Don’t Microwave the Fish | Psalm 120

This message explores Psalm 120 and asks a practical question: **Where do you take your troubles?** The psalmist is surrounded by conflict, dishonesty, and people who seem determined to create division, yet instead of hiding his frustration, he honestly brings it before God. The message reminds us that an honest prayer is a good prayer and challenges us to recognize the lies we sometimes believe—not only those told by others, but the ones we tell ourselves through fear, shame, pride, bitterness, and rationalization. Rather than seeking retribution when we’ve been wronged, we’re called to pursue righteousness and respond in ways that display God’s grace.

This message also identifies three places we tend to take our troubles: **out on others, to the world, or to the Lord.** When we bury our struggles, they eventually spill into our relationships, and when we look to the world for relief, its solutions ultimately fail to satisfy. Psalm 120 offers a better way: make prayer our first response rather than our last resort. Taking our troubles to God means actually trusting them to Him, surrendering control, and being willing to follow His direction even when it requires humility, forgiveness, or doing something we don’t want to do. Ultimately, this message challenges us to bring every trouble—big or small—to the Lord, trusting that His way is better and that He wants to help us through what we’re facing.