Advent Service: Where is God when it hurts

Pastor Phillips' Sermon

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Please pray with me. Heavenly Father, there are very difficult times in these lives we live, times when we feel alone, when we feel abandoned, when the pain we have in our heart is beyond description, and all we can do is look to you for comfort. Bless us tonight as we meditate on your word to find strength to carry us through that time. Give us your Holy Spirit to be courageous and confident that you will always love us. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Where is God when it hurts? I've often heard that question used as a title for a book or a title for a sermon or even asked by a person in intense pain and grief. One story that comes to mind that just really captures this idea is when I was a field worker at seminary in St. Louis and I went with some members from the church I was working with to the hospital to visit a little boy. This boy was about 4 years old, and he had been through a very difficult birth and, in the process, had received brain damage. And the child had never come home from the hospital. From an infant to 4 years old, he had never left the hospital and I can remember standing next to that child's hospital bed and he's just a vegetable, as they describe, and my heart was going out to him and I was just praying, “God, I wish I had that gift of healing that Jesus had in the bible and could just heal anything, anytime, and heal that little boy.” And, as I was standing there thinking those thoughts, the father was standing next to me and the pain in this man's face was obvious. And he said, “Where was God when he was being born?”

We go through those moments, don't we? We have those pains in our life because we are this side of heaven. We are in a world that is tainted and fallen. Everything around us is affected by sin, including the most intimate relationships we have. Only God can give us comfort. Only God can get us through those times and give us the strength to trust in Him when we feel deep pain and anguish. David, in our text, had been anointed. Do you remember? He was chosen. He had all those brothers and they were big and strong and impressive, and the prophet was there to select the future king. And, as He went one by one through the brothers, the Father was presenting the oldest first, the most impressive first, and each one the prophet would say, “Nope. This isn't him.” He went through the whole lineup of all the older brothers and he got to the end and he said, “Do you have any more sons?” “Oh, yeah, the youngest, he's out with the sheep. He's out in the pasture and he's watching after the sheep.” “Well, call him in.” And when he came, the prophet knew immediately that was God's choice. What a glorious moment for that family. What a glorious moment for the prophet to see the Lord's anointed.

Back then, the king was also referred to as the Messiah because every king was anointed by God and Messiah means anointed one. So as the prophet saw young David, the shepherd, coming forth, he saw the Lord's anointed and he was filled with joy and he poured oil on his head and he said, “You are chosen by God to rule His people.” What a wonderful moment. And so everything looked like it was going to be good for that family. But do you remember why King David was chosen? It was because King Saul had turned away from God and was trusting in other things. And so he was living in rebellion with God. And when King Saul heard there was a new king anointed, he didn't like that idea. So David became the enemy of the king. And King Saul pursued David from place to place threatening his life. And in that terrible time, young David wrote the words of our Psalm. “How long, O Lord, will I be treated like a fugitive, will I be treated like a criminal? You have anointed me. You've chosen me to be the king and look at how my life is. Will you forget me forever?” Sometimes we feel like God has forgotten us in the midst of our pain because it seems to go on and on with no end in sight. “How long will you hide your face from me?” David says. “How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?” “How long will my enemy triumph over me and I run away and hide?” That was the cry of his heart.

We go through those times, too. I have a friend who hasn't seen his children in over a year. They were taken from him in a very unfair and unjust way. And every time I talk to him, his heart is filled with grief. He's just aching to wrap his arms around his children to tell them he loves them and to hear them say the same. But the circumstances of this life have prevented it. How long do we have to be alone? I can remember my grandmother when my grandfather died, that was in 1982. She lived 23 years after that time. In all that time, she dearly missed her spouse. How long will we grieve the loved one who's died? Those people we love and treasure so dear. I have a friend who died right before we moved here. It will be two years in March, and I think of him every day and the impact he had on my life. He was not even a blood relative. I can't even imagine the pain some of you are going through, having lost children and parents and brothers and sisters. How long do we have to endure this pain? Has God forgotten us, too?

Sometimes, as parents, we go through very challenging times. We struggle in our families with conflict. We struggle to understand how to communicate and to raise our kids in the best way possible. It seems just like a battle all the time. How long?

David, in his anguish, went through a transition. He stopped with this lament, this cry, this complaint. And he turned it into a prayer. And so we can see the transition. He says to God, “Look on me and answer, O Lord, my God. Give light to my eyes or I will sleep in death. My enemy will say, ‘I have overcome him,' and my foes will rejoice when I fall.” When you feel like asking that question, “Where is God when I'm hurting?” think of these words. St. Paul wrote these, “Do not be anxious about anything.” He had plenty of reason to be anxious. His life was on the line. “Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Pour out your heart to God. Just let that pain come out in a prayer to Him.

Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 11, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” I know a lot of you are working very hard. I know a lot of you, this is a very stressful time of year. You're pushing so hard to make ends meet and to take care of all your responsibilities at work and at home and everything else, you're weary and burdened. Jesus says to you, “Come to me and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls.” Doesn't that sound great? From all your schoolwork, from all your overtime, from all the stress and anxiety you have, rest for your souls, peace, the peace of God. Jesus says, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” God invites us, in our pain, to come to Him and put it on Him and let Him carry our load.

David goes through a transition point now from his lament to his prayer and now words of faith and confidence. David says, “But I trust in your unfailing love.” The word in Hebrew is “checed.” It means steadfast love, love that is unwavering, love that nothing can make grow cold, love that is endless, limitless, boundless, steadfast. God's love for you is steadfast. It will never run dry. He is always attentive to your prayer. “But I trust in your unfailing love. My heart rejoices in your salvation. I will fold to the Lord, for He has been good to me.” It sounds like David has the split personality thing going, doesn't it? At first, he's despairing and wondering if he's even going to live through the day and now he is full of praise, focused on God and His love and power, and now the burden is gone and the confidence is there, confidence gained from past experiences, confidence maybe we can look back to the story of David and Goliath, and say, “That's where he got that confidence from.” And now, in the midst of his trial, he's remembering how God delivered him in the past and he's clinging to the hope that God would do the same today and know that God will do it again in the future because that's who God is. He doesn't abandon us when things get tough. That's when he wraps His arms around us and carries us through the mud and the mire. “I trust in your unfailing love. My heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for He has been good to me.” Confidence gained from walking day by day trusting in God.

Hebrews 4:14 gives us wonderful words describing our heavenly Father as somebody we can go to with anything. It says, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess, for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Isn't it wonderful to know this awesome God who created all things, this awesome God who sent His Son to die on the cross and raised Him from the dead, the awesome God looks tenderly and lovingly to you and He hears the cry of your heart when you have your pain.

There's a beautiful hymn. We didn't include it in the worship, but I included it in my message. It's called How Firm a Foundation . Just a beautiful hymn, one of those ancient hymns that just gives you inspiration when you hear the words. Listen carefully as I read them to you. “How firm a foundation, O Saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent word. What more can He say than to you He has said, who unto the Savior for refuge have fled. Fear not, I am with you. Oh be not dismayed, for I am your God and will still give you aid. I'll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand. Upheld by my righteous omnipotent hand. When through fiery trials your pathway will lie, my grace all sufficient will be your supply. The flames will not hurt you. I only designed your dross to consume and your gold to refine. Throughout all their lifetime, my people will prove my sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love and then when gray hairs will their temples adorn, like lambs they will still in my bosom be born.” What great words to remind us of God's constant love, of the word of God that can comfort us and encourage us when we're going through these difficult trials.

Where is God when it hurts? Where is God when we go through a tragedy? He's in that wonderful word, that foundation. He's in the friend that calls you up. He's in the neighbor who brings you something to eat. He's in the doctor who gives healing. He's in the embrace of a dear friend.

Psalm 34 says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” So you can be confident, when things are tough, God is right there with you, eager to help, attentive to your prayer, and He will never leave you. Amen? Amen.

Copyright 2005 Gloria Dei Lutheran Church