The Song is the Map

Introduction

Good evening, I hope this finds all of you doing well and healthy. For those of you who may not know, my name is Pastor Hilton, I’m one of the Pastors here at New Life.

We are in unprecedented times. From all I can see, there has not been a world-shaking event like this, at least since World War II - and possibly not since the 1918 Spanish flu. That means we are living through a “once in a hundred years” moment.

During times like this, we look for a sense of direction, but it’s hard to find since we have never been here before. We have no map and no GPS to help us navigate the world that we live in.

So where do we turn in these moments?

Illustration: I remember when I was a kid, my dad would plan for vacation, and we didn’t have the GPS systems in our phones we have now. We didn’t even have cell phones, if you can imagine that.

We would have to sit down before the trip and plan out the map. If something went wrong during your trip and you became lost, you either had to drive around aimlessly or stop and ask for directions.

I would submit to you that in this moment in History we have two options - we can wander around aimlessly or we can stop, pause, and ask for directions.

Where do we find direction?

Like many of you, I am at home with my children during this time. My kids are watching a lot of the Disney plus streaming service, and one of my little boy’s favorite movies to watch is “Frozen II.” He calls it “O off.” The movie, if you haven’t seen it, is the follow up to the story of two Sister’s Anna and Elsa.

The movie starts with them in their younger years and their mother is singing to them a lullaby. You don’t know it at the beginning of the movie, but the lullaby is more than a lullaby. It’s actually a community song that has been passed down. As the movie progresses and Anna and Elsa find themselves in their own “off the map adventure into the unknown” the themes of the lullaby continue to keep coming up. By the end of the movie you discover that the Lullaby, the song was the map. The lullaby actually provided them with direction when they most needed it.

The song, was the map.

Biblical Background

This is what I want to talk about this evening. The idea that perhaps, the song is the map.

What if, as the people of God, the songs we sing and the prayers we pray as a community provide the direction we need in times of uncertainty?

Why would they do this? Because many of the songs we sing are based on another community and its songbook. Many of our hymns and worship songs find their basis in the Book of Psalms.

The name “Psalms” comes from a Greek word meaning "A song sung to the accompaniment of a Stringed instrument."

So Psalms is all about Songs.

Psalms is the longest book in the Bible

Psalms was written by multiple authors

Psalms contains prayers and songs of worship used by the Jewish Nation (think of it like their hymn book)

Psalms reveals how God’s people are to interact with him.

Psalms has a lot to teach us about prayer and worship and navigating the uncertianties of life.

In the Psalms we learn from those who have gone before us.

How did they respond in times of trouble? How did they pray? How did they worship?

Tonight, I want to dive into the Psalms and I want to lay out 3 areas where they provide us with a sense of place and direction.

The Psalms are the map for navigating our emotions

The Psalms are the map for navigating the character and nature of God.

The Psalms are the map for navigating life’s uncertainty

We could pick many Psalms to look at tonight,

But I want to look at Psalms 13.

Psalm 13 ESV

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? 3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, 4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken. 5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. 6 I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.

This is a Psalm of David. We don’t know when he wrote this Psalm or what exactly was going on his life, but from the tone of it, we know he was going through some stuff.

Points

The Psalms are the map for navigating our emotions

If you’re like me, perhaps you’ve prayed this prayer during this time - “How Long Oh Lord?”

David, in this Psalm, asks 4 “How longs?”

How Long is God going to forget me?

How long is God going to look the other way?

How long will I be sad?

How long will my enemy keep winning?

David, from his viewpoint, doesn’t think God is doing much about his situation.

David is asking - “How long do I have to go through this before you step in and do something about it?”

Maybe during this time your dealing with some difficult emotions.

Maybe your kids are home and driving you crazy and maybe you feel guilty about feeling this way

Maybe you’re struggling with being alone and loneliness and depression has set in.

Maybe your’e struggling to feel and sense God’s presence and wondering why he doesn’t do something about the situation.

Maybe you’re just overwhelmed by the news and social media and life just seems like a blur.

Maybe you or a loved one is sick and you don’t understand why.

This Psalm teaches us, whatever your emotional state, take it to God in prayer.

God is ok with your complaint. You’re allowed to ask “How long Lord?”

The Psalms teach us that in prayer and worship we can take our complaints, our requests, and all our emotions and pour them out to God.

The Bible never teaches us to suppress our emotions, cover them up, or fake our way through life. On the contrary, it teaches us that through prayer and worship we bring all of them - the good ones, the bad ones, the questions, the fear, the anger - That we bring all that at we lay it out before God.

So how are you feeling? I want to encourage you to find some time this week to get alone with God and lay it out before him. He is waiting to listen. He can take it!

The Psalms are the Map for navigating the Character and Nature of God

Some of us are dealing with our own deep emotions right now, others of us are trying to figure out exactly what God is doing or what is going on during this time. I’ve seen lots of comments all over the internet

Some believe this is the judgment of God

Some think God is too loving for this to be some kind of judgment

Some are prophesying all sorts of strange things

Others just believe we live in a sinful, fallen world.

What is God doing?

My answer, and maybe it’s not the right answer, but the truth is, I don’t know..

God does things that are beyond my understanding. I don’t always have a concrete answer as to what he is doing and why he is doing it.

I think it’s more important to know who God is than it is to know exactly what he is doing.

What does David here say about the character of God when he doesn’t understand what’s going on?

Verse 5 - “But I will trust in your unfailing love...”

God is a faithful God full of unfailing love.

Other Psalms say similar things:

Psalm 34:8 - Taste and See that the Lord is Good!

Psalm 23 - The Lord is my Shepherd, He leads me

Psalm 91 - The Lord is our refuge and our fortress

Psalm 46 - The Lord is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in time of trouble

Psalm 145 - The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, The Lord is good to all!

Does God act in judgment? Yes. There are plenty of Psalms that talk about this as well, But even in His judgment, he is good. He is loving.

I know, no matter where you find yourself today, God loves you and wants to draw you close.

If you don’t know Jesus, God loves you and he’s working to draw you close to himself if you’ll just listen. If you are a believer I know God loves you and is working to draw you even closer if you’ll just pay attention.

Here is what I know to be true: Tim Keller says it best, “I need to trust that If I could see what God can see, I would do what God has done.”

Illustration: My little girl is 5yrs old and she is passionate and she’s going to be a great leader one day. But, let’s just be honest, good leadership skills often manifest as stubbornness at an early age. I’m trying to teach her now that there are times when she should just listen. She may not understand what I’m doing or what I’m asking her to do - But in those moments she should trust me and listen - Because I love her and have her best interest at heart.

We may not always understand what God is doing, but if we remember that he is good, that he loves us, and that he is faithful, we can trust him!

For me, I come back to these three things, rooted in the Psalms - 1. God is faithful. 2. God Loves me. 3. God is with me.

The Psalms are the map for navigating our uncertainty

When we put all this together, we see a blueprint for navigating the uncertainty of life.

Take your emotions and complaints to God in prayer.

Trust and rest in who God is.

And Finally - Let that rest in who He is turn into worship.

David ends this Psalm, like so many of them, in Worship.

Psalm 13:5-6

Psalm 13:5–6 ESV

5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. 6 I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.

It’s always a good moment to worship.

Worship is a reminder of a stable God in the midst of unstable times. It is a reminder of a God that is certain in the midst of uncertain days.

When we worship, we take our eyes of our uncertainty and we put them on God who is bigger than our uncertain situation!

So what is the map for navigating these times?

1. Take your emotions and complaints to God in Prayer. Lay them out before him.

2. Remember that God is Good and that he loves you. Understanding who he is, is more important that knowing or understanding all he is doing.

3. It’s always a Good time to worship him. We worship a stable God in unstable times.

In his darkest moment, Jesus set us the example of turning to the Psalms. On the cross, he cries out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” That’s a direct quote from Psalm 22.

Now we might say that he did that to fulfill prophesy. Yes, he probably did.

But I don’t think that’s the only reason. For Jesus, the Psalms were his songbook and his prayer book.

He had spent many hours reading them, studying them, immersed in them. He knew them. I think, in his darkest moment, not only did he quote it to fulfill a prophesy, he quoted it because the Psalms were the place he looked as he navigated through the darkest moment of his life.

And the Psalms are the place we can turn to - To prayer and to worship - as we navigate through these difficult days.

Conclusion

1. Tonight, remember that the Psalms are the map. I want to encourage you to take some time to read some Psalms this week.

2. What we would like for you to do now, is spend some time in the chat or comments discussing a few questions that will pop on screen.

Questions: What is your favorite Psalm or Worship song right now? What emotions or frustrations have you been feeling in the midst of all this? What is your favorite aspect of God? (Example - Love, Goodness, etc.) How has worship helped you through a difficult time in your past?