SERMON NOTES

PSALM 69:1-3, 13-17, 29-33 (NLT)
(1) Save me, O God, for the floodwaters are up to my neck. (2) Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire; I can’t find a foothold. I am in deep water, and the floods overwhelm me. (3) I am exhausted from crying for help; my throat is parched. My eyes are swollen with weeping, waiting for my God to help me…(13) But I keep praying to you, Lord, hoping this time you will show me favor. In your unfailing love, O God, answer my prayer with your sure salvation. (14) Rescue me from the mud; don’t let me sink any deeper! Save me from those who hate me, and pull me from these deep waters. (15) Don’t let the floods overwhelm me, or the deep waters swallow me, or the pit of death devour me. (16) Answer my prayers, O Lord, for your unfailing love is wonderful. Take care of me, for your mercy is so plentiful. (17) Don’t hide from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in deep trouble…(29) I am suffering and in pain. Rescue me, O God, by your saving power. (30) Then I will praise God’s name with singing, and I will honor him with thanksgiving. (31) For this will please the Lord more than sacrificing cattle, more than presenting a bull with its horns and hooves. (32) The humble will see their God at work and be glad. Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged. (33) For the Lord hears the cries of the needy; he does not despise his imprisoned people.

***New Testament References: Matthew 27:34, Matthew 27:48, Mark 15:36, John 2:17, John 15:25, John 19:28-29, Acts 1:20, Romans 11:9-10, Romans 15:3

GET HONEST ABOUT YOUR PAIN

• We can endure a lot of pain when it's happening around us. But when the storm reaches our heart…That's when it becomes really difficult.
• “Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say “My tooth is aching” than to say “My heart is broken.” -  C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

CRY OUT TO GOD

• David never asks God to take the storm away.
• Sometimes God's answer isn't to remove us from the storm, but to meet us in it and carry us through.
• We can't forget that Jesus suffered too.
• God isn't distant from suffering or removed from it… He's lived it. He's felt it. He knows what it's like.
• Matthew 27:46b (NLT)
  “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
• In Jesus’ suffering, he stayed close to the Father.
• Suffering is not always the result of sin.
• “No sin is necessarily connected with sorrow of heart, for Jesus Christ our Lord once said, ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.’ There was no sin in Him, and consequently none in His deep depression.” - Charles Spurgeon

GOD HEARS OUR CRIES

• God isn’t distant from us in our pain.
• In Jesus’ suffering, God delivers us from ours.
• Throughout Scripture, we see men and women bringing their pain, grief, and questions to God, and over and over again we find a God who meets them there.

Revelation 21:3-7 (NLT)
(3) I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. (4) He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” (5) And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” (6) And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. (7) All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1. What keeps you from being fully honest with God and others about the storms you’re facing?
2. When have you experienced a season where life changed suddenly and left you feeling overwhelmed or exhausted?
3. How does the promise of Revelation 21 give you hope in the middle of present pain or hardship?

SERMON AUDIO