SPEAKER_00: Hello, and welcome to the Spray UMC Podcast.
SPEAKER_00: I'm Hoyt, and I'm glad you're here.
SPEAKER_00: Today I'd like to talk with you about the book of Psalms and the permission it gives us to be honest with God.
SPEAKER_00: Psalm 121 begins with these familiar words.
SPEAKER_00: I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
SPEAKER_00: My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
SPEAKER_00: Psalms 121, verses 1-2.
SPEAKER_00: There have been mornings when those words have carried me.
SPEAKER_00: Illness, grief, and burdens we cannot control remind us that we need help beyond ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: The psalmist looks beyond the hills to the one who made them.
SPEAKER_00: My help comes from the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: The Psalms have often been called the hymn book of Israel, but they are also an invitation to honest prayer.
SPEAKER_00: They contain joy, gratitude, fear, guilt, confusion, loneliness, and grief.
SPEAKER_00: The writers do not pretend that faith makes life easy.
SPEAKER_00: They bring their whole hearts before God.
SPEAKER_00: David does this in Psalms thirteen.
SPEAKER_00: How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord?
SPEAKER_00: Forever?
SPEAKER_00: How long will thou hide thy face from me?
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps you've asked, Lord, how much longer?
SPEAKER_00: How much longer will this illness continue?
SPEAKER_00: How much longer will this struggle last?
SPEAKER_00: David was not afraid to ask, and God was not offended.
SPEAKER_00: Yet the psalm ends with trust.
SPEAKER_00: But I have trusted in thy mercy.
SPEAKER_00: My heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
SPEAKER_00: David's circumstances had not changed, but his focus had.
SPEAKER_00: He admitted that he almost lost his footing.
SPEAKER_00: Then he said, Until I went into the sanctuary of God.
SPEAKER_00: That word, until matters.
SPEAKER_00: God did not explain everything, but worship changed Asaph's perspective.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we enter church carrying questions and leave with the same circumstances, but a steadier heart because we have remembered that God is still on his throne.
SPEAKER_00: Then there is Psalms eighty-eight, perhaps the darkest Psalm in Scripture.
SPEAKER_00: It speaks of suffering, loneliness, and feeling abandoned.
SPEAKER_00: And it ends without a happy resolution.
SPEAKER_00: Yet God included it in His Word.
SPEAKER_00: That tells us that even when we cannot see the light, He still hears us.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes faith does not sound like a shout of victory.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's a whisper, Lord, I'm still here.
SPEAKER_00: That too is an honest prayer.
SPEAKER_00: Even Jesus reached for the Psalms on the cross.
SPEAKER_00: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
SPEAKER_00: Our Savior understands sorrow.
SPEAKER_00: The psalm points us to Christ and reminds us that every season of life has a prayer, joy, repentance, confusion, grief, fear, and praise.
SPEAKER_00: So we return to where we began.
SPEAKER_00: Our help comes from the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: We do not have to hide our hearts from him.
SPEAKER_00: If you are joyful, praise him.
SPEAKER_00: If you have sinned, seek his forgiveness.
SPEAKER_00: If you are confused, trust him.
SPEAKER_00: If you are grieving, rest in his presence.
SPEAKER_00: Whatever you are carrying today, bring it to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: He knows your heart, understands every tear, and hears every whispered prayer.
SPEAKER_00: The one who watches over his children never sleeps, never grows weary.
SPEAKER_00: Will you pray with me?
SPEAKER_00: Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of the Psalms and for reminding us that we do not have to pretend before you.
SPEAKER_00: You invite us to come honestly, trusting your mercy and unfailing love.
SPEAKER_00: For everyone carrying a heavy burden today, lift their eyes above their circumstances and help them see you, the maker of heaven and earth, from whom our help comes.
SPEAKER_00: Give us faith to trust you, humility to repent, and hearts that praise you in every season.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for Jesus Christ, who understands our sorrow and brings us to your throne of grace.
SPEAKER_00: We pray in his holy name.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: If you don't have a home church, we would love for you to come and worship with us at Spray United Methodist Church, located at 803 Morgan Road in Eden, North Carolina.
SPEAKER_00: We are a loving community of faith.
SPEAKER_00: We love God and we love people, all people.
SPEAKER_00: No matter where you've been or what you experienced, you'll find a warm welcome here.
SPEAKER_00: Keep your eyes on the Lord, trust in his promises, and remember, your help comes from the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: May the Lord bless you and keep you.
SPEAKER_00: May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.
SPEAKER_00: May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for spending these few minutes with me today.
SPEAKER_00: Until next time, God bless you.