Funeral - Miley Puckett
Notes
Transcript
The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
and his ears toward their cry.
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He keeps all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
Affliction will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry for help. The face of the Lord is set against those who do what is evil, to remove all memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he saves those crushed in spirit. One who is righteous has many adversities, but the Lord rescues him from them all. He protects all his bones; not one of them is broken. Evil brings death to the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be punished. The Lord redeems the life of his servants, and all who take refuge in him will not be punished.
God Sees and Hears You
God Sees and Hears You
One of the greatest truths in this season is that the God of the universe, who formed the earth and all that is in it see you and hears you in the midst of your suffering.
When Abram’s concubine Hagar was expelled by Abram at the behest of Sarai she found herself near death in the wilderness with her son Ishmael. God came to her and promised to provide for her.
So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”
This is the great promise for those in Christ. God is the one who sees us. We are never out of his sight, no matter how great our suffering, or how helpless our situation.
Awake O Harp: A Devotional Commentary on the Psalms Psalm 34: Thriving in Crisis
It is the troubled and crushed and broken that the Lord hears and delivers and keeps. The high and lofty one comes down to the level of our need (Isa. 57:15).
For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
God is Drawing Near to You
God is Drawing Near to You
Today you feel abandoned, and alone because of the loss of a loved one. You feel an emptiness.
But here’s a great truth: You have never been more full than you are right now. Not only does he hear us, which in itself is amazing, but the God of the universe is drawing near to you.
John Calvin notes:
Commentary on the Book of Psalms Psalm 34
It is a doctrine full of the sweetest consolation, that God departs not from us, even when we are overwhelmed by a succession of miseries, and, as it were, almost deprived of life.
When we are at our most desperate, God sees us, hears us, and draws near to us.
God is Redeeming You
God is Redeeming You
Finally, God is redeeming you and your life in this moment. IN the midst of your suffering you can often think that God is through with you, but he is not. In this moment of great grief we know that God is working. He’s working to strengthen you. He’s working to perfect you. He’s working to mold you.
One of my favorite stories in scripture is the story of Joseph. Beaten, sold into slavery, lied about, thrown into prison, forgotten and ultimately exalted, Joseph had a chance to get revenge on the brothers who treated him so heinously.
Instead, he told his brothers this:
But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
In this moment, you can’t see what God is doing. All we see is the bitterness, anger, questioning, and doubt that death ultimately brings.
But God has a purpose behind it. He had a purpose for Miley’s life. That much is clear as we hear the way Mr. Miley loved and served his family and his church.
But I also think God has a purpose for Miley’s death. One we cannot or will not see for years to come.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Today, is a day of grief, but take courage and comfort: the God of the universe sees you, hears you is drawing near you and has a purpose to redeem and perfect you through all of this.