Life has a way of plunging us into a tailspin, in which we are driven to near emotional collapse. Terrible moments like this can lead to discouragement and depression. What can we do to help us press ahead in faith and trust God in moments when He seems so far away? 

Sin, Evil, Death, Dying, and What Happens After We Die

This series addresses the concern we all have: the concern for sin, evil, discouragement, death, dying, and what happens after we die. Is there hope after death? When God created us humans, he intended for us to live forever in a loving, peaceful relationship with him. But this relationship has been broken by sin.

Here, we address the origin of sin and look more closely at death and dying.  

But, instead of looking at death negatively, we look at it in the context of hope, the promised hope based on what Jesus did for us when he died and came back to life again. 

From the Sabbath School Adult Bible Study Guide 2022 Quarter 4: Sabbath.School (See also Hope Sabbath School and 3ABN Sabbath School)

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Inviting God’s Presence

Hear our prayer, Oh Lord, and when we are overwhelmed with the pressures of life, please send us the comfort and support we need to move forward. In Jesus’ Name Amen 

In Psalm 71, it appears that the writer, King David, has been in some distressful and troubling situation. He reminds himself that it is God who has brought him through every difficult and trying circumstance.  And though God has allowed him to go through these difficulties, he attests that God has always restored him to life again. Thus, David, in Psalm 71:20, is assured that although he may be in distress and deep in the pit of despair, God will bring him “again from the depths of the earth.” 

In the previous lesson, we looked at a touching expression of hope in the resurrection in contrast to the false assurance of the fool who trusts in their wealth and the wise who trusts in God.

In Psalm 71, David, the writer of this psalm, seeks security and hope from God while surrounded by his enemies and false accusers.

We find in Psalms 71:10 and 11 that David’s enemies are in pursuit of his life. They seek to discourage him by saying that God has abandoned him.

Psalms 71:10-11 says

10 For my enemies speak against me; And those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together,

11 Saying, “God has forsaken him; Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him.” (Psalms 71:10-11)

Where does David obtain his comfort in this trying situation? Psalm 71 lets us know that David finds comfort and peace when he recalls how God has cared for him in the past.

First, David acknowledges in Psalm 71:6 that God has taken care of him since the day he was born.

Psalms 71:6 

6 By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb. My praise shall be continually of You. (Psalms 71:6)

Then he admits in Psalms 71:17 that God is his Teacher. He has taught him ever since he was a youth.

17 O God, You have taught me from my youth; And to this day I declare Your wondrous works. (Psalms 71:17)

It is evident in Psalm 71 that David knows that God is his strength and protector. This is why he, in Psalms 71:3, says,

3 Be my strong refuge, To which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, For You are my rock and my fortress. (Psalm 71:3).

Thus, he pleads: “Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails” (Psalm 71:9, NKJV).

Confident of who God is to him, He also adds, in Psalm 71:12:

“O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me!” (Psalm 71:12, NKJV).

And then, David in Psalms 71:20 with surety says, “You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, shall revive me again, and bring me up again from the depths of the earth” (Psalm 71:20, NKJV).

You might ask? What does David really mean when he says: “you will lift me up from this pit of death”? Is David here referring to his future hope of the resurrection?

Is he talking about the resurrection that will happen when God wakes him up from the dead?

In this expression, David could be literally referring to his future physical resurrection. But when you think about what he is saying contextually, the context appears to favor a figurative description of David’s condition of deep depression. In which he feels as if the earth were swallowing him.

David used this description to show us how he felt. Emotionally, he feels very bad; his heart is saddened. (Split)

Thus, he compares his feelings to falling into a deep pit, as in Psalm 88:6 and Psalm 130:1.

Psalms 88:6 says

6 You have laid me in the lowest pit, In darkness, in the depths. (Psalms 88:6)

 

And Psalms 130:1

1 Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord; (Psalms 130:1) (Split)

So, we can conclude that

“ ‘this pit of death is primarily figurative speech, but it also hints at a physical resurrection.”—Andrews Study Bible, p. 726, note on Psalm 71:20. (Split)

In examining Psalm 71, what’s vital for us to get is that ultimately, our hope isn’t found in this life but in the life to come.  It is the eternal life we have in Jesus after our resurrection at His return.

But we must also remember that in whatever situation we are in, God is there, and He cares about us, and he will deliver us from evil. 

Have not the Lord been with you in the past? If it had not been for the Lord, where would you be? 

Remember that God takes care of you. When you fall into depths of despair, and in moments when he seems far from you, directs your mind to the ways that the Lord has been with you in the past.

Use those experiences to help you press on ahead in faith, trusting that he will deliver.

Since both the wicket and the righteous will die and rest in the grave. What makes their destinies different?

Find out in Day 5: Your Dead Shall Live

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