Through the Smoke

The smoke is getting thicker now, my lungs are gasping for clean air. My vision is getting a little blurry; I’m getting a little lightheaded. Knowing if I pass out I might die, I keep going, I push through and try to get to the place where I can finally escape the smoke.

My mind is filled with many thoughts, many questions.

Why me? How did I get in this situation? What did I do to deserve this? Does God not see me down here? Does He not know that I am struggling right now?

I put the emergency brake on and get out of the smoke-filled 1988 Ford Bronco II.

My clothes have the fresh scent of anti-freeze thanks to the leaky heater core and my first twenty minutes or so of school will be a daze as my head clears from the smoke intake. Walking across the parking lot I am assaulted by the sound of a very powerful engine revving. A powerful engine attached to a very expensive car I might add. The guy driving it is a jerk. No really, he’s a jerk. He doesn’t know or walk with God, he treats girls like with no respect, he has a dirtier mouth than any sailor I’ve ever known…which is none, but you get the point. The guy is a jerk.

And again my mind is filled with all these questions.

Why me? Why do I have a smoking car and this jerk gets a Lexus? What did I do to be the lowest guy on the totem pole? I’ve tried to walk with God, is this how I get repaid? Doesn’t God see what I do for Him? Doesn’t He know it’s tough to smell like anti-freeze all day when you’re trying to get a high school girlfriend?

Ever felt like this before? In Psalm 4 we see David dealing with people who had some of the same feelings…

¹Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

²O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?
Selah

³But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;
the LORD hears when I call to him.

⁴ Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.
Selah

⁵Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the LORD.

⁶There are many who say, "Who will show us some good?
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!"
⁷You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.

⁸In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

God is so good. It’s almost as if in His sovereignty He put tailor-made examples in the Scripture to teach us personally through the struggles of those who have gone before us. He has an perfect understanding of human nature and the issues we face…because He created us in the first place!

A perfect example is in Psalm 4 where King David was dealing with the same problem I was addressing earlier. He was crying out to God about the “men of rank” who were around him. He was asking God to please give him an answer, please hear his prayer.

Now I don’t know all that was going on when this was written. But it appears the “men of rank” were seeking after worldly things and David was teaching them the same lesson that I needed to learn in my smoke-filled Bronco.

He says, “How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?” Lies such as a nice car is what you need to live a happy life. Or maybe it’s a different lie for you. Maybe it’s your friends are getting married before you - so their lives must be so much fuller than yours. Maybe it’s that other guy who has the successful job - his financial worries must be over. Maybe it’s that other girl’s personality or looks - she must have an easy life, people probably love her, how could they not? Any of these sound familiar? Ever believed these lies? Are you believing them now?

How long will you love these vain words and seek after these lies? They alone will never bring you true joy or fulfillment. “But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for Himself, the Lord hears when I call to Him.”

Read verse 3 again. The Lord has set you apart for Himself if you walk in obedience with Him! You are different; you don’t need those things to have joy!

You will be set apart for Christ, something that is of infinitely more value than a nice car, beautiful wife, or good job. He will use you to bring Him glory! What an incredible privilege.

And by the way, He hears you, of course He hears you! If He doesn’t give you something it’s not because He didn’t hear, but because He has a different plan than you at the moment.

Now don’t take this all too far. I am not saying those things are bad. I am saying the lie that they bring true happiness is bad, and will blind you from something much greater.

David then says in verses 4-5, to paraphrase: don’t get mad and sin because of this, don’t do anything stupid, but work this out in your heart. Offer the right sacrifices-your life, your money, your rights and then trust God. Simple enough right?

But many will still say, who is going to help me get these things? Who will show me some good? God look at me! Pay attention to my needs! (vs6)

I love this part of the passage, David begins speaking to God in prayer: “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.”

You see? If we will stop seeking lies, walk with God in obedience, offer right sacrifices, and put our trust in God, He will put more joy in our hearts than any of those things we think we need!

So when you are trying to push through the smoke, with your mind full of questions for God, I pray you will decide to trust God and focus more on Him and His plan to use you for His glory, than dwelling on the things you think you lack.

Then like David you can say, “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety”.