“‘Man is born to trouble;’ he is heir apparent to it; he comes into the world with a cry, and goes out with a groan.”
Thomas Watson
Last Sunday’s sermon was a close look at Psalm 77 and an exploration of the grace of lament. Here is a portion and summary of some of Jay’s sermon:
We live in a world that is not as it should be, not as it once was. Sin has affected and infected everything. Even as babies, our very first reaction to this broken world is one of heartfelt protest. “I don’t like this!” We cry. We lament. To lament is to be human. The book of Job tells us that we are “born to trouble as surely as the sparks fly upward (Job 5:7 NIV),” and boy, do we know it. We suffer. We experience indescribable pain. And that pain can be blinding.
The Christian does not lament as the world does though. We do not suffer and lament as those who have no hope. Our lament in the pit of blinding pain and suffering is, as Mark Vroegop, in Dark Clouds Deep Mercy, puts it, “the honest cry of a hurting heart wrestling with the paradox of pain and the promise of God’s goodness.” We lament, yes, because we are in pain, but also because we know who God is. “God, you are good. You are gracious. You are merciful. You rescue the hurting and needy. But where are You? My world right now doesn’t feel like those things are true of You.”
We must cry out to our Savior! Cry out to the only one who offers true hope and comfort. Asaph, and many others, including David, model how to be honest with God. Pray, plead, cry out, ask the tough questions. God already knows and if we go to Him, He will begin to move us, to remind us who He is, to give us hope and comfort through His Spirit. Charles Spurgeon said, “Memory is a fit handmaid for faith,” and that is what we are called to walk by.
God cares more than we can imagine. He loves us and He has always been faithful. Always. Remember?
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take
The clouds you so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head. [William Cowper]
A big “thank you” to Jay for preaching and a bigger “thank you” to the Lord who has blessed The Road with a number of men who will faithfully bring us sermons from the Scriptures. Have a blessed week and we will see many of you on Sunday.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Dale
