Living when things come Apart.
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
OPENING: - The other day I was getting ready for work, and I grabbed a pair of pants and as I was putting them on, I noticed the hem on one of the cuffs had begun to unravel and part of my pant leg was hanging down. I was trying to fix it by tucking it up, but it just kept coming down. I even tried man’s all-purpose fix it remedy Duct Tape trying to hold it up but that didn’t work either and I wasn’t going to wake my wife up at 5:45 in the morning to sew the hem in my pants, so I decided to move on, I chose to wear something different after things had come apart and I just picked out another pair of pants. Then I began to think about life and God began to deal with me and placed in my spirit this how do we handle living when things are coming apart.
Living when things are coming apart.
PRAYER: -
SCRIPTURE: - Psalm 46:1-3 “1-3 says, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
I like the book of Psalms because as I once heard Psalm is the anatomy of the soul. The Psalms are honest and true, they put a voice and a verse to what we are often feeling. They say the things that deal with the difficult emotions in our lives. The Psalms ask the questions that we often feel but are afraid to ask or have been taught that we should not ask, like God is intimidated or stupefied by our questions. Understanding - God is not in Heaven scratching His head or biting His nails talking about why are they asking me that.
The Psalms speak our true emotions like Psalms 10:1 “Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble” or Psalms 22:1-2 “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent” or Psalms 59:5 “O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked transgressors”. Now we can all say that at some point in life we felt this way and wanted to ask these questions of God. Because there are times in life when situations arise that cause us to feel this way.
Understand there are times when we are not on the mountain top saying Hallelujah but are in the valley saying how long Lord do I have to go through this stuff. However, Psalms 46 is as C.H. Spurgeon once said a song of Holy confidence because even when everything seems to be coming apart we understand that God is in control.
However, before we get to understanding that we must understand and admit that sometimes in life there are some battles that cannot be won, some loneliness that cannot be comforted, some wishes that will never come true. There will be relationships that get messed up, jobs that will end without cause, failures that will haunt you, pastors there will be people that walk out on you after you have invested in them for years and as long as you live there will be people that you know and that are close to you that will die and during those times, life will seem to come apart, fear, hopelessness, depression, anxiety, emptiness and loneliness will seem to be your closest companion. You will cry, pace the floor, loose sleep and even pray like Psalms 55 “Give ear to my prayer O God, and hide not thyself from my supplication. My heart is sore pained within me, and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. Oh that I had wings like a dove for then I would fly away and be at rest”, but I don’t have wings and I can’t just go away – so how do I live when things come apart.
Let me say there is one thing you must understand when everything comes apart, when the world seems to be turned upside down, when it seems as though the gates of Hell have come against you understand God and His Word will never come apart. Regardless of how you may feel, regardless of how hopeless life may seem, regardless of how dark and gloomy your situation may be God is in control, His Word is true, and in all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
Living when things come Apart.
UNDERSTAND: - Living is key! Living is being grateful for what we have, choosing to be happy, waking up and striving to fulfill your purpose, embracing change and growth. Living is in spite of how you feel, choosing to move forward after things come apart. The hard part is, depending on the individual, the time it takes to live and move forward after things come apart but the process is the same!!!.
TEXT: - Vs 1-3: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.” Here we find the writer of this Psalms begins with the provision of God. He looked to God for help when things were coming apart and found it. If we not only look to God but run to God, we will find that God provides.
I want to give you three reasons to run to God when life is coming apart. Remember the number 3 represents fulness, so here are 3 reasons, the fulness of why we should run to God when things come apart.
1). God is our refuge - The word “refuge” literally means “high or strong tower.” Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe”. The word refuge is defined as a place of shelter and protection from danger or distress. It is a place where people can find safety and rest. Picture this a high tower and a strong tower was used for defensive purposes to guard and fight against the attacks of the enemy. Judges 9:51 says “But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut it to them, and got them up to the top of the tower. And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire. And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech’s head, and all to brake his skull”. The tower was always higher than the enemy, the enemy would come but the refuge, the strong tower was high and the watchman, the soldier, the guard would be posted top of the tower and as the enemy would be approaching would be able to fire down on the enemy. Our refuge, a strong tower, is the place we can run into and hide while our enemies, our battles, our troubles, our cares and concerns are being handled from on high. God is our refuge the place of safety when things come apart, when we need protection from something.
We can run to God when things come apart and find refuge. We run to God not away from God. Because He is our refuge, our safety zone that will take care of us, protect us, and handle our cares from on high. Understanding God is our refuge causes us to be able to trust Him freely without fear knowing there will never be a situation that we can ever face that God is not in control, He is our refuge or fortified tower. We cannot run from God so we should run to Him and hide in Him, and we will find rest, peace, comfort, protection when everything comes apart.
2). God is our strength. This word strength here is the same word as in Acts 1:8 which says, “But ye shall receive POWER, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you…”. Power is the Greek word Dunamis used 120 times in the New Testament, and it means strength, power, and ability it describes the unlimited / Omnipotent power that God possesses. Dunamis is where we get the word Dynamite, and we all know what dynamite does. God is our strength (Dunamis) means He gives us the power we need to endure hardships when things come apart in life, to resist temptations, to bear up under the strain and stresses that we face. One of the names of God is El-Sali = The God of my strength – He is the source of how I am able to face life when things come apart. He is the strength to smile when I would be depressed, He is the strength to keep on going when I want to give up and quit, He is the strength to live when everything comes apart. God is our strength, Dunamis, power, and ability to choose to move forward.
3). God is a very present help in trouble. We should run to God when life is falling apart because God is not only our help but our very present help, there is a closeness and nearness of God that we can’t find in anyone or anything else. He is not far off, He is not on a long journey, He is right here, right now, but let me break this down a little more.
The word help means aid or assistance. Help is that which brings aid, support, or deliverance. The word present means or has been found proven to mean, God has proved himself to be a help in trouble.
Now what about very present help – this is unique. Let’s go back to English class and recall comparative degree teaching - comparative degree is used to compare words. It is formed by adding “-er” to the end of a one-syllable adjective or by adding “more” before a longer adjective, the word “very” can be substituted with the word “more”.
When we use comparative degree teaching, we end up with “a more present help in trouble”. Now understand more present is comparing its closeness compared to something else – what is it compared to – trouble. The word trouble would cover all that can come apart, come upon us which would give us anxiety, stress, depression, or sorrow.
This is saying God is closer – more present than the trouble we are facing – closer than the things that come apart. No matter how close trouble comes, no matter how close it is when things come apart, God promises that He will be closer. He is a very present help, more present than the trouble.
WATCH THIS: - When the 3 Hebrew boys were cast into the fiery furnace God being the very present help was in the fire with them and they were walking around, as close as the fire was, God was closer, protected them, kept them from harm and they didn’t even smell like smoke, now that is a more present help.
Because God is our refuge, our strength, and a very present help - we will not fear we don’t have any reason to fear when things come apart, when life has been turned upside down, when people have turned their backs on us, when what seems to have been our solid foundation has crumbled we can make it because God is in control.
WATCH THIS: - at the end of verse 3, also at the end of verses 7 & 11, there is a special word that word is “Selah”. Selah is most translated or explained as meaning “pause and meditate” or “pause and think about it.” It’s a good thing to do; stop and think or stop and meditate. When we think or meditate upon verse 3 but this whole chapter of Psalms 46, we understand that we don’t need to fear, because we have a refuge, a safe place and that He is our strength, our power to face whatever is coming apart, because He is a very present help, He is closer than the situation facing us and we can move forward living in victory, having peace, comfort, joy unspeakable and full of glory.
CLOSING: - So, what do we do when life starts to come apart? We run to God not away from God. Seeking refuge in God is not only a biblical concept but also a profound and comforting truth for us all. It lets us know that in times of trouble, distress, upheaval, depression, sadness, sorrows, loneliness, grief and coming apart we can find safety and protection in God’s loving embrace. He is our refuge from the enemy, our shelter from the storms of life, providing us with the strength and security we need. He is our refuge, our safety zone that will take care of us, protect us, and handle our cares from on high.
Understanding God is our refuge causes us to be able to trust Him freely without fear knowing there will never be a situation that we can ever face that God is not in control, He is our refuge or fortified tower. We cannot run from God so we should run to Him and hide in Him, and we will find rest, peace, comfort, protection when everything comes apart.
God is our strength. We don’t run to God to escape life; we run to God for strength to face life, to live after things come apart.
God is closer than whatever we are going through.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
