MY HOPE IS IN YOU: The Heart Broken by Grief 4-24-22

MY HOPE IS IN YOU: The Hear Broken by Grief 4-24-22

 

INTRODUCTION

 

As we concluded the sermon series, “The God of Hope,” on Easter we move into a series called, “My Hope is In You,” inspired by a book by Bill Crowder.  This series will look at psalms that comfort and mend the soul.  We will be looking at various topics in which we need hope.  Our topic this week is grief.

 

Charlie Brown “Good Grief!”

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross “On Death and Dying” (5 stages of grief)

 

“Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long? Turn, Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. Among the dead no one proclaims your name. Who praises you from the grave? I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes. Away from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer. All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish; they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.”

                            Psalms 6:1-10 NIV

 

I.  GRIEF

                           

              A.  Grief is personal.

             

“I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.”

                            Psalms 6:6-7 NIV

 

“My eye wastes away because of grief; It grows old because of all my enemies.”

                            Psalms 6:7 NKJV

 

                            1.  The death of my beloved grandfather

                            2.  The death of our beloved Phyllis Washburn

 

              B.  Grief is honest.

 

                            1.  David has issues with others, but his greatest issue is with God.

 

                                          a.  David feels as though he is being punished.

 

“Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.”

                            Psalms 6:1 NIV

 

                                          b.  David feels this pain to the bones.

 

“My soul is in deep anguish.”

                            Psalms 6:3a NIV

 

                                          c.  David feels abandoned by God.

 

“How long, Lord, how long?”

                            Psalms 6:3b NIV

              C.  Grief is painful.

 

“Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.”

                            Psalms 6:2 NIV

 

                            1.  Grief makes us weak.

                            2.  Grief hurts down to the core.

 

              D.  Grief longs for rescue.

 

“Turn, Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. Among the dead no one proclaims your name. Who praises you from the grave?”

                            Psalms 6:4-5 NIV

 

                            1.  David recalls his favorite refrain, “HIs love endures forever.”

                            2.  David remembers that God will rescue him.

 

II.  GRIEF’S DEEP RESPONSE

 

“I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.”

                            Psalms 6:6-7 NIV           

 

              A.  Fatigue

 

“I am worn out from my groaning.”

                            Psalms 6:6a NIV

 

              B.  Tears

 

“All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.”       

                            Psalms 6:6b NIV

 

              C.  Sorrows

 

“My eyes grow weak with sorrow;”

                            Psalms 6:7a NIV

 

              D.  Fears

 

 “they fail because of all my foes.”

                            Psalms 6:7b NIV

 

The only way out - the way of trust.

 

III.  THE CONFIDENCE OF FAITH

 

The only survivor of a shipwreck washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

 

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions.

 

But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky.

The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stung with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this to me!" he cried.

 

Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him.

 

"How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers.

 

"We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

 

“Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;”

                            Job 13:15a NIV

 

“I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.”

                            Job 19:25 NIV

 

              A.  The present trust

 

“Away from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer.”

                            Psalms 6:8-9 NIV

 

              B.  The future hope

 

“All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish; they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.”

                            Psalms 6:10 NIV

 

                            1.  Future tense of verse 10 compared to the present of verses 1-9

 

“So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”

                            John 16:22 NIV

 

              C.  Purposeful grief

 

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

                            2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV

 

"You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death. It is easy to say you believe a rope to be strong as long as you are merely using it to cord a box. But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a precipice. Wouldn’t you then first discover how much you really trusted it?"

                            C. S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

God is with us in our grief.  We have a deep response to grief.  We can overcome by the confidence of faith.

 

CHALLENGE

 

What will you do with what you have just heard?  How will you respond to the Holy Spirit working within you?  The Challenge is intended to give us an opportunity to contemplate what God is calling us to do in our lives.  Consider these questions and write down your answers. 

 

              1.  Are you currently suffering from grief?

              2.  Do you long for rescue?

              3.  What is your most common response to grief (fatigue, tears, sorrows, fears)?

              4.  Do you have the confidence of faith?

              5. What purpose can you see in grief?

 

INVITATION

 

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.