The Lord Hears and Delivers

Psalms - Weekly Lesson

2024 Quarter 1 Lesson 04 - The Lord Hears and Delivers

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Psalms

Jan · Feb · Mar 2024

2024

Quarter 1 Lesson 04 Q1 Lesson 04

Jan 20 - Jan 26

Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study

Ps. 139:1–18; Psalm 121; Ps. 17:8; Matt. 23:37; 1 Cor. 10:1–4; Heb. 4:15, 16.

Memory Text:

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles” (Psalm 34:17, NKJV).

Again and again, the Psalms highlight the truth that the Sovereign Lord, who created and sustains the universe, also reveals Himself as a personal God who initiates and sustains a relationship with His people.

God is close to His people and to His creation, both in heaven and on earth (Ps. 73:23, 25). Though He “has established His throne in heaven” (Ps. 103:19, NKJV) and “rides on the clouds” (Ps. 68:4, NKJV), He also is “near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth” (Ps. 145:18, NKJV). The Psalms unswervingly uphold the truth that the Lord is the living God, who acts on behalf of those who call upon Him (Ps. 55:16–22). The Psalms are meaningful precisely because they are prompted by, and are addressed to, the living God, who hears and answers prayers.

We should remember that the proper response to the Lord’s nearness consists in a life of faith in Him and of obedience to His commandments. Nothing short of this faith and obedience will be acceptable to Him, as the history of Israel often revealed.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, January 27.

Additional Reading: Selected Quotes from Ellen G. White

While we review . . . the manifestations of God’s great mercy and unfailing love, we shall praise far more than complain. We shall talk of the loving faithfulness of God as the true, tender, compassionate shepherd of His flock, which He has declared that none shall pluck out of His hand. The language of the heart will not be selfish murmuring and repining. Praise, like clear-flowing streams, will come from God’s truly believing ones. “Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” “Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee.” Psalm 23:6; 73:24, 25.—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 367.

I would call your attention to the precious promises in the Word of God. . . . I am glad indeed that our feelings are no evidence that we are not children of God. The enemy will tempt you to think that you have done things that have separated you from God and that He no longer loves you, but our Lord loves us still, and we may know [this] by the words He has placed on record . . . “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
God loves you; and the precious Saviour, who gave Himself for you, will not thrust you from Him because you are tempted and in your weakness may have been overcome. He loves you still.—That I May Know Him, p. 285.

We may keep so near to God that in every unexpected trial our thoughts will turn to Him as naturally as the flower turns to the sun.
Keep your wants, your joys, your sorrows, your cares, and your fears before God. You cannot burden Him; you cannot weary Him. He who numbers the hairs of your head is not indifferent to the wants of His children. . . . His heart of love is touched by our sorrows and even by our utterances of them. Take to Him everything that perplexes the mind. Nothing is too great for Him to bear, for He holds up worlds, He rules over all the affairs of the universe. Nothing that in any way concerns our peace is too small for Him to notice. There is no chapter in our experience too dark for Him to read; there is no perplexity too difficult for Him to unravel. No calamity can befall the least of His children, no anxiety harass the soul, no joy cheer, no sincere prayer escape the lips, of which our heavenly Father is unobservant, or in which He takes no immediate interest. “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3. The relations between God and each soul are as distinct and full as though there were not another soul upon the earth to share His watchcare.—Steps to Christ, pp. 99, 100.

Sunday ↑

21st of January

My Frame Was Not Hidden From You

Read Psalm 139:1–18. How does this text poetically depict God’s power (Ps. 139:1−6), presence (Ps. 139:7−12), and goodness (Ps. 139:13−18)? What does God’s greatness say about God’s promises?

Did you ever want to help someone but had no means? Likewise, some people tried to help you but did not understand your needs. Unlike even the most loving and best-intentioned people, God has both the perfect knowledge of us and of our circumstances, and also the means to help us. Therefore, His promises of help and deliverance are not shallow platitudes but firm assurances.

God’s knowledge of the psalmist is so great and unique that even his mother’s womb could not hide him from God (Ps. 139:13, 15). Divine knowledge pertains to time (Ps. 139:2), inner being (Ps. 139:2, 4), and space (Ps. 139:3)—the psalmist’s entire existence. God’s wonderful knowledge is the result of His creatorship and close acquaintance with people and is manifest in His care for them.

This wonderful truth about God knowing us intimately should not scare us but instead drive us into the arms of Jesus and what He has accomplished for us at the Cross. For by faith in Jesus, we have been given His righteousness, “the righteousness of God” Himself (Rom. 3:5, 21).

God’s presence is highlighted by depicting God as reaching as far as “hell” (sheol, “grave”) and “darkness” (Ps. 139:8, 11, 12), places not typically depicted as where God dwells (Ps. 56:13). His presence also is depicted as taking “the wings of the morning” (east) to reach “the uttermost parts of the sea” (west) (Ps. 139:9). What these images convey is the truth that there is no place in the universe where we can be out of God’s reach. Though God is not part of the universe, as some believe, He is close to it all, having not only created it but sustaining it, as well (see Heb. 1:3).

As the One who knows all about us, God can help and restore us. The fresh realization of His greatness prompts an outburst of praise and renewed trust in the psalmist. He welcomes divine scrutiny as the means that can remove from his life anything that troubles his relationship with God.

Some might find the fact that God knows so much about them, even their darkest secrets, a rather frightening thought. Why is the gospel, then, our only hope?

Additional Reading: Selected Quotes from Ellen G. White

In the creation of man was manifest the agency of a personal God. When God had made man in His image, the human form was perfect in all its arrangements, but it was without life. Then a personal, self-existing God breathed into that form the breath of life, and man became a living, intelligent being. All parts of the human organism were set in action. The heart, the arteries, the veins, the tongue, the hands, the feet, the senses, the faculties of the mind, all began their work, and all were placed under law. Man became a living soul. Through Christ the Word, a personal God created man and endowed him with intelligence and power.
Our substance was not hid from Him when we were made in secret; His eyes saw our substance, yet being imperfect, and in His book all our members were written when as yet there were none of them.
Above all lower orders of being, God designed that man, the crowning work of His creation, should express His thought and reveal His glory.—The Ministry of Healing, p. 415.

Our life is in the hands of God. He sees dangers threatening us that we cannot see. He is the Giver of all our blessings; the Provider of all our mercies; the Orderer of all our experiences. He sees the perils that we cannot see. He may permit to come upon His people that which fills their hearts with sadness, because He sees that they need to make straight paths for their feet, lest the lame be turned out of the way. He knows our frame, and remembers that we are dust. Even the very hairs of our head are numbered. He works through natural causes to lead His people to remember that He has not forgotten them, but that He desires them to forsake the way which, if they were permitted to follow unchecked and unreproved, would lead them into great peril.—The Upward Look, p. 65.

God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son to die that he might redeem man from the power of Satan; and will he not care for man, formed in his image? . . . God notices the fall of even the sparrows; not one of them falls to the ground without his notice. Our heavenly Father will not leave his children who put their trust in him, and venture out upon his promises although the outlook is dark and forbidding. He understands every circumstance of our life. He sees and knows how we are situated. He is acquainted with all our sorrows and griefs. He knows us each by name, and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities; for he has been tempted in all points like as we are, and knows how to succor those who are tempted. Jesus is our helper, and he will have a care for all those who trust in him.—The Review and Herald, August 25, 1885, “The True Standard of Righteousness,” par. 12.

Monday ↑

22nd of January

Assurance of God’s Care

Read Psalm 40:1–3, Psalm 50:15, Psalm 55:22, and Psalm 121. How is God involved in our daily affairs?

The Lord reveals Himself in Scripture as the living God who acts on behalf of those who call upon Him.

For the psalmist, “the Lord [is] always before me” (Ps. 16:8). Therefore, he trusts God and calls upon Him (Ps. 7:1, Ps. 9:10). The Lord will hear him even when he cries out of the “depths” (Ps. 130:1, 2), conveying that no life circumstance escapes God’s sovereign dominion. Thus, the psalmist’s cry, no matter how urgent, is never devoid of hope.

Psalm 121, meanwhile, celebrates the power of the Creator in the faithful individual’s life. This power includes:

1. “He will not allow your foot to be moved” (Ps. 121:3, NKJV). The image of “foot” is often descriptive of one’s life journey (Ps. 66:9, Ps. 119:105, Prov. 3:23). The Hebrew word for “move” describes the security that God gives to the world (Ps. 93:1) and to Zion (Ps. 125:1).

2. The image of the Lord as Israel’s Keeper who does not slumber nor sleep highlights the Lord’s constant alertness and readiness to act on behalf of His children (Ps. 121:3, 4).

3. The Lord is “your shade” (Ps. 121:5, 6, NKJV) calls to mind the pillar of cloud in the time of the Exodus (Exod. 13:21, 22). Similarly, the Lord provides physical and spiritual shelter to His people.

4. God is at their right hand (Ps. 121:5). The right hand typically designates a person’s stronger hand, the hand of action (Ps. 74:11, Ps. 89:13). Here it conveys God’s nearness and favor (Ps. 16:8, Ps. 109:31, Ps. 110:5).

5. God’s protection of His people is clearly confirmed in Psalm 121:6–8. God shall preserve His children from all evil. Neither “the sun” nor “the moon” shall strike them. God shall preserve their “going out” and “coming in.” These poetic figures underscore God’s comprehensive, unceasing care.

The bottom line? The psalmist trusted in God’s loving care. We, of course, should do the same.

What are some practical ways that you can better experience the reality of God’s care? How can you better cooperate with God in order to enable Him to work within you and for you?

Additional Reading: Selected Quotes from Ellen G. White

Could our spiritual vision be quickened, we should see souls bowed under oppression and burdened with grief, pressed as a cart beneath sheaves, and ready to die in discouragement. We should see angels flying quickly to the aid of these tempted ones, forcing back the hosts of evil that encompass them, and placing their feet on the sure foundation. . . .
He who slumbers not, who is continually at work for the accomplishment of His designs, will carry forward His work. He will thwart the purposes of wicked men and will bring to confusion the counsels of those who plot mischief against His people. He who is the King, the Lord of hosts, sitteth between the cherubim, and amidst the strife and tumult of nations He guards His children still. When the strongholds of kings shall be overthrown, when the arrows of wrath shall strike through the hearts of His enemies, His people will be safe in His hands.—Prophets and Kings, pp. 175, 176.

Trust ye in the Lord forever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. Isaiah 26:4.
What a source to which we can look in all times of trouble; the heart can have no misgivings! Man is erring, stubborn, rebellious, and defiant even against God; but the Lord is kind and patient and of tender compassion. He has heaven and earth at His command, and He knows just what we need even before we present our necessities and desires before Him.
We can see only a little way before us; “but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” He never becomes confused. He sits above the confusion and distractions of the earth, and all things are opened to His divine survey; and from His great and calm eternity He can order that which His providence sees is best.—My Life Today, p. 10.

The presence of God is guaranteed to the Christian. This Rock of faith is the living presence of God. The weakest may depend upon it. Those who think themselves the strongest may become the weakest unless they depend on Christ as their efficiency, their worthiness. . . .
The strength of every soul is in God and not in man. Quietness and confidence is to be the strength of all who give their hearts to God. Christ has not a casual interest in us but an interest stronger than a mother for her child. Our Saviour has purchased us by human suffering and sorrow, by insult, reproach, abuse, mockery, rejection, and death. He is watching over you, trembling child of God. He will make you secure under His protection. Our weakness in human nature will not bar our access to the heavenly Father, for He [Christ] died to make intercession for us.—Sons and Daughters of God, p. 77.

Tuesday ↑

23rd of January

The Lord Is a Refuge in Adversity

Read Psalm 17:7–9, Psalm 31:1–3, and Psalm 91:2–7. What does the psalmist do in times of trouble?

The psalmist encounters various sorts of troubles and, in them, turns to the Lord, who is a refuge in every adversity. Trust is a deliberate choice to acknowledge God’s lordship over one’s life in all circumstances. If trust does not work in adversity, then it will not work anywhere.

The psalmist’s testimony, “I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust’ ” (Ps. 91:2, NKJV), springs from his past experience with God and now serves to strengthen his faith for the future. The psalmist calls God the Most High and the Almighty (Ps. 91:1, 2), remembering the surpassing greatness of his God.

The psalmist also tells of the security that one can find in God: the “secret place” (“shelter” or “hiding place”), “shadow” (Ps. 91:1), “refuge,” “fortress” (Ps. 91:2), “wings,” “shield,” “buckler” (Ps. 91:4), and “dwelling place” (Ps. 91:9, NKJV). These images represent safe havens in the psalmist’s culture. One needs only to think of the unbearable heat of the sun in that part of the world in order to appreciate the shadow (or shade) or to recall the times of wars in Israel’s history in order to value the security provided by the shield or the fortress.

Read Psalm 17:8 and Matthew 23:37. What image is used here, and what does it reveal?

One of the most intimate metaphors is the one that refers to being “under the shadow of Your wings” (Ps. 17:8, Ps. 57:1, Ps. 63:7, NKJV). This metaphor elicits comfort and assurance by implying the protection of a mother bird. The Lord is compared to an eagle who guards its young with its wings (Exod. 19:4, Deut. 32:11) and to a hen who gathers her chicks under her wings (Matt. 23:37).

How, though, do we deal with the times when calamity strikes, and we can’t seem to see the Lord’s protection? Why do these traumas not mean that the Lord is not there with us?

Additional Reading: Selected Quotes from Ellen G. White

Everyone will meet with trials. If you look to Jesus, if you believe in Him as your personal Saviour, you will be brought through every trial, and enduring these trials with patience, you will become stronger to endure the next test, the next trial.
It is only the narrowness of our vision that prevents us from discerning God’s loving-kindness in the discipline to which He subjects His church, as well as in the great blessings which He provides. In all times of distress and confusion, God is a sure refuge to His people. In the shadow of His protection they may safely keep His way. In the affliction designed to purify them, the power of the gospel is to be their consolation. In His sure word they have a fortress.—Our High Calling, p. 317.

“In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Christ did not fail, neither was He discouraged, and His followers are to manifest a faith of the same enduring nature. They are to live as He lived, and work as He worked, because they depend on Him as the great Master Worker. Courage, energy, and perseverance they must possess. Though apparent impossibilities obstruct their way, by His grace they are to go forward. Instead of deploring difficulties, they are called upon to surmount them. They are to despair of nothing, and to hope for everything. With the golden chain of His matchless love Christ has bound them to the throne of God. It is His purpose that the highest influence in the universe, emanating from the source of all power, shall be theirs. They are to have power to resist evil, power that neither earth, nor death, nor hell can master, power that will enable them to overcome as Christ overcame.—The Desire of Ages, p. 679.

Divine pity marked the countenance of the Son of God as He cast one lingering look upon the Temple and then upon His hearers. In a voice choked by deep anguish of heart and bitter tears He exclaimed, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . . how often I would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” . . .
The gems of truth that fell from Christ’s lips on that eventful day were treasured in many hearts. For them new thoughts started into life, new aspirations were awakened, and a new history began. After the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, these persons came to the front, and fulfilled their divine commission with a wisdom and zeal corresponding to the greatness of the work. They bore a message that appealed to the hearts of men, weakening the old superstitions that had long dwarfed the lives of thousands. Before their testimony human theories and philosophies became as idle fables. Mighty were the results flowing from the words of the Saviour to that wondering, awestruck crowd in the Temple at Jerusalem.—Lift Him Up, p. 337.

Wednesday ↑

24th of January

Defender and Deliverer

Read 1 Corinthians 10:1–4. How does Paul describe the Exodus story? What spiritual lesson does he seek to teach with it?

Read Psalm 114. How is the divine deliverance of the people of Israel from Egypt poetically described here?

What a poetic depiction of God’s marvelous deliverance of His children from the bondage of Egypt is given in Psalm 114. All through the Old Testament, and even in the New, the deliverance from Egypt was seen as a symbol of God’s power to save His people. Paul in these verses in 1 Corinthians does just that, seeing the whole true story as a metaphor, a symbol of salvation in Jesus Christ.

Psalm 114 also depicts divine deliverance through God’s sovereignty as the Creator over the powers of nature, which was how He saved His people in the Exodus. The sea, the river Jordan, and the mountains and hills poetically represent the natural and human powers opposing the Israelites on their way to the Promised Land (Deut. 1:44, Josh. 3:14−17). God, though, is sovereign over all of them.

In fact, for many of God’s children in all times and in all places, the way to the heavenly Jerusalem is fraught with danger. The Psalms encourage them to look beyond the hills and toward the Creator of heaven and earth (Ps. 121:1).

The spirit of Psalm 114 is captured by Jesus’ calming of the sea storm and His proclamation that the church has nothing to fear because He has overcome the world (Matt. 8:23−27, John 16:33).

The Lord’s great deeds on behalf of His people should inspire the whole earth to tremble at His presence (Ps. 114:7). The trembling should be understood as acknowledging and worshiping rather than as being terrified (Ps. 96:9, Ps. 99:1). With God on their side, believers have nothing to fear.

What are some of the spiritual dangers we face as believers, and how can we learn to lean on the Lord’s power to protect us from succumbing to these dangers that are as real for us now as they were for the psalmist?

Additional Reading: Selected Quotes from Ellen G. White

When Jesus was awakened to meet the storm, He was in perfect peace. There was no trace of fear in word or look, for no fear was in His heart. . . . He trusted in the Father’s might. It was in faith—faith in God’s love and care—that Jesus rested, and the power of that word which stilled the storm was the power of God.
As Jesus rested by faith in the Father’s care, so we are to rest in the care of our Saviour. If the disciples had trusted in Him, they would have been kept in peace. Their fear in the time of danger revealed their unbelief. In their efforts to save themselves, they forgot Jesus; and it was only when, in despair of self-dependence, they turned to Him that He could give them help.
How often the disciples’ experience is ours! When the tempests of temptation gather, and the fierce lightnings flash, and the waves sweep over us, we battle with the storm alone, forgetting that there is One who can help us. We trust to our own strength till our hope is lost, and we are ready to perish. Then we remember Jesus, and if we call upon Him to save us, we shall not cry in vain. . . . Living faith in the Redeemer will smooth the sea of life, and will deliver us from danger in the way that He knows to be best.—The Desire of Ages, p. 336.

Now do not worry yourself out of the arms of the dear Saviour, but rest trustingly in faith. He loves you; He cares for you. He is blessing you and will give you His peace and grace. He is saying to you, “Thy sins be forgiven thee.” You may be depressed with bodily infirmities, but that is not evidence that the Lord is not working in your behalf every day. He will pardon you, and that abundantly. Gather to your soul the sweet promises of God. Jesus is our constant, unfailing friend, and He wants you to trust in Him. Look away from yourself to the perfection of Christ.—That I May Know Him, p. 285.

A life in Christ is a life of restfulness. There may be no ecstasy of feeling, but there should be an abiding, peaceful trust. Your hope is not in yourself; it is in Christ. Your weakness is united to His strength, your ignorance to His wisdom, your frailty to His enduring might. So you are not to look to yourself, not to let the mind dwell upon self, but look to Christ. Let the mind dwell upon His love, upon the beauty, the perfection, of His character. Christ in His self-denial, Christ in His humiliation, Christ in His purity and holiness, Christ in His matchless love—this is the subject for the soul’s contemplation. It is by loving Him, copying Him, depending wholly upon Him, that you are to be transformed into His likeness.—Steps to Christ, p. 70.

Thursday ↑

25th of January

Help From the Sanctuary

Read Psalm 3:4; Psalm 14:7; Psalm 20:1–3; Psalm 27:5; Psalm 36:8; Psalm 61:4; and Psalm 68:5, 35. Where does help come from in these texts?

The motif of spiritual and physical refuge and help notably appears in the context of the sanctuary. The sanctuary is a place of help, of safety, and of salvation. The sanctuary provides a shelter to the troubled. God defends the orphans and widows and gives strength to His people from His sanctuary. When “out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth” (Ps. 50:2, NKJV), God’s righteous judgments are proclaimed, and the Lord’s blessing goes forth (Ps. 84:4, Ps. 128:5, Ps. 134:3).

The refuge in the sanctuary surpasses the security provided by any other place in the world because God personally dwells in the sanctuary. The presence of God, not merely the temple as a firm building, provides safety. Likewise, being the mountain where the Lord dwells, Mount Zion surpasses other mountains though in itself it is a modest hill (Ps. 68:15, 16; Isa. 2:2).

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:15, 16, NKJV).

In what ways do these verses parallel what the psalmist says about the sanctuary?

The holiness of God’s sanctuary prompts the psalmist to acknowledge that all people are sinful and completely undeserving of God’s favor, and he claims that deliverance is based on God’s faithfulness and grace alone (Ps. 143:2, 9–12). Nothing in us gives us any merit before God. It is only when people stand in a right relationship with God through repentance and acceptance of God’s grace and forgiveness that they can plead for God’s assurance of deliverance. The sanctuary service represented the salvation found in Jesus.

Additional Reading: Selected Quotes from Ellen G. White

The temple of God is opened in heaven, and the threshold is flushed with the glory which is for every church that will love God and keep His commandments. We need to study, to meditate, and to pray. Then we shall have spiritual eyesight to discern the inner courts of the celestial temple. We shall catch the themes of song and thanksgiving of the heavenly choir round about the throne. When Zion shall arise and shine, her light will be most penetrating, and precious songs of praise and thanksgiving will be heard in the assemblies of the saints. Murmuring and complaining over little disappointments and difficulties will cease. As we apply the golden eyesalve we shall see the glories beyond. Faith will cut through the heavy shadow of Satan, and we shall see our Advocate offering up the incense of His own merits in our behalf. When we see this as it is, as the Lord desires us to see it, we shall be filled with a sense of the immensity and diversity of the love of God.—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 368.

Jesus knows the needs of His children, and He loves to listen to their prayers. Let the children shut out the world and everything that would attract the thoughts from God, and let them feel that they are alone with God, that His eye looks into the inmost heart, and reads the desire of the soul, and that they may talk with God. In humble faith you may claim His promises, and feel that although you have nothing in yourself whereby you may claim the favor of God, because of the merits and righteousness of Christ, you may come boldly to the throne of grace, and find help in time of need. There is nothing that can make the soul so strong to resist the temptations of Satan in the great conflict of life, as to seek God in humility, laying before Him your soul in all its helplessness, expecting that He will be your helper and your defender.
With the trusting faith of a little child, we are to come to our heavenly Father, telling Him of all our needs. He is always ready to pardon and help. The supply of divine wisdom is inexhaustible, and the Lord encourages us to draw largely from it. The longing that we should have for spiritual blessings is described in the words, “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.” We need a deeper soul-hunger for the rich gifts that heaven has to bestow. . . .
O that we might have a consuming desire to know God by an experimental knowledge, to come into the audience chamber of the Most High, reaching up the hand of faith, and casting our helpless souls upon the One mighty to save. His loving kindness is better than life.—Sons and Daughters of God, p. 121.

Friday ↑

26th of January

Further Thought

Read Ellen G. White, “The Night of Wrestling,” pp. 195–203, in Patriarchs and Prophets. What can we learn from Jacob’s experience about the power of importunate prayer and unreserved trust in God?

The Psalms strengthen our faith in God, who is the never-failing Refuge for those who entrust their lives into His mighty hands. “God will do great things for those who trust in Him. The reason why His professed people have no greater strength is that they trust so much to their own wisdom, and do not give the Lord an opportunity to reveal His power in their behalf. He will help His believing children in every emergency if they will place their entire confidence in Him and faithfully obey Him.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 493.

Yet, some psalms can pose a serious challenge when what they promise, and our current situation, do not match. At times such as this, we just have to learn to trust in the goodness of God, most powerfully revealed at the Cross.

Also, at times some psalms can be used to foster false hopes. Jesus’ response to Satan’s corrupted use of Psalm 91:11, 12 shows that trusting God must not be confused with tempting God (Matt. 4:5−7) or presumptuously asking God to do something that is contrary to His will.

“The greatest victories to the church of Christ or to the individual Christian are not those that are gained by talent or education, by wealth or the favor of men. They are those victories that are gained in the audience chamber with God, when earnest, agonizing faith lays hold upon the mighty arm of power.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 203.

Discussion Questions

In class, discuss the answer to the last question in Tuesday’s study about trusting in God amid adversity and when things go terribly wrong. How does one understand these things and how they could happen to people, even with all the wonderful promises in the Psalms about God’s protection? Think about this too: Did not the psalmist, who wrote about those wonderful promises, suffer adversity or know of faithful people who did, as well?
How can we develop unreserved trust in God in all circumstances (e.g. Ps. 91:14; Ps. 143:8, 10; and Ps. 145:18–20)? What can cause us to lose this confidence? Why is trust in God in good times crucial for learning to trust Him in bad times, as well?

Additional Reading: Selected Quotes from Ellen G. White

That I May Know Him, “Under God’s Guardianship,” p. 143;
That I May Know Him, “Quiet Rest in God,” p. 268.

Inside Story ↑

By Joe Peola

Inside Story

Prayer Answered in Perth

Margaret and her husband, Levana, were sitting one morning in their living room in Perth, Australia, after returning the previous night from a trip to Papua New Guinea, located some 2,000 miles (4,500 kilometers) away.

Margaret was reflecting quietly on her father’s parting words at the airport. After praying with her, he had said, “Margaret, Jesus is coming back very soon. When you arrive at your home in Perth, my God will be at your door the next day.”

Not far from Margaret and Levana’s home, literature evangelist Jo Laing and several friends were praying at a Seventh-day Adventist church. They were praying for divine appointments as they prepared to head out for a day of canvassing.

A couple hours later, Jo knocked on the door of Margaret and Levana’s home. The home looked no different from the other houses on the street.

Levana opened the door and politely looked through the cookbook that Jo showed him. But he didn’t express any real interest in the book. Then Jo gave him a copy of Ellen White’s The Great Controversy and began telling him about it.

Levana flipped through several pages and called to his wife.

“Do we have this book?” he asked.

Margaret came to the door and confirmed that they did have the book. She turned to Jo and explained that she was a former Seventh-day Adventist. The words tumbled from her mouth.

“We just came home from Papua New Guinea last night,” she said. “The last thing that my dad said to me was that he would be praying for God to show up at my house.”

It was a hot day in Perth—109.5 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius). But Jo felt goosebumps on her arms. She and Margaret looked at each other with big smiles and marveled at how God had answered the prayer of Margaret’s father.

“Wouldn’t it be great if I could come to your church and share this story?” Margaret said.

“It would,” Jo agreed, and the two exchanged phone numbers.

A few weeks later, Margaret stood with tears in her eyes at Bickley Seventh-day Adventist Church and told her story of how God had found a lost, straying lamb.

God used a woman with a copy of The Great Controversy in Australia to answer a father’s passionate prayer in Papua New Guinea.

Join the Seventh-day Adventist world church in the mass promotion and distribution of The Great Controversy in 2023 and 2024. Visit greatcontroversyproject.org for more information or ask your pastor.

End of Lesson