When You're At Wits' End
Psalm 107:27
God's word has the answer for us when we are up against it.
Psalm 107 is written for people who are at their wits end.
Psalm 107 is a spiritual song of immeasurable worth, and contains 4 examples of God's deliverance.
First, we find God's people lost in the wilderness, which is a hopeless situation.
They wandered in the wilderness, lost, hungry and thirsty.
Then when they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, God delivered them out of their distresses,
and He led them out by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
It is time to thank the Most High God.
"Oh! that men might praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the
children of men.
For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness." (Verses 8-9)
Secondly, we find that they are in the shadow of death.
This is another hopeless situation.
Verses 10-12 declare: "Such as sit in darkness and the shadow of death, being bound
in affliction and iron; Because they rebelled against the words of God, and despised the council
of the Most High.
Therefore He brought down their heart with labour; they fell down and there was none to help."
Then again "they cried to the LORD in their trouble..."(Verse 13)
Their prayer was the turning point.
They cried, and God saved them from their distress.
Again, it was time to thank the Most High God.
"Oh! that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works
to the children of men! For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron asunder."
(Verses 15-16)
In the third example they are afflicted because of sin, which was a hopeless situation.
Verse 17 says, "Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities,
are afflicted.
Their soul abhoreth all manner of meat (food); and they draw near unto the gates of death."
They cry for help: "Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble.
And God saveth them out of their distresses. (Verse 19)
He sent his word, and he healed them, and delivered them from their destructions."
The Psalmist declares that it is time to thank the Most High God.
"Oh! that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works
to the children of men." (Verse 21)
Now we come to the fourth situation.
This is the one we wish to focus upon.
This is a situation that has gone bad.
This is a hopeless situation.
In verses 23-26 we read: "They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
they see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep ...
They mount up to heaven, they go down again to the depths; their soul is melted because of trouble.
They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits end!"
In the middle of their voyage, a storm strikes.
Everything has been going well, but now they are in a raging storm.
Their courage has deserted them, and fear has consumed them.
They are "at their wits' end."
The Psalmist has a message for all of us who are self-sufficient.
The time will come when we come to the end of our self-sufficiency.
The sailors have pulled down the sail, and tied themselves to the boat.
They threw out the sea anchor, and emptied the cargo overboard to lighten the boat.
They finally come to the place where they have done all they could possible do.
They are at their wits' end.
This means that they had lost or exhausted any possibility of finding of a way out.
This is the end of all human ability and resources.
There is no escape, no help, no deliverance.
"And (they) were at their wits' end."
Have you ever been at your wits' end?
Have you ever been to the place where you have done everything humanly possible to remedy
your situation?
Maybe you were ready to pull your hair out.
Maybe you were ready to give up.
You were at the end of your rope.
Maybe you even wondered whether you would survive.
You were at your wits' end.
If you have been there, or if you are there now, this is a wonderful message for you.
The sailors cried out for help.
"Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble." (Verse 28)
And God "bringeth them out of their distresses.
He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Then they are glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them into their desired haven."
(Verse 28-30)
I'm sure that there are those in this service who have experienced the storms of life!
There have been times when the circumstances of life so overwhelm us that we reel and
stagger like drunkards.
Wave after wave of trouble and difficulty lash at us, and we can't cope with them.
And we don't know which end is up.
We are at the end of our rope, ready to give up.
We are at our wits' end.
But we read in verse 28, "Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them
out from their distress; he made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad because they had quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven."
When we cry to God we are acknowledging our own inability to do anything for ourselves.
We are saying, "God, you are the one who has the power and the ability and the love to lift me
out of this situation; You are the one who can do this.
We can do nothing without you."
God has all power.
All things are possible with our great God.
God can and will rescue from the very worst circumstances.
All we have to do is cry for help!
And when it comes -- as it surely will -- we must give God the glory so that others may know
where they can go in their time of trouble.
God can dry up flooded areas. (Verses 34-37)
God can make barren deserts into fruitful, watered gardens. (Verses 34-37)
God can bless His people till they and their cattle multiply greatly. (Verse 38)
God can humble the proudest unbeliever. (Verse 40)
God can raise up the poorest of individuals. (Verse 41)
When God acts the righteous are overjoyed and sinners are silenced. (Verse 42)
Verse 43 urges: "Whoso is wise ( if there be any truly wise) will observe and heed these things;
and they will diligently consider the mercy and loving kindness of the Lord."
The message of this psalm should be inscribed on our memory.
This psalm covers every emergency we will ever face.
"Whoso is wise will observe and heed these things."
The wise person will examine and recognize the unsearchable riches of this great psalm.
This psalm is specific enough to help us relate, but general enough to allow us to say with
the Psalmist, “Oh, yes, that’s what I’m going through, too.
I know just exactly what you mean.”
What’s your heartache?
Finances, marital strain, job pressures, health, depression, or spiritual doubts?
Some can say with the Psalmist in v. 4, “that’s my desert, my dry time…”
Is your heartache suffocating you?
Do you believe that your situation is hopeless?
Are you wandering in a wilderness and going nowhere?
Do you feel that all hope is gone?
Then, you are at your wits' end.