"When My Heart is Overwhelmed"
(Psalm 61)
Lately, I have been reading a book titled "The Christian Warfare" by Dr. Lloyd-Jones. The reason I started reading this book was because, while discussing the story of Job with a beloved co-worker, I felt the need to understand more about the forces of Satan and spiritual warfare. As I read this book, I became particularly interested in Dr. Lloyd-Jones’ point about one of Satan’s strategies: that the devil has some authority even over nature.
When Satan began to afflict Job with God's permission, one of Job's servants came to him and reported that his oxen and donkeys had been stolen, and the servants who were guarding them had been killed. While he was still speaking, another servant came and told Job: "The fire of God—meaning lightning—came down from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I alone have escaped to tell you" (Job 1:16). This passage clearly teaches that the power to cause lightning and destruction through it lies within the realm and ability of Satan.
The devil, who possesses such incredible power, is primarily concerned with attacking the human mind, which is one of God’s greatest gifts to mankind. The devil uses various strategies to assault our minds, and one of these is through the spirit of fear, which seeks to suppress us. A prime example of this is when the apostle Peter, who had once said he would never abandon Jesus, even if everyone else did, ended up denying Jesus three times, claiming he did not know Him at all. Why did Peter do this? The reason was that Satan, with an overwhelming spirit of fear, stirred in Peter the fear of losing his own life (Jones).
Dr. Lloyd-Jones recently made a powerful statement about the church: “The church is anesthetized, confused, and asleep, unaware of the battle (spiritual warfare).”
Satan, who always lays traps and snares, seems to be succeeding within the church today. Dr. Lloyd-Jones also said, "Discouragement, despair, feelings of defeat, and complete hopelessness are usually the results of the devil’s activity." How many of us, as Christians, live in discouragement, despair, and a sense of defeat? How many of us are living with a sense of hopelessness? We must fight in this spiritual battle with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has already won the victory. We must live our lives as victorious, combatant Christians, fully confident in our victory. We must engage in spiritual warfare.
An example of this can be found in Psalm 61. In verse 2, the psalmist David says, "When my heart is overwhelmed..." The word "overwhelmed" here means "self-enveloping." This refers to a state of being surrounded by various burdens, becoming exhausted, and descending into despair (Park Yun-sun). David was becoming overwhelmed due to the persecution of his enemies (v. 3). Through this passage, I want to share four lessons on how we should fight and overcome when, like David, our hearts are overwhelmed by the evil forces of the devil.
First, when our hearts are overwhelmed, we must cry out to God, just like David did.
Psalm 61:1
“Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer.”
Lately, I’ve been reflecting on Psalm 42 during our Wednesday prayer meetings, and I remember challenging myself and others to turn moments of despair and hopelessness in life into opportunities to long for God. When our hearts feel anxious, discouraged, or hopeless due to various trials and suffering, we must cry out to God just like David does in today's passage. And as we cry out to God, we must remember that He longs for us even more than we long for Him. However, sometimes, when we are struggling and in pain, we forget that God is longing for us.
In the passage, David says, "When my heart is overwhelmed, I will cry out to You from the ends of the earth." Why does he say "from the ends of the earth"? The reason is that he was in such a state of despair. David felt as if God had abandoned him, and that he was far from God. Yet, even in this feeling of abandonment, he did not give up or cast himself into despair. Instead, he cried out to God, saying, "Lead me to the rock that is higher than I" (Psalm 61:2). Despite being in deep despair, David looked to the "higher rock" and cried out to God.
We need a "nevertheless" kind of faith. In other words, even when we are deep in despair like David, we need faith that still longs for God. In the midst of despair, we must cry out to the Lord. Just as the prophet Jonah, from the depths of the sea, declared, “Even though I have been driven away from Your sight, I will look again toward Your holy temple” (Jonah 2:4), we must also look to the Lord regardless of our circumstances. Even when our hearts are weighed down, we must cry out to Him.
Secondly, when our hearts are overwhelmed, we must take refuge in the Lord, just like David did.
Psalm 61:4 says, “I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.” When we are in despair, the one thing we can do is cry out to our Heavenly Father and take refuge in Him. This is because only God can be our protector. Even though David felt far from God in his overwhelming state, he still cried out, acknowledging that God was his refuge and his stronghold: “For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy” (Psalm 61:3).
How could David confess that God was his refuge and strong tower even in the depths of despair, feeling far from Him? I found the answer in the second half of verse 7: “… prepare mercy and truth to preserve him.” David could confess that God was his refuge and strong tower because God had prepared "mercy and truth" for him. Even though David’s heart was overwhelmed, God’s mercy and truth were protecting him.
The lesson we can learn here is that, even when our hearts are weighed down, we must hold on to God's mercy and truth. We need to believe that God, who loves us unconditionally, has promised to save us, and will be faithful to fulfill that promise (Park Yun-sun). In the midst of life's despair, we must cling to God's eternal love (mercy) and His truth. In doing so, we will be drawn to the hope of dwelling forever in God’s tabernacle (verse 4). In the midst of our momentary despair, we must look toward the eternal tabernacle of God.
Thirdly, when our hearts are oppressed, we should remember the grace that God has shown us in the past, just like David did.
Look at Psalm 61:5: “O God, hear my vows; grant the heritage of those who fear your name.” This refers to how the leadership of Israel temporarily fell into the hands of the unjust faction of Absalom, only to be restored to David's control (Park Yun-sun). In other words, David remembered the grace of God, who saved him during the rebellion of his son Absalom (Park Yun-sun). When David’s heart was oppressed by the enemy (v. 3), instead of remembering the things he had done for God, he remembered what God had done for him in the past. This is not our natural instinct. In other words, our instinct is to plead with God while reminding Him of our own actions or merits when we are oppressed. For example, we can look at Elijah in 1 Kings 19. Elijah, afraid of Jezebel's threat, fled into the wilderness. There, he was strengthened by an angel, and he was able to reach Mount Horeb. On Mount Horeb, when God appeared to him and asked, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9, 13), Elijah answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty” (1 Kings 19:10, 14). When we consider this answer, it seems that Elijah was presenting his own actions (or merits) for God while complaining to God.
One of our problems is that we forget the things we should forget and forget the things we should remember. In other words, our sins that we have repented of are not only forgiven by God, but He also promises not to remember them anymore (Isaiah 43:25). However, we often cannot forget them and end up repeating them. On the other hand, we forget too quickly the grace God has shown us in our past. Like David in this passage, we need to remember the grace God has shown us in our past. Especially when our hearts are oppressed, we need to look back on our lives and recall God's saving work in each critical moment, using that remembrance to endure our present desperate situation with faith. When our hearts are burdened, by remembering the grace God has shown us in the past, our despair should turn into hope and trust.
Lastly, fourthly, when our hearts are oppressed, we must long for God's eternal kingdom, just like David did.
Look at Psalm 61:7 in the Bible: “He shall abide before God forever; prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him.” David prayed to the Lord that He would grant him a long life, extending his days to many generations (v. 6). He asked God, who rules over life and death, to extend his life. In other words, he prayed for the blessing of longevity. Furthermore, David prayed to dwell before God forever.
Imagine this: David, whose heart was oppressed by his enemies and in despair, yet in the midst of it all, he looked to God. After seeking refuge in Him and remembering the grace God had shown him, David found hope. In his moment of despair, he prayed to dwell before God forever. Just like David, even in our moments of despair, we must pray to dwell before God forever.
In particular, we must pray that as the King of kings, the Lord will reign forever over God’s kingdom, and that as the people of His kingdom, we will dwell there forever. In praying this, we must also pray, as the Lord taught us: “Your kingdom come.” And when Jesus said, “I am coming soon,” we too should pray, like the apostle John: “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).
David cried out to God when his heart was oppressed, and he sought refuge in Him. Afterward, David, remembering God's grace in the past, cried out to God with a heart longing for God's eternal kingdom. David resolved that if God answered his prayer by guiding him, protecting him, and granting him the grace of salvation to dwell before Him forever, he would say, “I will praise Your name forever, and daily perform my vows” (v. 8). Likewise, we, like David, when our hearts are oppressed, must cry out to God and take refuge in Him, our refuge and strong tower. After seeking refuge, we must remember the grace God has shown us in the past and hope to dwell before God forever.
After singing the hymn “Nearer, My God, to Thee” (Hymn 364),
Pastor James Kim shares,
(Hoping we can take every opportunity in times of discouragement and despair to long more for God).