Gospel Hope To A Downcast Soul

Introduction:

Anxious. Abandoned. Scared. Lonely. Dark. Depressed. Forsaken. Despair.

Do any of these sound familiar? Have you ever had a season of life marked by these adjectives? Perhaps you lost a child, a sibling, a parent. Perhaps life was going great and then out of nowhere tragedy struck. Maybe you struggle with anxiety or depression from time to time. Maybe the mistakes you have made in your past haunt your good memories and ravage them.

In his book “Hillbilly Elegy” J.D. Vance makes this profound statement: “The fallen world described by the Christian religion matched the world I saw around me…When I asked Mamaw if God loved us, I asked her to reassure me that this religion of ours could still make sense of the world we lived in. I needed reassurance of some deeper justice, some cadence or rhythm that lurked beneath the heartache and chaos.”

Above all else, my aim in this sermon is to point your eyes to Christ. Christ is exactly what Mr. Vance needed in his chaotic life, and it is what every single person here today needs.

If you haven’t already, turn to Psalm 13. Charles Spurgeon, the famous 19th century London pastor, said concerning this Psalm: “If the reader has never yet found occasion to use the language of the brief ode, he will do so ere long, if he be a man after the Lord’s own heart.” I agree with Spurgeon, because as Christians I think we struggle to admit when life is dark. I’m not talking about when we have a bad day at work, or we do something irresponsible, and we must live with the repercussions of it (although those things can contribute to a season of life of which we are talking about).

What I am talking about are the seasons of life that occur after something traumatic. The eighteenth anniversary of 9/11 is just three days away. It is a somber experience to walk around that memorial. As you walk around and you read name after name after name of those who died the grief that the numerous families deal with still to this day becomes real. The darkness of that infamous day is tangible. Perhaps you have lost a loved one recently. I have a younger brother who, in my perfect world, should be here today. But in God’s omnipotent, and eternally self-glorifying providence he died shortly after birth twenty-four years ago. July 1st can be an emotionally exhausting day for me sometimes (even though I try to brighten it up with endless posts on social media about the New York Mets paying Bobby Bonilla $1.19 Million for years after he retired). THAT is the sort of emotional turmoil we are talking about today.

This message is admittedly dark and gloomy. That’s ok! The American Christian church, by and large it seems, has this misconception that Christianity is all about sunshine and fresh smelling roses. And if you are going through a season of anxiety, grief, distress, etc… then it is simply because you lack faith—or so they say. But today I set out for us to walk through these six verses and learn from Scripture what the biblical cycle of grief looks like. If you’re like me, sometimes you simply do not know how to pray. You just don’t. There are all these emotions, but no words.

It has been said that “the Psalms teach us that it is ok to pray…

• Help me

• I don’t know

• I am afraid

• I am alone

• I am angry

• I am sorrowful

• Do you hear me?

• Why is this happening?

…while we wait helplessly. In hope.”

It is my hope and prayer today that whenever you find yourself in a season where God seems distant, you will turn to Psalm 13 and you will read it and pray it over and over and over and over again. I hope that you will remember that it is ok to wait helplessly for God to intervene—but that you wait helplessly in hope in Christ. We need it because we live in a world that is ravished by sin and it provides the remedy for the world—“I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.”

This Psalm, like so many, is broken down into three easy stanzas. Because I like to keep things simple, and because I’m a good Baptist, they will be our three points. I will admit up front that the wording of the points are neither clever nor original. I borrowed them from the Prince of Preachers, Spurgeon. Nevertheless, they are incredibly helpful for us today. So if you’re taking notes you can jot down these three points: The Question of Anxiety (1-2), The Cry of Prayer (3-4) and the Song of Faith (5-6).