Identity 4

What does “SHAKEN” feel like? - First Girlfriend denial - Failing Chemistry in College

We call them storms because in a storm you feel down, dreary, depressed. Cloudy days you feel bad.

But more so they look like

a bad grade you didn’t expect

a plan that got canceled after you hyped it up,

an argument you replay in your head

pressure sitting on your chest like a backpack full of bricks.

So when these happen, we likely turn TO something. Where do we go?

 Music? Your phone? A person?

Disappearing into a game?

Right now…that thing that you turn to…is the thing that you put your trust in.

Youre hoping a song or artist will save you from your bad feelings.

Youre hoping your doomscrolling will turn your thinking off and you dont have to focus on the bad feelings. Same thing with a video game.

Maybe you turn to a person, but the problem with that is theyre broken too. When youre sick, you dont go to your friend friend or sig. other for advce, you go to a doctor.

David weathered many of these storms.

At goliath - his brothers were jealous and tried to tell him to go home. They didnt trust him.

Leading up to his reign, King Saul attempted to kill him multiple times.

Once king - He sinned with Bathsheba, killing her husband in the process.

YET - David wrote this…

Psalm 125:1–2 “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore.”

A few thoughts:

Mountains…

Jerusalem on top - Site of “God’s promised land”

Mountains are immovable

Density - Lookout mountain - 1532/sq mi.

This means that for every square mile, there is 1500 large bricks worth of rock packed into the mounain.

Lookout mtn is roughly 84 miles long. You can do the math.

WE are immovable when we trust in the Lord.

WE endure forever when we trust in the Lord.

Our valley here is surrounded by mountains on all sides - So God is in our life.

Endures forever

Tomorrow will come a new day, and so will eternity

There is Joy in tomorrow - If your today is not measuring up.

“…give us this day our daily bread” - Manna in the old teastament - Exodus 16 - Moses and crew were wondering in the desert.

They complained of not having food, and God provided for them ONLY for each day. No more, no less.

God does the same for us today. He gives us the food, emotional support, mental courage, and thoughtfulness we need, JUST for today.

Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

This only happens when we whether the storm.

Reminder - James 1:2 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,”

Apply

Leaning on his un-moving power doesnt require alot from us.

I could give you some hip trend, some big list of something to do.

But all we have to do, is pray.

It’s not going to feel like alot, but its enough. All God asks of us is that we trust in him. It doesnt feel good. You will cry. You will feel sick to your stomach.

Imagine getting caught in a storm w/ a tornado while youre out driving one day.

❌ Do not stay in your car (cars can be tossed)

❌ Do not hide under an overpass (Wind speeds increase there—very dangerous)

❌ Do not try to “wait it out” parked on the road

YOU DO

Pull over safely

Get out of the car

Lie flat in a low ditch or depression

Cover your head and neck with your arms

God surrounds His people—now and forever.

Choose to stand where He is.

When the storm shows up, stop what youre doing, and present yourself face down to God and he will be with you.