Twenty years ago, I had to go in the hospital for a test to find out what was causing abnormal readings in some lab results. Although this was a fairly routine procedure, and my faith was placed completely in God, it still was a time of distress as I was facing the unknown. As the anesthesiologist placed the mask over my face to put me under, I realized how much I was entirely in God’s hands.

Many of us have had to go through times of distress or trouble. God caused this psalm to be written and included in scripture so that we could refer to it when we are in distress – any time things come against us over which we have no control. There are eight promises in this psalm that God gives when we are in trouble:

1. God protects us (verse 1)

2. God sends us help and support (verse 2)

3. God remembers us (verse 3)

4. God grants us our heart’s desires (verse 4)

5. God fulfills all our petitions (verse 5)

6. God gives us victories (verse 6)

7. God raises us up (verse 8)

8. God answers us when we call (verse 9)

This is a psalm of confidence. It is also a psalm of faith. When we are facing troubles, we can trust God to see us through.

To the Leader. A psalm of David.

1. How do you handle distress? What are some of the wrong ways we respond to trouble?

There seems to be little doubt that this is a psalm of David. The statement of faith in verse 7 sounds like it would come from the same person who said to Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:45, "You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied."

David had learned no matter how strong the enemy appeared, God would grant the victory. He had learned to trust in his God. As a shepherd, as a warrior, as a fugitive, and as a king; he had seen God’s grace on his life. He knew God would protect and help him. So he wrote this psalm so that we would know it too.

The Lord answer you in the day of trouble! The name of the God of Jacob protect you!

2. Give some examples of how God protected Jacob. How has God protected you during a difficult time in your life?

God will protect us in the day of trouble. David talks about Jacob. No doubt he is referring to the whole nation of Israel as Stuhlmueller comments, "The name of the God of Jacob extends God’s pledge of fidelity and compassion to...all Israel." However, David may also be thinking of the time when Jacob was in distress in Genesis 32:7. The same way God was with Jacob, God will also be with us. Jacob was returning to his home country after serving Laban for 14 years when his messengers told him his brother Esau came to meet him with 400 men.

Have someone read Genesis 32:7

Genesis 32:7 tells us, "Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed."

God’s protecting hand was upon Jacob, and he and his brother were reconciled. Years later, he remembered how God delivered him and decided to build an altar at Bethel as a memorial.

Have someone read Genesis 35:3

Jacob said in Genesis 35:3, "I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress."

The promise here in Psalm 20 is that God will protect us in the same way. When we are afraid and distressed, God will be there. In fact, the Hebrew in verse 1 for "protect" means to be high or exalted: in other words, to be set so high by God as to be inaccessible from trouble. This is the way God protects us: by lifting us out of our troubles so they can’t affect us. Do you need that spiritual lifting? Allow the Holy Spirit to minister the truth of this verse to your heart. You will find that although trouble may be all around you, it cannot reach you because you are under God’s protection.

May he send you help from the sanctuary, and give you support from Zion!

3. How can we get "help from the sanctuary"? In what ways does attending church strengthen us?

God sends us help and support. No matter what distress you may be facing, God promises help. Notice here in this verse, we are promised assistance from the sanctuary. The fact is when we enter the sanctuary on Sundays, we can expect God to help us from heaven. Of course, God also helps us throughout the week. But sometimes when we are worshipping in the sanctuary, we understand the divine help better. God’s presence somehow seems more real to us.

It is interesting that in verse 6 we are also promised aid from heaven. So whether it’s from heaven or the sanctuary, we can be glad that God is willing to send us help when we need it the most.

Share an example of how others in church have supported you during a difficult time.

Too many people, when they are facing times of trouble, neglect attending the house of God. But it is in the sanctuary that God’s help and strength will be made alive to us. When we are gathered together with other Christians, our spirit is renewed.

May he remember all your offerings, and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. Selah

4. What offerings and sacrifices can we bring to God? Describe a time when you felt forgotten by God.

God remembers us. Although we may feel that everyone has abandoned us, it is important to realize that God still remembers us and has not forgotten us in our misery. God is ready to help us and will not leave us alone in our troubles.

We may think we have been forgotten and then all of a sudden it seems like God remembers us and comes rushing to our aid. But God is with us all the time. Those times when we aren’t sure where help is, we need to understand that God is working on our behalf, causing things to happen and helping us learn important lessons of trust, steadfastness, and faithfulness. It only appears that we are suddenly remembered by divine assistance. God was actually there with us all the time – making us, shaping us, and molding us into the kind of person that we are growing to become.

Samuel Rutherford was once in deep distress. But afterwards he realized that the time when he felt like quitting and giving up hope was a time for God to work a purpose in Rutherford’s life. He wrote, "Fool that I was not to know that the messages of God are not to be read through the envelope in which they are enclosed." The adversity you are facing may simply be a message from God disguised as trouble. Don’t look at the envelope. Try to read the message from God.

This verse talks about bringing sacrifices to God. This is a lesson that God wants us to learn.

Have one or two people read Romans 12:1 and Hebrews 13:15

We are to present ourselves as living sacrifices as Paul wrote in Romans 12:1, "I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."

And we are also instructed to bring a sacrifice of praise in Hebrews 13:15, "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess his name." There may be times when we don’t feel like trusting or praising God . But we must set aside our feelings, sacrifice our doubts, and trust that God does indeed remember us in our distress.

What does Selah mean?

May he grant you your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your plans.

5. How does God grant us our heart’s desires? What if our desires are wrong?

God will grant you your heart’s desires. Some may question how God can do this when some of our desires are so selfish and sinful. But as we spend time in prayer and in Bible study, we find something remarkable happening. Our desires are changed. Our selfish attitudes are diminished as God affects our thoughts and renews our mind. As Stedman wrote, "When our hearts have been cleansed by the word of God and by prayer, then what is left is what God wants for us."

Share some good things you have been longing for.

So what good thing have you been longing for? What spiritual intervention have you been praying for in your life? What help in your family do you desire to see? God promised to grant your heart’s desires. There is no distress so great that God cannot send peace and comfort. Let us learn to trust in God who will not only help us, but will fulfill all of our plans.

May we shout for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.

6. What are the nature of petitions that you bring before God? Why are we sometimes hesitant to ask God for help?

God will fulfill all our petitions. No matter what you may ask, if it is according to God’s will, your requests will be granted. This is cause to shout for joy as the psalmist declares in this verse. We have been given a wonderful privilege. Just as in verses 1 and 7, David here mentions the "name of our God." It is in God’s name that we can place our trust.

Share what it is about God’s name that is an encouragement to you.

God’s name is above every name and is the name we can count on. We don’t trust in our own name because of our goodness, or the name and goodness of our church. We don’t rest on the name of the traditions of our faith or on the names of Christian ancestors. Our faith is in only one name. That name is the name of our God. That name is the only name that will never disappoint us.

Comments from an Early Restoration Movement Leader

In 1897, J.W. McGarvey wrote, "The sentiments expressed in the Psalms came from the hearts of the authors.... They were written under so great a variety of circumstances that they express the sentiment of godly men in almost any condition in which men find themselves today; and therefore they are adapted to our edification in all the varied scenes of life."

Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand.

7. How do you think David could know that God would answer him? How do you know that God will answer you?

God gives us victories. But not just victories – we are given mighty victories. No matter what turmoil or confusion we may be facing, we can count on a mighty victory from our God. So why do so many Christians go around looking as if they are defeated? We are not defeated. We are victorious.

Share how God has given you a mighty victory.

Adam Clarke wrote in 1825, "The hand of God is his power; the right hand, his almighty power; the strength of his right hand, his almighty power in action; the saving strength of his right hand, the miraculous effects wrought by his almighty power brought into action."

Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God. They will collapse and fall, but we shall rise and stand upright.

8. What is it that you take pride in? In what institutions have you placed your trust?

God raises us up. David gives an example that a king would use – trusting in the military might of his forces instead of in God. Chariots in David’s time were an important part of strong military nations. Usually they were drawn by horses with a driver and soldier. The floor of the chariot was made of stretched rope which gave a spring to the soldier fighting from the chariot. Their speed and mobility were definite advantages, but they needed smooth and dry ground in order to be effective. If an army had a large number of chariots it was something to boast of.

The account of Solomon’s chariots in 1 Kings 10:26

In 1 Kings 10:26 we are told that David’s son Solomon had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses which were stationed at fortress cities throughout the kingdom, and I Kings 9:15 specifically names three of these cities – Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. It was during the reign of Solomon that Israel achieved its highest military might. Archaeological excavations at the three sites mentioned in 1 Kings 9:15 have revealed large city gate structures of identical design all dated from the time of Solomon’s reign. There were even found extensive stables for the horses!

We may not be a king or leader of a country, but we can trust in the wrong things too. We may trust in our own abilities or talents or resources. Sometimes, it is only when our skill, health, or finances dwindle that we learn how to truly trust in the name of the Lord our God. Notice that David says that those who trust in these earthly things will collapse and fall. When we trust in our own ability, we will collapse and fall. We need to learn to trust in God who is the one that will raise us up.

Barnes comments, "He is certain of success and triumph. Depressed though we may now be, yet we are certain of victory." If you are going through a time of distress, don’t trust in the things of this world, but put your trust in God.

Give victory to the king, O Lord; answer us when we call.

9. Have you ever felt like God wasn’t there for you? How do you call upon God?

God answers us when we call. Not only are our prayers heard but they are answered. God doesn’t ignore our plight, but is aware of everything that comes against us. Often we compound our troubles by imagining that God doesn’t care what we are going through – we feel that God is unaware of our distress.

Have someone read Matthew 10:29-31

Jesus assured us in Matthew 10:29-31, "Not one sparrow (What do they cost? Two for a penny?) can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t worry! You are more valuable to him than many sparrows."

This is our confidence: God not only hears us, but also answers us. God cares about our struggles. As Spurgeon wrote, "Troubles roar like thunder, but the believer’s voice will be heard above the storm."

God will hear us no matter what the nature of the distress is. God will always be there: in trouble, adversity, need, calamity – whenever we are in turmoil. What adversity are you facing? Is it conflict in the family, financial problems, stress at work, emotional problems, spiritual battles? No matter what the distress, God is there to meet your need. This is the promise of this psalm: God will answer us in the day of trouble.