Early august, 2022, I had the privilege of doing a presentation in Denver at the Rocky Mountain Symposium on Addictive Disorders, the Integration of Spirituality and Psychotherapy. The dialogue it stimulated was exciting, especially with the wide range of professionals attending. One counselor wanted to sit and talk. He had been the leader of a hard rock band, and I could tell his spiritual journey grew out of an agnostic perspective—I sensed he was reacting toward something. He talked about how many people have the language of spirituality but do not have profound experiences that match the language they use. In the presentation I had to share a quick story from my life. I was able to share my journey from embracing a spirituality my dad and the church handed me. I was baptized at age nine—I have never doubted the genuineness of that experience. Yet it was not until my late twenties that my salvation became meaningful in a lived-experienced faith.
This song is one of the “Hallel Psalms” that was used during Passover, following the meal—Psalm 113 & 114 preceded Passover.
Psalm 113
1Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.
2Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.
3From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised. (KJV)
1 Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, you his servants;
praise the name of the LORD.
2 Let the name of the LORD be praised,
both now and forevermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,
the name of the LORD is to be praised. (NIV)
I love the stories behind songs.
Hugh Wamble, as he faced death wrote a new verse to a song that reflected his experience; I believe it was It is Well with My Soul. Sadly, it is often hard to hear the words as people sing and we know little about the lived experience of the author. Too many people focus on the style of music or sing it out of context—void of personal experience. With contemporary Christian music, you hear a lot about people’s personal experience along with truths of God. It is Well with My Soul was written by Horatio Spafford after the tragic death of his son and properties due to the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. He then lost his 4 daughters in a shipwreck in 1873. He wrote the song as a testament to his faith and trust in God through the good and bad times of life. The song originally had only four verses. His daughter who was born after the tragedy wrote another verse—reflective of her experience and spiritual insight.
He wrote.
It is Well with My Soul
1.
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
2. Tho' Satan should buffet, tho' trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
3. My sin - oh, the bliss of this glorious tho't:
My sin, not in part, but the whole
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
4. And, Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend,
"Even so," it is well with my soul.
Refrain:
It is well (it is well)
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Psalm 116 is a song of thanksgiving for deliverance. The Psalmist’s Song does not tell us the circumstance that caused his traumatic experience. He does tell us about his journey through perhaps the most difficult time of his life. The author is unknown; some hold he was perhaps David and the situation where Amnon, who was Absolom’s half-brother, who raped Tamar. Absalom took revenge and killed Amnon. The Psalmist would not want us to make light of the meaning of this beautiful song—it was his song. He had most likely been thinking about his situation for some time, about the nature of his deliverance he hoped for. Perhaps, the words were first uttered to God out in some lonely and remote place. I would think that as people heard his story-song their hearts were touched. I fear, unfortunately, after a period time it became a ritualistic part of Passover—they just sang it.
Each time I read this psalm my personal experience of crying out to the Lord finds identity with the psalmist. It is at that point that it becomes my song. Literally, as I hope you will see, I can identify in a personal way with each movement of the Psalm. Over 30 times the Psalmist uses personal pronouns, “I”, “me”, and “my.” Unfortunately, we don’t know the nature and extent of the Psalmist’s despair. However, the song lets us know what he did and what happened out of that lived experience. What I can do is place my story alongside each movement of this, “My”, song.
My Story.
When in the 7th grade I had exploratory surgery. I knew it involved my pancreas and a question about a serious fall/injury was posed. I recall us playing in the barn against our parents’ advice. As we heard our fathers on their way to the barn, we began to scramble down from the loft. I had climbed down to the top of the barn gate and thought I could jump. I did but landed flat on my back. I couldn’t breathe but got up and walked past my dad and into our guest’s house. When my mother and the other ladies saw me, they screamed and wanted to know what happened. That was perhaps the fall/injury the medical team was interested in.
In 1971 I became an engineer on the Kansas City Southern Railroad, the 3rd youngest person ever promoted to an engineer. I made excellent money and had no problem spending it on things like a 4-wheel drive truck, a fast bass boat, and other things. I started drinking heavily and Jan and I started having marital issues. Around age 26 I began to have major issues with my pancreas, experiencing excruciating pain that often landed me in the hospital—a standing order was pain meds for 3 days and send me home. While getting ready to go out on a train in Port Arthur, TX, I started experiencing the pain, asked for help getting me to the ER and was placed in a truck where I curled up on the floorboard of the truck—a big Chevrolet. I was told that I was losing a portion of my pancreas little by little.
I was in and out of the hospital for a year, often time 2-3 times a month and given high doses of opiates. I never sought them on the street; however, I became dependent upon them. Finally, my doctor called a doctor in Houston and told them my death would be on their hands if they didn’t quickly take me at the hospital. I was down to 135 pounds and jaundiced beyond recognition. Later my friends told me that didn’t believe I would live.
One night my wife told me to leave and never come back. I took my boat to the lake at 11:00 pm, with no intention of fishing. While lying in the bottom of the boat contemplating suicide, God spoke to the very core of my being. His still quiet voice intervened, and a great sense of peace and calm overcame me. I went home, knocked on the door, not expecting an invitation to enter, and told my wife what had happened, and that God gave me the assurance he could help us put our lives back together.
Doctors couldn’t figure out what was going on and I saw a variety of doctors and medical students—other than it was related to my pancreas. After 3 weeks at the Methodist Hospital in Houston, the specialist came to my room. He informed me he would have surgery the next morning. He drew a line from the pelvic bone, just underneath the rib cage, to the other pelvic bone—indicating that was the type of incision he would make, and they were certain I had a malignant tumor in my pancreas and, best case scenario, they would remove at least 2/3 of my pancreases. Yet, that sense of peace and calm that came over me the night I was contemplating suicide saw me through the night, on the elevator as they were taking me to the prep area, and into the operating room. I could hear the medical staff making comments about my mood. They were not in the bass boat that night that God reached out to me.
The specialist changed the type of incision he made in the operating room, going parallel to the childhood scar. He did not take any of my pancreas out and instead of a malignant tumor they found a cyst that had uncapitulated 3 stones. Prior to discharge from the hospital, they had to detox me from the horrendous amounts of opiates they had administered in the hospital. Coming out of that experience is when I entered college at age 32 and worked toward my doctoral degree.
Ten years after this the specialist was doing some research, following up on patients with this type of surgery. One, he was pleasantly surprised that I was alive. Second, he couldn’t believe I wasn’t struggling with diabetes. The passion for serving others has never waned; I have never wanted to usher in retirement.
Scripture has a beautiful way of helping us interpret our story. As you heard me share my story, I hope you sensed how Psalm 116 has a special meaning for me—becomes my song. It allows me to tell my story. This psalm allows me to reflect upon my personal savior.
I cannot claim to have a personal experience with our Lord and Savior based on the personal experience of another. There are no generic or universal experiences with Christ. Each one of us has a story to tell. Without a story that bears witness to a personal experience with Christ we will feel disconnected from a lived-worship experience.
Look with me at the psalm as we listen to God speak to us through it. Listen as God allows us to come into his presence through this psalmist's song of thanksgiving; listen to how it prompts you to personalize it based upon your story.
I. AN EXPRESSION OF HOPE GROWING OUT OF GREAT DISPAIR: (:1-2)
I doubt I am the only one in this room that has experienced a heart wrenching adverse experience.
As the Psalmist faced his experience he cried out to God.
:1 I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
:1 I love the lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. (NIV)
• love: ??????????? (’a·ha?·tî) is a qualitative perfect kind of love, perfect tense
• he heard…my: supplication—cry: reflects seriousness. Cry ((?????, tsaaq) as used in Psalm 116, means “to cry, cry out, call”—to put voice to our deepest concern. The word is used in the Bible to describe crying out for help or in distress.
• mercy: the surprise of God withholding condemnation. I can imagine this as a desire of David after acknowledging his sin. It doesn’t matter—be rich or poor, famous or a lowly shepherd, or a king or a private on the front line—we all have the same realized needs.
• Hope: The Psalmist sought God’s ear with anticipation.
• Grace: the surprise of God’s blessings.
The Psalmist doesn’t tell us how God blessed. He doesn’t claim an immediate miracle. The key is the sense of peace and calm the Psalmist experienced—the greatest blessing. Some promote a “name- it-and-claim-it” argument, as if they can tell God what they want, and he will respond accordingly. Sometimes the adverse experiences will linger. God wants us to pray; prayer comes after we reflect upon our needs and then going to God with a sense of hope. God’s heart is touched when we bear our souls.
:2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long I live.
This verse is a tender portrait of God bending low from his heavenly throne. A nurse at Rapides Hospital in Alexandria, LA, helped a frightened little seventh grader understand what it means for someone to be this attentive. While waiting for surgery and afterwards—exploratory surgery related to my pancreas—she would come and sit beside my bed after she finished her shift. My mother and dad had left me in the hospital by myself. During a very frightful time of my life, she listened intensely. This is how the psalmist experienced God's attention. It was a real-life experience.
Suffering is suffering. It will send us into a dark place where many feel abandoned by God and scorned by those who call themselves spiritual. Or it provides an opportunity to be strengthened. Some, when faced with situations that seem hopeless, will turn away from God.
I have a friend who feels God is punishing her as she deals with a devastating experience. A couple of months ago I got a text from her husband who was using her Facebook identity; at first, I thought she had been hacked. I was able to verify it was a legitimate text. Back-to-back she had two hemorrhagic strokes, resulting in immediate brain surgery. It has affected her cognition, disrupted her mood stabilization, and to date she has restricted ambulatory skills—she is not able to move her fingers. She and I developed a research project related to multigenerational trauma; she was in the process of getting her Ph.D. and planned to go international with I work. Now she has gone into a dark place; a place of “why me” instead of “he heard my cry.” Can she experience deliverance though God doesn’t restore her physically? She is slowly turning toward God. I pray for her that she will be patient.
II. A DESCRIPTION OF THE PSALMIST’S DELIVERANCE: (:3-4)
3The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
4Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. (KJV)
3The cords of death entangled me,
the anguish of the grave came over me;
I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the LORD:
“LORD, save me!” (NIV
Through the years as a minister and counselor--primarily working with women, I have heard some heart wrenching stories. Despair and hopelessness came to be expected. I don’t know your story; however, I do know that all will experience difficult days.
• It may be the haunting memories where past traumas keep you from sleeping, trusting, and consumed with anxiety, depression, addictive behaviors, and loss of meaning and purpose.
• It may be something you are presently struggling with where you are experiencing heart-felt despair.
• You may have some health issues that are creating major issues, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, socially, and physically.
• Perhaps the losses you have experienced have taken away your vitality for living.
• For yet others, your heart may be deeply hurt and wondering if there is hope because of family issues.
• Perhaps that which you have trusted to sustain you has failed and your safety net no longer sustains you.
We know the story of Job; he lost everything, his children, his lively hood as a rancher, and his 401k.
• Your pain is your pain and can never be minimized by comparing it to another’s distress.
The Psalmist’s distress was coming from a basic human need, something to which all can relate. “Lord save me!” speaks to our need for God in all of life. I am okay with people who are on the verge of crossing over into eternity having what many call “a death bed conversion.” I would much rather know a person’s earlier experiences have put them in touch with a faith that sustains us through all of life’s experiences. If so, it will build within us a sense of well-being that trusts God. I have worked with those who say they are a Christian but have not had an existential (concerned with existence) faith; however, I have also worked with those whose existential faith allows them to face their crossing over with a sense of peace and contentment.
I recall a lady who was a member of FBC in Eufaula who struggled with lung cancer. She had a biopsy and asked me to go with her when the doctor told her she had lung cancer. It was amazing witnessing her faith that brought acceptance, peace, and a reach toward heaven. As her children sat with her as they waited for her to cross over, they observed her trying to get out of the hospital bed. When attempted to get her to calm down and lay back down she said, “Y’all are holding me back.”
III. A PORTRAIT OF GOD: (:5-11)
Several things to glean from this section of the Psalm:
1. :5-6 He held onto his faith, he quickly expressed an awareness and confidence in God.
2. :7 Crisis allows us to see what is there, to fully know our mind and heart—at this point the Psalmist speaks to himself. It is interesting what he says, “be at rest self.”
3. :8-10 At what was perhaps his greatest tragedy, he affirmed the very essence of who God is. He could depend upon God.
4. :11 I can only imagine what people were telling him. “If you just had faith.” “You think you’ve got it bad…”
IV. A PROMISE OF SERVICE: (:12-19)
Not out of duty, guilt, or believing he could manipulate God but out of a genuine act of worship he sang this song—it emanated from deep within his being. That is praise!
His response has several moves:
:12 Sometimes we want to do things that we don’t have to, but it has special meaning. I am sure the Psalmist knew he didn’t need to “repay” God; that would nullify grace.
:13 I fear we too often come to the table and observe communion as if it is a mundane ritual. The psalmist, in his deep desire to do something meaningful freely drinks from the cup of salvation offered by God. I served a church as an intentional interim for 2 years and 9 months. When I learned that they observed communion every Sunday, I thought it would become trite and meaningless. Each Sunday a different person shared a personal devotional thought that made it very special. There is no sweeter taste, experience, as we lift the cup toward heaven, drinking from it, and singing songs of praise.
The text challenges us to reflect upon our response to God “bending low” and listening to us. The text encourages us to process the strongest elements of response to God. Yes, we worship. Yet the Psalmist takes it to a higher level:
:14 The psalmist vows to stay true to the vows that set a believer apart from the world. When a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must strive not break his word and do everything he said. Numbers 30:2
:15 The psalmist surrenders to the Lordship of the Most High God. He commits to continued worship and will live in a way, before all people, that demonstrates a dedication to service. Many will struggle with their salvation, questioning it at various points, because they don’t see God working through their life. Their passion wanes and they become confused.
:16 After 8 ½ years, I resigned from the railroad with a call to serve God. This led me to college and then to seminary. The early years of ministry carried us through some tough times financially. We moved away from our families. My passion has led me to serve in a number of compacities (e.g., pastor, transitional pastor, adjunct teaching and director of student life development at Midwestern Seminary, an invitation by the president of my college to direct a $21 million dollar campaign—a 4 year commitment, pastoring a mission church, serving as a counselor for the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, and serving on the faculty for numerous conferences. I now look forward to a new opportunity for service. As passionate today as ever before.
Marty, a new student at Midwestern (September 1990) came into my office. He was greatly distressed. He was fearful that he might not be saved. After talking in length with him, I perceived that he had made a genuine profession of faith.
There seemed to be other issues clouding his mind and confusing him. For our next meeting I asked him to be prepared to tell me about the times that God had been the most present to him. After listening to him, and seeing his fear turn into praise, it was obvious that he had cried out to God and had experienced God's marvelous love. We were then able to look at several things that were perhaps troubling him.
You too need a personal savior. You need the grace to recall how God is working in your life--then you will have a song of thanksgiving.
YOUR RESPONSE:
All believers are encouraged to follow Jesus in baptism. We also take Communion as a way of remembering salvation through Jesus’ birth, life, death, resurrection, and assurance of eternal life. What does that mean? To understand its meaning helps us look at spiritual development.
1. Baptism is an acknowledgement of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus in a personal way, not the “I believe” that we often hear.
2. Baptism is a symbol that affirms before all people that we have come to God asking for mercy, grace, and restoration. A genuine expression that reflects God bending low to listen to us—as if we are the only person on earth at that moment.
3. Baptism represents we have developed a strong bond with other Christians, relishing the joy of belonging to the body of Christ. In Acts chapter two we see where believers “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship.”
4. Baptism signifies our commitment to “fulfill our vows”—to serve God—as a way of following Jesus. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Why? Because in this process we are constantly staying in touch with Jesus’ presence in our lives.
5. Baptism is a symbol of our unfailing commitment to share with others what we have experienced.
Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
I trust we are seeking continual spiritual renewal as we seek to be people of the way.” A definition of renewal means to
• make new
• Restore freshness—in relationship to Jesus and quality of our Christian life.
I will always stay in remembrance of how God heard me and how I abide in him.
…I love the Lord because he heard my voice.
…I love the Lord and rest in assurance of salvation.
…I love the Lord and have committed to serve him.
And he walks with me and he talks with me
And he tells me I am his own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known…
I often go back to my experiences. They are a reminder of how God hears me and the need I have to speak this to my soul—"be at peace, O my Soul.” I did that this year when told I had a brain tumor. My anxiety peaked! Since then I have seen specialist other than the neurosurgeon. I learned that it is a meningioma tumor—a benign tumor.
