13 January 2019
I. Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to Psalm 46:1-3
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in
trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into
the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with
their surging.
-- Dan
considered himself to be the best carpet-layer in his city -- he took pride in
the fact his carpets were always the tightest, smoothest, and best looking in
the city -- one day he took a job that he considered easy for him -- not
challenging at all -- just one room -- nothing complicated -- but in order to
get the carpet laid the way he wanted, it had taken him an hour longer than he anticipated
and so he was running late for his next job
-- as he
hurriedly picked up his tools, he stood back and looked back with admiration
over the job he had just completed -- to his chagrin, he noticed a lump
underneath the carpet -- it was not smooth and taut like he expected --
something was wrong
-- and then
it hit him -- Dan was a smoker and he reached up and checked his shirt pocket
for his cigarettes, and sure enough, they were gone -- that had to explain the
lump -- he had accidentally dropped his pack of cigarettes and laid the carpet
right over them
-- He
didn’t want to spend more time on this job so he took a shortcut -- he took his
hammer and tapped down the lump until the carpet was level and smooth like he
wanted -- he gathered up his tools and rushed to his truck to leave -- but as
he opened the door of his truck, he saw his pack of cigarettes lying on the
front seat -- about that time, the lady of the house came out and asked,
"Have you seen my parakeet? He got loose while you were laying the carpet."
-- the
truth is life has lumps -- it is never the smooth, easy path we long for -- it
is never the perfect life we had planned -- life is lumpy -- there are ups and
there are downs -- but it's not the lumps that make life miserable -- it's how
we deal with the lumps that cause us pain and heartbreak -- failing to handle
the lumps of life the way God wants us to will not only cause unhappiness in
the present, but will also affect our future happiness
-- as we
see in this Psalm, the lumps of life come in a variety of ways -- there are financial
losses -- tragedies of death -- illnesses -- natural disasters -- wars and
crime -- it is a part of living in a fallen world -- it is enough to make us
want to get our hammer out and just beat them down until our world is smooth
again
-- but the
question before us this morning is not how to make the lumps go away but how to
respond to the lumps of life in the way God wants1
II. Scripture Lesson (Psalm 46:1-11)
-- Psalm 46
has to do with trusting God when your life gets lumpy -- it is a declaration of
faith in the grip of fear -- of hope when life looks hopeless -- of confidence
in the face of calamity
-- we were
talking last week about practical steps we can take to begin living life as
highly effective spiritual people -- of taking baby steps of faith to build
lasting spiritual habits in our lives
-- last
week, we talked about setting aside worry and anxiety and replacing that with
the habit of faith -- this week, we’re going to be looking at this Psalm
together to see how we can learn to live lumpy lives by replacing fear with
trust in God
-- verse 1
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in
trouble.
-- the
writer of this Psalm certainly understood what it meant to live a lumpy life --
scholars think this Psalm was written in the turbulent days after the reign of
David and Solomon but before the exile to Babylon -- it would have been a time
of conflict and turmoil -- both from within the nation of Israel as evil and
incompetent kings ruled -- and from without, as the country suffered from the
raids of other nations who stole their food and killed their men and carried
their young women away as slaves
-- it was
also a time of unprecedented natural disasters, as God tried to get the
attention of the nation and turn the heart of the people back to Him
-- in that
day the only place of security for the people were the walled cities -- when
trouble came -- whether it was a raiding party from another country or whether
it was a natural disaster -- the people would run to the city and take refuge
within its walls -- the king would protect them and keep them safe -- he would
feed them in times of famine and plague -- that was his job
-- but now,
the people of Israel didn't know what to do -- they didn't know where to turn
-- they couldn't seek help within the walls of the city, because the king and
his government were part of the problem -- they didn't know where else to turn
-- there was no where to go to find safety and refuge from the troubles that
plagued their lives
-- so the
author of this Psalm opens by pointing the people to a place of refuge and
strength -- a place where they would be safe
-- this is
the Psalm that inspired Martin Luther to write his great hymn, "A Mighty
Fortress is Our God," which starts off with these words:
-- "A
mighty fortress is our God -- a bulwark never failing -- our helper He amid the
flood of mortal ills prevailing"
-- the
picture of God we are given in this verse is that of a mighty fortress -- a
walled city -- a stronghold that protects us from the enemies of our life
-- the
Psalmist tells us that God is our refuge -- our place of security and strength
when our world gets lumpy
-- when
trouble comes -- when the lumps of life get too much for us -- he says,
"run to God -- run into the walls of His stronghold -- run into His arms
of grace -- and let Him protect you"
-- He is
always there for us -- He is ever-present -- as Jesus told us in the New Testament: "I will never leave you or forsake you
-- you can trust in Me"
-- too
often, our first response to a lump in our carpet is to try to fix it on our
own -- we only turn to God when we've made a mess of it -- we need to learn to
run to God first -- to turn to Him for help in the beginning -- to trust Him
with all our lumps -- God is our mighty fortress -- not our spare tire
-- verse 2-3
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into
the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with
their surging.
-- over the
past few years, the U.S. has been experiencing unusual natural disasters --
everything from the hurricanes and excessive rainfall and flooding in our area
to drought and wildfires and earthquakes in other places
-- usually,
when we think of earthquakes, we don’t think of them happening here -- but just
a couple of months ago, there was an earthquake in east Tennessee that shook
homes all the way down into Atlanta -- it just goes to show you that you never
know how and when disaster is going to strike
-- the
earthquake we had here in Georgia was minor -- nothing like the major quakes
that hit California and Alaska -- but can you imagine what it feels like when
the very ground you are standing on starts to move? -- when the one place that
is always constant and secure begins to shift and move? -- when the foundation
beneath your feet is not a safe place anymore?
-- that's
the image the Psalmist is giving us here -- a picture of the earth giving way
-- of the mountains falling into the sea -- of a natural disaster of biblical
proportions
-- but the
author doesn't just mean this literally -- when you experience the death of a
loved one, you feel the ground drop away -- when your boss calls you in and
tells you you've been let go, the mountains fall into the sea -- when sickness
and disease come into your life -- when cars break and homes are damaged and
life just sucks -- it feels like nothing is safe and secure anymore -- it feels
like the ground is moving beneath your feet
-- what do
we do when life just goes wrong? -- where do we turn? -- what is our response?
-- when we
went out to Yellowstone last summer, I did a few small hikes out to see some
waterfalls that were not on the main road -- and I got a little worried, because
any time you got off the main roads in the park, there were signs warning you
about bears -- telling you to not hike alone -- and to make noise and to be
extremely vigilant in looking for bears in the area
-- they had
pamphlets and signs at a couple of the trail heads that told you how to respond
if a bear attacked -- it said to lie down on the ground, cover your head with
your hands, and play dead -- as I was walking along by myself, jumping at every
sound I heard -- just knowing it was a grizzly about to attack me -- I came up
with a better response: "Panic,
then faint."
-- that's
what we do when things go wrong, isn't it? -- we panic -- we worry -- we fret
-- we get anxious -- we run through heads all the things that can go wrong --
all the ways our life has ended -- all the ways that we will never be right
again -- we fear the future
-- but how
does the Psalmist tell us we should respond? -- without fear
-- why
without fear? -- because we should live life with a Pollyanna attitude? -- no,
because we have God on our side as our refuge and strength -- as our
ever-present help -- as our mighty fortress
-- it comes
down to faith -- do you trust God just
during the times things are going good, or do you trust God when life gets
lumpy?
-- let me
ask you this -- have you ever had a problem in your life? -- not right now --
in the past -- have you have had a problem in your life you thought at the time
was insurmountable -- that you would never get through it? -- what happened? --
you survived -- God got you through it -- He took care of it, even though you
probably messed it up before you turned to Him for help
-- so why
would you think He can't help you now? -- even though the ground may feel like
it's falling away from your feet, God has not moved -- and that should let you
face this lump without fear
-- let's
speed up -- verse 4-9
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most
High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of
day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth
melts.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our
fortress.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has
brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with
fire.
-- I was
listening to a podcast this week that talked about the necessity of conflict
and trouble in our lives -- without them, the speaker said, life would be
boring -- we wouldn’t grow -- we wouldn’t learn -- we wouldn’t mature and get
better and stronger and more resilient
-- that’s what the Psalmist is saying here -- life
is lumpy -- nations are in uproar -- kingdoms fall -- the earth gives way
beneath your feet -- conflict and hardship and trouble comes -- that’s just
part of living in this fallen world -- it’s just a fact of life
-- but, the
Psalmist says, in the midst of your conflict -- in the midst of your trials and
troubles and tribulations -- don’t forget this: God is in control -- the Lord
Almighty is with us -- lumpy lives are invitations for God to intervene --
troubles are opportunities for a miracle
-- hearkening
back to the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and the many wars the fledgling
nation endured, the Psalmist reminds his listeners -- God brought victory in
the past, and God will do it again -- God will sustain -- God will provide --
God will intervene and make things right again
-- He will
make the wars cease -- He will be the rock under our feet -- He will be our
fortress of refuge and strength
-- He will
be our river of hope -- our source of sustaining life and endless blessings
-- the
point the Psalmist is trying to get across to his listeners is that when life
gets lumpy, we should not fear, but trust that God will deliver us from all our
trials and tribulations
-- He brought
deliverance in the past -- He made the way through the sea when no path existed
-- He brought victory against overwhelming forces -- He is with us always -- He
is on our side -- so, why do you fear when life gets lumpy? -- why do you worry
about lumps in your life when the God who created the very mountains promises
to help?
-- verse 10-11
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the
nations,
I will be exalted in the
earth.”
11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our
fortress.
-- "Be
still and know that I am God" -- that's one of the most quoted verses in
the Bible, but rarely do we consider the context -- usually when someone quotes
this or when you hear it in a message, the focus is on busyness -- on slowing
down and seeking God -- on experiencing Him in the midst of the hustle and
bustle of life
-- but
that's not what this Psalm is about -- this Psalm is about calamity and
disaster -- about heartbreak and shifting ground and lumpy lives
-- and in
the midst of your life getting shaken and tossed around -- in the midst of our
normal reaction of fear and panic and trying to fix it all on our own, God
speaks and says "Be Still -- stop what you are doing -- stop trying to
solve this by yourself -- be still and know Me -- trust Me -- have faith in Me
-- I am God"
-- when Kim
and I first moved back to Georgia and were staying with my parents, we had a
border collie among all our other various dogs and cats -- and one day, our
dogs got out -- we quickly found all of them but the border collie -- we couldn't
find him anywhere
-- and so
we were out driving the dirt roads around my parent's farm when we saw our dog
coming down the road lickity-split -- he was in full-blown panic -- you could
see it in his eyes -- you could see it in his expression -- he was lost -- he
was alone -- he didn't know where home was -- he didn't know what to do
-- he
literally became blinded with fear -- he ran past us without even slowing down
-- it was like he didn't see us at all -- so Kim jumped out of the truck and
yelled, "Stop -- Stop" -- and finally, her voice penetrated through
the fog of fear and he stopped and turned and when he saw us he literally
leaped for joy and ran into her arms
-- that's
what God is saying here -- when we're in full-blown panic mode -- when fear and
anxiety and worry have taken control and it feels like nothing is going to be
right ever again -- God says "Enough -- Stop -- Be still -- cease your
striving -- let Me take care of it"
-- when God
says here to be still and know that He is God, He's saying there are some
things that only He can do -- and we need to stop and be still and let Him do
them -- we need to trust Him -- to have faith in Him -- to depend on Him
-- that's
not to say the fix will be immediate -- God's not a magic genie -- He's not
going to cross His arms and blink His eyes and do our bidding and solve the
problem the way we want it solved or in our time schedule
-- but when
we stop and know Him -- when we truly know in our hearts and souls that He is
God and let Him have control over our life -- our mountains become mole-hills --
and our lumps become just a speed-bump
-- we have
to remember the promise of Romans 8:28: "And we know that in all things
God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to
his purpose."
-- even
though you may still face problems in your life -- even though you may have
bumps and lumps you have to deal with -- God promises to bring good out of them
-- He brings beauty from ashes -- He brings healing from pain
-- when we
stop and trust in God -- when we know that the Lord God Almighty -- the Creator
of Heaven and Earth is with us and for us -- when we trust Him enough to let Him
be God and not us -- His name will be exalted and we'll soon find ourselves in
the sunshine on the other side of the storm
III. Closing
-- I
mentioned that Martin Luther used this Psalm as the inspiration for the hymn, “A
Mighty Fortress” -- but I didn’t tell you that this was one of Luther’s life
verses -- we all have scriptures that are important to us -- scriptures that we
turn to over and over again for inspiration and hope and encouragement -- Psalm
46 was such a passage for Luther
-- because
of his efforts to reform the church of his day, Luther found himself constantly
under attack -- from the Catholic Church -- from European leaders -- from his
own countrymen -- from religious fanatics
-- and he
famously struggled internally, with doubts and fears and insecurities -- with
spiritual attacks brought about by our enemy to bring his down and stop the reformation
movement
-- but when
times got hard -- when life got lumpy and Luther began to fear -- he would tell
those around him, “Let’s turn to Psalm 46 and sing this together”
-- this Psalm
was a reminder of God’s faithfulness in times of trial and tribulation -- a
reminder that God would sustain and protect and provide
-- a
reminder that God is our fortress -- our refuge and hope -- our strength when
life gets lumpy -- therefore, we will not fear but trust in Him
-- keep
this Psalm in your hearts and your minds -- mark this spot in your Bible -- and
when life gets lumpy -- when times get tough -- when it feels like the very ground
you are standing on is giving way -- turn to this Psalm and declare your faith
and trust in the God who delivers
-- let us
pray
-----------------------------------------------------
1Modified from "Life Has Lumps!" by
Glen Young, The Road
Creek Church
No comments:
Post a Comment