Mental Health In The Psalms: 46 Series

MENTAL HEALTH IN THE PSALMS: 46

PSALM 46:1-11

#mentalhealth

INTRODUCTION… Poor Bishop Hooper… youtube.com/watch?v=ZiHHtjwJJKQ [5:48]

READ PSALM 46 (ESV)

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah. 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; He utters His voice, the earth melts. 7 The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah. 8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, how He has brought desolations on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the chariots with fire. 10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” 11 The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah.

INTRODUCTION AND NEED FOR METAL HEALTH EMPHASIS… who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response

Health experts (WHO) define mental health as “a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. It is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in.”

Why bring up this definition? We are finishing a series of three sermons (3 of 3) today in the Psalms where our focus has been mental health. We are continuing an ongoing conversation we have been having since last April (2023) when we focused on this same topic. Mental health is not a topic that is spoken about often in Church, but is a worthy topic for us. It is a worthy topic for us because emotional health and spiritual health need not be mutually exclusive. It is my hope and prayer to overall encourage you in these weeks as we dig through the Psalms to look at mental health and to see it as a normal regular important part of life and health and wholeness.

* I want you to see the spiritual and the mental together rather than something that is separate.

* I want you to see God and His presence are an essential element to being mentally healthy.

* I want you to see that therapy or medicine is a blessing or a tool given by God to help as well.

* I want you to see the spiritual and the mental together rather than something that is separate.

TRANSITION

Psalm 46 is a Psalm used in worship by the Israelites. It is a song about the world coming apart around them, but God is in the midst of them and so they are able to cope with stress and disaster and life coming apart at the seams. Over and over again in the Psalm God says He is with them which is meant to be a great comfort: “very present help,” “God is in the midst,” “God will help,” “with us,” “is our fortress,” “with us,” “is our fortress.” Like I said, over and over again in the Psalm God says He is with them which is a great comfort when life feels against us.

Let’s dig into Psalm 46 a little deeper. We first find that life is described as not going well at all in the Psalm.

THE SITUATION: MY LIFE IS A DUMPSTER FIRE

As we look over Psalm 46, we see that life is described as: “trouble” (verse 1), “earth gives way” (verse 2), “mountains be moved,” (verse 2) “waters roar and foam,” (verse 3), “mountains tremble” (verse 3), “nations rage kingdoms totter,” (verse 6), “earth melts,” “desolations on the earth” (verse 8), “wars,” (verse 9), and “[burning] chariots” (verse 9). I don’t know how David or others in his day might have summarized life like that or a day like that or a season like that, but in our day we use a slang phrase and say: “Life is a dumpster fire.”

ILLUSTRATION/CONTENT… dictionary.com/browse/dumpster-fire [adapted]

For those not hip to the slang, what is “a dumpster fire?” A “dumpster fire” is either (1) a fire in a large bin for trash or (2) a situation, person, or thing that is disastrous and often is out of control.

The name of the large trash container we now call a dumpster was originally a trademarked term. It was introduced in the 1930s by the Dempster Brothers Company of Knoxville, Tennessee as the Dempster Dumpster. The first records of the phrase “dumpster fire” referring to a literal fire in a dumpster come from the 1950s, but its literal sense is not a common term like forest fire or house fire. A literal dumpster fire is often caused accidentally.