I preached a message last night on Psalm 88. I think this message was unique to any I had ever preached before. This psalm is a song but not one we really want to sing. You see it is a very, very sad song. A message of no hope. The psalmist seems to be in desperate and in unconsolable way. He has cried out to God and seems to be angry that God did not answer him. Or at least from his point of view God did not answer.
When life has bitter and sad moments all of us can for a minute or two feel there is no hope. There are moments we sing this song when life's terrible realities confront us and we hurt so much that we will cry out to God, and we want an answer. Sometimes there are no answers to be understood on this side of heaven. Human suffering and death are stark realities in the world and when it comes early or unexpectedly we can join the psalmist in the song of Psalm 88. Here are a few of the verses that describe how he feels when he cried out to God and the singer feels God is ignoring him or worse has doomed him. Note verse 6 ... "you have put me."
Psalm 88 3-7 ESV
3 For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am a man who has no strength,
5 like one set loose among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
for they are cut off from your hand.
6 You have put me in the depths of the pit,
in the regions dark and deep.
7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves.
As a police Chaplain and a pastor I have seen despair and hopelessness in the face of people too many times. Every fiber of my being wants to cry out when I see this, "There is always Hope in Christ Jesus."
Just because we do not understand,
Just because it is not what we would want done,
Just because there are things we do not like,
Just because we say words as a prayer and we do not get magical results,
Just because there is heartache,
Just because there is tragedy:
Including things that are unfair,
things that are horrible,
things that are evil and wicked.
JUST BECAUSE of the mess the world is in around us does not mean that God does not care or that He is not there. Here is the truth:
Romans 8:37-39 ESV
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Hope is always found in Jesus Christ!
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