Psalm 107 defines a crisis as a wilderness, prison, sickness, and storm. It also provides guidance on what we should do in a time of crisis.
1. A Wilderness
The wilderness is not the kind of place one normally chooses for oneself, but it is God’s favoured place from which to show his care and concern.
A “wilderness experience,” You may struggle simply to survive from day to day. Financial, material, physical, or emotional burdens may press on you. The flesh cries out for relief. You are forced to wait on the Lord, find God’s peace and joy during trouble.
A place of loneliness, confusion, frustration, hunger and dryness
Psalm 107:4-5 (NLT) “Some wandered in the wilderness, lost and homeless. 5 Hungry and thirsty, they nearly died.”
Wilderness Experiences
- Children of Israel, 40 years wandering
- Joseph, cast off by his brothers
- Moses, tending sheep for 40 years
- Elijah, after confronting Ahab
- David, hunted by King Saul
- Job, personal testing
- Jesus, 40 days temptation
Jeremiah 2:6 “They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, Through a land of deserts and of pits, Through a land of drought and of deep darkness, Through a land that no one crossed And where no man dwelt?’
What can God do in a Wilderness?
Psalm 107 6 “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress. 7 He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live. 8 Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. 9 For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
Psalm 107:35 “But he also turns deserts into pools of water, the dry land into springs of water. 36 He brings the hungry to settle there and to build their cities. 37 They sow their fields, plant their vineyards, and harvest their bumper crops. 38 How he blesses them! They raise large families there, and their herds of livestock increase.”
2. A Prison
Lonely, darkness, imprisoned by chains. Wrong choices lead to prisons or we are imprisoned due to unforeseen circumstances.
Psalm 107:10 Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned in iron chains of misery. 11 They rebelled against the words of God, scorning the counsel of the Most High. 12 That is why he broke them with hard labour; they fell, and no one was there to help them.
God opens prison doors
Romans 12:12 NLT “Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.”
Isaiah 61:7 (NIV) “Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.
Psalm 107 13 “Lord, help!” they cried
in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.
14 He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; he
snapped their chains.
15 Let them praise the Lord for his great love
and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
16 For he broke down their prison gates of bronze; he
cut apart their bars of iron.
3. Our beds of pain
The definition for sickness is to be in a disordered, weakened, or unsound condition. In other words, when one is sick, there is something that is within that individual that is out of alignment, lacking strength, and the internal infrastructure is fragile.
Psalm 107: 17 “Some were fools; they rebelled and suffered for their sins. 18 They couldn’t stand the thought of food, and they were knocking on death’s door.
God the great healer
Psalm 107:19-23 19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. 20 He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions. 21 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! 22 Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, And declare His works with rejoicing.
4. The Storm
- The Place of the Storm
Psalm 107: 23 “Some went off to sea in ships, plying the trade routes of the world. 24 They, too, observed the Lord’s power in action, his impressive works on the deepest seas
The Place of the Storm – It is in the deep waters – You will meet God in the faith zone, not in the comfort zone. Your faith will be tested in the deep waters. Great works are done in deep waters.
B. The Producer of the Storms
Psalm 107: 25 He spoke, and the winds rose, stirring up the waves.
As great as the power of the wind and storms, is God, greater than the storm.
C. The danger of the storm
Psalm 107: 26 Their ships were tossed to the heavens and plunged again to the depths; the sailors cringed in terror. 27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards and were at their wits’ end.”
It is leads you to a place where you are helpless. There is nothing that you can do.
D. The prayer of the Storm
Psalm 107: 28 “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.
A storm brings you to a place where you understand that only God can help you. Storms forces us towards God. Even the greatest atheist cries to God when they realise that there is no other help but God.
THOMAS PAYNE—The leading atheistic writer in American colonies: “Stay with me, for God’s sake; I cannot bear to be left alone , O Lord, help me! O God, what have I done to suffer so much? What will become of me hereafter? I would give worlds if I had them, that The Age of Reason had never been published. 0 Lord, help me! Christ, help me! No, don’t leave; stay with me! Send even a child to stay with me; for I am on the edge of hell here alone. If ever the Devil had an agent, I have been that one.”
SIR THOMAS SCOTT—Chancellor of England: “Until this moment I thought there was neither a God nor a hell. Now I know and feel that there are both, and I am doomed to perdition by the just judgment of the Almighty.”
Storms produce prayers. Not fancy, great prayer, but simple short prayers “Lord, help!”
The way out is the way up.
E. The peace of the Storm
Psalm 107: 29 “He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves.
The peace of God is different from the peace of the world. Biblical peace is more than just the absence of conflict; it is taking action to restore a broken situation.
Isaiah 26:3 “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”
F. The purpose of the storm
Psalm 107:30 (NLT) What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbour!
Understand that God will take us through the storm to bring you safely to your destiny.
G. The Praise of the storm
Psalm 107: 31 Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. 32 Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation.
Psalm 42:11 (NIV) Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Saviour and my God.
H. The Provision of the storm
Psalm 107:35 But he also turns deserts into pools of water, the dry land into springs of water. 36 He brings the hungry to settle there and to build their cities. 37 They sow their fields, plant their vineyards, and harvest their bumper crops. 38 How he blesses them! They raise large families there, and their herds of livestock increase.