grief. The enemies teased him and continually asked him: “Where is your God?” The world shouts that to us on a daily basis. When things happen like sickness, ridicule, and the stuff of life that comes our way, those that are unbelievers smirk and say, “where is your God?”
Sometimes, it gets to you. David remembers a time when he was able to worship with the multitudes and oh what a glorious experience it was:
Psalm 42:4
These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go with the multitude,
leading the procession to the house of God,
with shouts of joy and thanksgiving
among the festive throng.
He misses the opportunity and he misses it so much that it gets to him and affects other areas of his life. His tears turn into being downcast. Downcast means to be down in spirit or even the beginning of being depressed.
There are many things that might make you and I downcast. Some of those things we cannot control. Some come from our thoughts and quite honestly feeling sorry for ourselves because things aren’t going the way we want them to go. We need some kind of pick me up in order to feel better. When this happens, too often we turn to external things like alcohol or drugs or even something like social media where we cast our thoughts and feelings in hopes that someone will like our status and give a comment to make us feel better.
Tears, being downcast, then we see that David was disturbed or disquieted. Disturbed is when the state of tranquility is broken or one is emotionally upset. All of these are patterns in our humanity come about for various reasons and if we let them, they cause us to be in bondage. There is no worse bondage than being chained in this way.
It is quite normal to feel these things. We see in the ministry of Jesus even that the Son of God went through tears, feeling downcast and disturbed.
He wept knowing His friend Lazarus had died.
Jesus wept.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus stated to Peter, James and John, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” ()
David suffered and Christ suffered as well.
We learn that the sufferings of Christ overflow into our lives but He also provides our comforts.
For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
The comfort of Christ is available as remedy to these reactions.
Remedy
Remedy
One of David’s great contributions given to us in the Psalms is his response to the fears and anxieties he faced. Instead of turning away from God, he amazingly turned to God and grabbed even more tightly to His promises.
When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought joy to my soul.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Psalm 34:4
David shows us a remedy in all these and in as well. He described what he was going through with his fears and anxieties. He didn’t try to dismiss them or deny them. Then he turned them over to God. He replaced the thoughts that were binding him by recalling God’s goodness, power and faithfulness. David was able break out into praise and worship. He had been able to practice this over the years and David was set free from the the bondage of himself.
As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
Psalm 42:
David indicated that his desire was to thirst for God.
He gives himself a mild rebuke in :
Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and
And again in :
Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
When we put our hope in God, we remember His faithfulness. We remember His favor. We remember His fullness.
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
When we allow bondage to occur with ourselves, we allow ourselves to become bigger than God. We worry in such a way that we become independent of God and it consumes us in a way that will be detrimental to what God has called us to be and do. If we take David’s formula, we react and then we turn to the remedy.
This model is throughout scripture. In fact, here is some practical application to break free from the bondage of self. Instead of harping on what is going on, turn to God.
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Focus on what His solution is and not the problem. Jesus used this in the form of prayer.
Matthew
Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.
Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
We should stop focusing and using energy on worrying.
Matthew 6:
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Focus on God and all that He is.
Isaiah
You will keep in perfect peace
him whose mind is steadfast,
because he trusts in you.
Put your hope, not in yourself, but in your God.
David said:
Psalm 42:1
As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
A deer, just like all living creatures, desires to drink cool refreshing water. God designed that deer to be refreshed by drinking that water. Our souls are created by God to also be refreshed. That’s why He gave us Jesus. says:
John 7:
On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
What is your soul panting for? Where are you turning for your refreshment? Are you turning to yourself? How’s that working for you?
Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.