When Doves Cry: Finding Peace in Pain

Jul 05, 2026

Devotional

Sermon Summary

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

66s
#PeaceFoundInGod
“``But then finally, church, this whole idea of this tension of peace and pain as a dove crying. Finally, believe that true peace is found in God. Believe that true peace is found in God. David wanted wings. He wanted to get away to the wilderness. He had convinced himself that peace was a location and that if he could just get far enough away from the betrayal and the pain, he could finally have peace. But God never gave him wings. And God not answering his prayer was not rejection. It was redirection.”
60s
#DontDecideInCrisis
“You isolate yourself. But what bothered me about this is that he says, I wanna go to he says, to fly away, to go to the wilderness. He said, I wanna remain there. Watch this. This is not temporary relief. He says, in the midst of my crisis, I wanna make a permanent decision. I wanna fly away and never come back. He's not asking, god, is this your will? He's not seeking, am I finished with my call? No. No. God, I wanna make a permanent decision. I wanna get away. And and it's listen. What you should never do is make a permanent decision in a temporary situation.”
61s
#OneManTwoSeasons
“That's where he was, and he brought it to God. But what's interesting, he brings all of his pain to God. But if you listen to what he says and how he prays, it really does not sound like David, does it? Now this is the same David who says, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. This is the same David who wrote, the Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? This is the same David that says when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. And yet here he is telling God that horror has overwhelmed If you put some 55 next to some of these other Psalms, you would think you are reading two completely different people. But I wanna suggest you to you, David does not have a split personality. It's one person in two different seasons.”
46s
#ChoosePeaceNotPower
“Notice what he does not ask for. He does not ask for the wings of an eagle. Right. And he does not ask for the wings of a hawk. That's interesting because he's under attack. And the weeds of an eagle represents power, and the wings of a hawk represents conquest. But in this season, in this moment, what he desires most is not power, neither does he desire conquest more than anything. In this season, he desires some peace in his life. Because sometimes church, all you want is some peace.”
53s
#FaithAndFragility
“David desired the wings of dove because doves represents peace, calm, stillness, and tranquility. But let me remind you, this is not some weak man. This is David, a man after God's own heart, and yet David found himself in a valley full of emotional despair so deep that all he wanted was wings so that he could fly far away from his own life. Church, what that means for us is that you can be a follower of God. You could be strong in your faith and still experience weak moments in your life.”
79s
#EscapeWontFixIt
“But don't you know even when you're trying to escape, you can change locations but whatever you are struggling with knows how to pack up and fly wherever you go. And the problem is, he says, he wants to go verse seven to the wilderness. The wilderness is a place of isolation. It's a place of desolation. Sometimes church when you're trying to escape, it causes you to cut people off. Cause you don't wanna be bothered by people. Have you ever noticed that when you're really going through, that's when you really don't wanna talk to folk. You stop responding to text, stop answering the phones, stop replying to emails. People stop by your house unexpectedly and knock on the door. You don't even answer. Stop by your house. I saw your car. Yeah. I called a Uber. Because all you want is to escape.”
57s
#StayHumbleInFaith
“Because just because you're strong in the faith today doesn't mean you're gonna be strong next week. And that's why you can't become all spiritually arrogant just because you got some scriptures memorized and just because you've been in church for a little while and you think you're bigger and better than everybody else. Because all you need is one good storm to come in your life that can knock you down and put you on your back, and then you start really understanding where you are spiritually. Anybody know that you can wake up in the morning, that you could be full, and you could be high, and you could be on your way to heaven. But by the end of the night, something can happen that brings you to a low place. And we all go through what we have to understand, we gotta bring our pains to the Lord.”
47s
#EscapeDoesntHeal
“Somebody in this room know what this feels like. You just wanna escape. So that may be some reason why some turn to the bottom. They're just trying to escape. That's why some people start abusing drugs. They just wanna escape. That's why one person people jump from one partner to the next. They just wanna escape. That's why some people just dive into their work, into their career. It's not just because they're trying to climb the corporate ladder. It's it's because they're trying to escape.”
55s
#LookUpRunToGod
“Because something shifts in the song. David is thinking the only way I could get peace is I gotta get away. I gotta go to the wilderness. I have to escape. He's looking out, but God helped him to understand that while you're going through instead of trying to look out, you gotta learn how to look up. He shifts his focus. And in verse 16, he says, as for me, watch the change, I will call upon my God. Verse 17, he says, evening, morning, and noon, I will pray and cry aloud. He shall hear my voice. Notice, he says, I'm a run to God.”
40s
#WealthWithoutPeaceIsEmpty
“What sense does it make to own a fancy car where you don't feel like driving nowhere? What sense does it make to live in a big old mansion but can't get no sleep at night? David says, what I want more than anything is that I want peace. notice, the only way he thinks he can get peace is that he has to escape. He said, I can't get peace where I am. So if I had wings, I'd fly away.”
76s
#BetrayedButPraying
“Most scholars believe that the backdrop of this son was during the rebellion of his son, Absalom. This is when his own flesh and blood led us an insurrection against him to the degree that Absalom did not just want to take his throne, but he wanted to take his father's life. But also alongside with that betrayal, he also had to deal with the betrayal of a trusted adviser. His his adviser named Ahithrafel, who the bible says he trusted and relied on because his his consultation was like hearing the very word of God. Notice a close friend defected from him to join the sun that turned on him. David is dealing with double betrayal. And in the midst of all of that chaos, he then begins to crowd in verse six and says, oh, that I had wings like a dove. I would fly away and be at rest.”
56s
#BringRestlessHeartToGod
“He keeps on praying and watch what he does. He brings his pain to God. He he he brings his restlessness to God. Verse two, he says, I'm restless in my complaint and moan noisily. Restless means that his mind wouldn't stop racing. That he would lay down at night and couldn't even get any sleep because he was consumed by what was troubling his life. He couldn't shut down his mind. They David brought his despair to God. Verse three says, because of the voice of the enemy and because of the oppression of the wicked for they bring down trouble upon me and in wrath, they hate me. The weight of being hated and being constantly under attack had driven him to the point where he was on the verge of going over the edge.”
59s
#BringPainToGodHonestly
“Yet there's that tension of dealing with the reality of pain, but yet still trying to find that peace. And, yes, doves cry. what do you do when you find yourself in that tension? I'm a believer. I love God, but, man, I'm really going through. What what what do you do when you got all this pain, this weight, the burdens in your life? There there are three things I noticed in this text I wanna lift for our consideration that David shows us. And the first of all is what David shows us is is that when you're in that tension of peace and pain, he says, bring your pain to God honestly.”
39s
#AnointedAndStruggling
“Somebody needs to understand that you can come to church every Sunday. You can love God, serve God, but life can hit you so hard, knock you so low that you don't know if you will be able to get up the next moment in your life. I'm talking to somebody to help you to understand, yes, you may be anointed, but you can be anointed and still struggle with anxiety. You can be devoted to God, but go through something so tragic and so challenging that it could put you into a place of depression and despair.”
53s
#AllTheWorldNoPeace
“Because sometimes church, all you want is some peace. Y'all missing what I'm saying? He said if I had wings as a dove, I would fly away. Wait. Wait. David, you're in a position where everybody wants to be in. You you you are a king. You you you you you've had the royal chariots. You've lived in the palace. You've had power. You've had fortune. You've had faith. You have people who know your name. You had a lot of followers. You've had everything people desire. And David said, yes. I've had all of that. But he says, all of that means nothing when you ain't got no peace.”
48s
#BringFearToGod
“Always having to look over his shoulder, always having to wonder who could he trust. He felt like he was all alone. David brought his fear to God. Verse four he says, my heart is severely pained within me and the terrors of death have fallen upon me. He felt like he was dying on the inside. In the midst of all the terror and the fear because he didn't know if he was gonna make it from one day to the next, he was not just struggling externally, he was struggling internally. And David brought his being overwhelmed to God. Verse five, it says fearfulness and trembling have come upon me and horror has overwhelmed me.”
72s
#PeaceInTheStorm
“Everybody in your section, everybody in your division, on your job can get on your last nerve, but you can still say it is well. You can be in the midst of the worst storm in your life, but you can still give God praise because God can give you pay peace in the midst of your battle. I gotta leave you alone, but can you help me close my little sermon and just look at somebody and say neighbor here's God's word for your life. God can give you peace right where you are. That ought to make you all excited right there. That wherever I am, God can give me peace so I ain't gotta change my location. I just gotta change my outlook to be my outlook that when I look to the hills from which cometh my help, I know all my help come from the Lord.”
63s
#ShareToStrengthen
“But if you look at the superscription of this song, this is a song that was publicly sung with string instruments. I'm moving. But it was publicly sung with string instruments, which means that they sung this in worship. They sung about David's crisis, which meant others heard about what he went through. And others were strengthened because David shared what his struggle was. Wouldn't the church be so much better if we could get to the place where we don't just tell God about what we're going through, but we learn how to be honest with one another to let my neighbor know that I go through as well. Because sometimes people sit by you and think you don't go through anything, but the truth is what they are going through, you've already been through. Are you getting ready to go through? But if we learn how to help each other, we can help each other come through what we're going through.”
47s
#DontGiveUpJoyComes
“David, you know this. You know this, David. Because, David, you said in Psalm 30 verse five, you said weeping may endure for a night. But David says, if you hang on just for a little while, joy will come in the morning. All I'm saying is don't give up before the morning come. I know the night can seem long. I know the night can seem like it will never end, but somebody here know because you've been there. You thought you were staying at that predicament. You thought you can never overcome what you were facing. But is there anybody who could be a witness that God will show up and give you joy in the place where you had sorrow?”
61s
#GratefulForYourSeason
“He says, I would give all of that up. I would walk away from everything, my title, my money, if I can just have some peace. I know that there are some folk who understand what I'm saying, that you can have money, you can have the job, you can have the status, but the truth is if you ain't got no peace, you are still empty and your life still feel void. And that's the reason why you have to be careful of being jealous of what other people have and desire where they are because you don't know what it took to get where they are. You don't know the price they had to pay to get where they are. And maybe you can't handle it, so you ought to thank God for where you are because if wherever you are, God knows that's what you can handle.”
Ask a question about this sermon