Our Story Has A Happy Ending (6)
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This morning we will be finishing our study on How to Live When Life is A Mess.We have done this by breaking Psalm 37 into 3 sections, How to not let the Mess controls you, What to do with the Mess, Then last week and this week we bring it to a close:When Life is a mess don’t let emotions control you.We learned to be especially careful of anger.If anger takes control then evil follows.This evil isn’t talking about doing real dark and devilish things it was a picture that means: to spoil, to break, to hurt and is good for nothing.We all know that is true.We have all gone to that place and usually have regrets when we do.The good news is God understands and that is why in that Psalm The Lord says we will fall, meaning we are not going to do it right all the time.But His hand is out for us to grab hold of and He will see us through.I gave you all some homework. Who remembers what it was?Take a selfie and forgive yourself. That was not a joke, I really meant it.We need to forgive yourselves if we are going to move forward.Now I told you emotions are tough to control.We learned something that can help is when this happens think back to God’s faithfulness, learn to look for His way of escape in the present, and mentioned look to the future.That is how we finish this series. We must look to the future.When Life is a Mess you must Remember There is A Happy Ending.Our take home will be to see that it’s not The Mess that has a Happy Ending because they don’t always.We want that but it just doesn’t always go that way.BUT our story has has a happy ending when we trust Him, Roll our mess to Him, wait patiently for Him to act and don’t let anger take control.We will see what that means.During many messes we need to make sure we never loose focus of the reality of God’s promises that our story has a Happy Ending. Let’s read todays section. I am jumping through some verses but keeping the theme together.
Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!
For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.
In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.
The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever;
Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever.
For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.
The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
Psalm 37 is a Psalm that David wrote as older man reflecting on lessons he learned in life.This whole Psalm is meant for instructions for us from those lessons he learned.In this Psalm he is referring to messes he faced due to evil people and wrongdoers.But everything written would apply to whatever your mess is right now.If It’s a relationship mess, a financial mess, a work mess, a Zimbabwe mess everything taught here applies. The final lesson is about focus.This is also a very hard truth to apply we will learn why.To start today we need to go back to week three.In that lesson David did not want us to ignore our mess or pretend it doesn’t hurt. But we learned we need to name it.Take one moment again to name your mess. What are you struggling with right now? YOU HAVE IT?Well as we look at this just put the name of your mess where David speaks of his.Like: V1 Don’t Fret yourself because of ___________ because they will soon fade away. You can just put the name of your mess there.V2 He is saying your mess will soon fade away.V3 In just a little while (your mess will be no more)V18 He says Our heritage will remain forever.V29 The righteous will inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.Now what is he talking about with this soon and forever?Part is for the nation of Israel but David is also referring to eternity.A lesson we need to learn is When Life Is A Mess Remember We Have A Happy Ending. It’s called eternal life in Heaven.Here’s what’s hard.We would like this happy ending now.Whatever our mess is we want it over now and to get to experience the Happy Ending now. Am I right?That is not a promise we are given.Your mess may not end how you want it to.So we must learn to change our focus and this is very hard.Let me try and explain.Many of you may be familiar with Pastor Frances Chan.He is a pastor in a far away land called California.I want to steal and adapt and illustration he taught about eternity to understand David’s point.Imagine this rope is your life.But you can’t think of your life in terms of your time here on earth.Whether that time is 20 years or 100 years that is just this little black part of the rope.Your life will go on throughout eternity.And here is what is hard.“This” part is very real. We see it, we feel it, we have happy times we have sad times - WE HAVE MESSES.We have financial messes, we have relationship messes, we have sickness messes, etc etc.David is saying they are a little spec compared to this.And yet we spend all our time Fretting about this.We give very little thought about “That.”That is normal because again we see this, we feel this and we live this now.That seams so far away and it is invisible so it is so hard to focus on.For most of us we find it hard to find happiness focusing on that but want to focus on this.If we want to Fret Not we need to focus That.So on top of trusting God, rolling our mess to Him, waiting patiently for Him to act we need to know that it may not happen HERE. David is not the only one that taught this.Paul mentioned it in
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
Paul is saying the same. The mess is light and momentary, it’s preparing us for eternity. IT MAY NOT FEEL LIGHTHe doesn’t want us to look to the things that are seen “This” but to look to what is unseen the “That.”These are temporary these are eternal.Yes the messes hurt but as David said will soon be forgotten.If you read Hebrews 11 you see person after person doing exactly what David and Paul say.They didn’t look to “This” to be EASY but KNEW “That. WOULD”There were many very unhappy endings for them in “This” but they always focused on “that.”As
For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
And what exactly is that city.Let me read
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.
The day will come where this city that all the Old Testament Saints focused on will be just as real as this world.And the promise is in that city God Himself will be with us in a tangible way.But you know what won’t be there. Any Messes.They will all be gone.There will never be any other mess ever.I have no idea what it means that Paul said these messes in This have some preparation for That.Maybe it’s the rewards for doing it right.David probably knew this in some way.And He is instructing us to focus on how no matter how big your mess is it’s not for ever.He wants us to focus on the Happy Ending not The messy journey to get there.Easy? No. Doable? Yes.What is our final application putting it together.We will always have messes on this side of eternity.It’s part of the journey called life.But if we can get some little grasp of eternity, just a bit then this doesn’t matter as much.