"Out of The Depths ..."

Morning, Ms J. This is the day. Today's the day I get to give my sermon in church.

The sermon is based on Psalm 130 and the psalm will be read before I deliver my sermon. I think it might be helpful if you read it first. So here it is. Don't roll your eyes, Ms Journal. It's not that long.

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;

2 O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

3 If thou, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?

4 But with you there is forgiveness;
therefore you are feared.

5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope.

6 My soul waits for the Lord
more than those who wait for the morning,
more than those who wait for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the LORD,
for in the LORD there is steadfast love
and with him is plenteous redemption.

8 He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.

There. That didn't hurt too badly, did it? Good, then. I'm off to church. Here's the sermon. B-bye, now.

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“Out of the Depths, Still He Loves Us”

It’s been said that there are really only two kinds of prayer: “Thank you Thank you Thank you.” And “Help me. Help me. Help me.” Our psalm this morning begins with a cry for help.

“Out of the depths, I cry to you O LORD. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!”

In a word – HELP!

We’ve all, at one time or another, found ourselves in The Depths. The Depths of Despair. We’ve come to think of Heaven and Hell as directions: Heaven is up. Hell is down. And The Depths, my friends, suggests Hell. If you’ve been there – and I know you have – you know what I mean. It’s Hell on Earth, isn’t it?

Each of us has suffered sleepless nights and worrisome days filled with fear and dread and anxiety. We want so badly to alter the outcome of a situation, but we know we’re helpless to change things. Often, I think, it’s we who need changing. We’re in need perhaps, of a fresh outlook, a new perspective. We need to stop feeling angry or jealous or hateful. We know what we must do, but we cannot. We obsess about it, but we know we can do nothing, change nothing without God’s help.

Me? I worry about my kids. Daniel and Meagan. It’s a parent’s lot to worry about their children. My kids don’t live with me you see, so I can’t influence them as I wish I could. I can’t always be present to keep them safe. And it drives me crazy. Sometimes, our relationship is strained and the only way to change it, is to change myself, to admit fault, to apologise. Seek justice. Love kindness. Walk humbly with my God.

In those dark times, I know what I have to do, but I just don’t seem able. And so I do nothing. I wait. But I don’t wait gladly. I don’t wait patiently. I rant and roar, and hurt and yes, I cry.

Out of the depths, I cry to you O LORD. Lord, hear my voice!

And still I wait, wringing my hands and writhing. In my darkest hours, I sometimes imagine myself so far down and God so far up, that there’s no way He could hear my cries.

But the psalmist continues:

“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope.”

Perhaps that’s the key then. Hoping. “In his word, I hope.”

Did you know that in Hebrew, the same word is used to mean both waiting and hoping? If I wait, don’t I also hope?

“My soul waits for the Lord,” says the psalmist, “more than those who wait for the morning, more than those who wait for the morning.”

There is hope in God and there is hope in His son, Jesus Christ. It’s the hoping that makes the waiting bearable. Yes! That’s it then. It’s the hoping that makes the waiting bearable.

When he realises this, the fellow invites the whole world to partake of this wisdom.

“O Israel,” he writes, “hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast Love.”

Steadfast Love. Well, I wasn’t sure exactly of the meaning of the word “steadfast” so I looked it up. It means “unfaltering, unwavering, unshakable.” Even when we forget about God, He doesn’t forget about us. God is always with us, always wanting what’s best for us, always loving us. No matter what. Steadfast Love.

If I trust in His steadfast Love, I must believe that he hurts to see me hurt. Don’t we hurt to see our children suffer? But as wise parents we know that sometimes, the only way to grow is through pain. God knows this too.

I once wrote myself a note, printed it and posted it on the wall at home as a reminder of this. It says: “My Life is and has been, moving in the direction that will offer me the greatest challenges and therefore the greatest opportunities to learn and to grow, for myself and for others and to the glory of God.”

God loves us. His Love is steadfast. And unconditional. He doesn’t want us to hurt, but he’s keen to see us grow. In wisdom. In compassion. In humility.

That’s why Love always wins. It may take some time, but Love always wins. Steadfast Love always wins. And it’s there for us. Every minute of every day. Even from the murkiest depths of our despair, God loves us.

A friend sent this to me recently, and I thought it was quite propitious. It’s a quote by Mahatma Ghandi.

"When I despair, I remember that all through history, the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and, for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it...always."

I once read about a 15th century monk who used to pray for adversity, claiming it was hard times and difficulties that brought him closer to God. It’s easy to forget in good times. It’s easy to imagine that things are supposed to go our way all the time. And we’re shocked and outraged when troubles befall us.

But when we think of God, when we acknowledge Him through prayer or meditation, He listens. He’s always listening. God is listening now. And He accepts us, warts and all. Simply asking for forgiveness guarantees it.

He doesn’t regard our misery, often self-inflicted, as an opportunity to keep score against us, but rather as another opportunity to demonstrate His grace and his forgiveness. And He invites us to mirror His Love by offering the same kind of grace to others.

Merely thinking of God, is often enough to ease our burden. Isn’t that amazing? I don’t know about you, but for me, just knowing there’s someone out there who loves me, who knows my every fault and weakness, and forgives me and loves me anyway … Well, there’s great comfort in that, isn’t there?

We can all find solace, we can all discover the peace of Christ, secure in the knowledge that even out of The Depths, still He loves us.

Amen.

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