A Troubled Heart Fixed on God

Chippie the parakeet never saw it coming. One second he was peacefully perched in his cage. The next he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over.

The problems began when Chippie's owner decided to clean Chippie's cage with a vacuum cleaner. She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage. The phone rang, and she turned to pick it up. She'd barely said "hello" when "ssssopp!" Chippie got sucked in.

The bird owner gasped, put down the phone, turned off the vacuum, and opened the bag. There was Chippie -- still alive, but stunned.

Since the bird was covered with dust and soot, she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held Chippie under the running water. Then, realizing that Chippie was soaked and shivering, she did what any compassionate bird owner would do . . . she reached for the hair dryer and blasted the pet with hot air.

Poor Chippie never knew what hit him.

A few days after the trauma, the reporter who'd initially written about the event contacted Chippie's owner to see how the bird was recovering. "Well," she replied, "Chippie doesn't sing much anymore -- he just sits and stares."

Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm, Word Publishing, 1991, p. 11.

Do you ever feel like Chippie? Do you feel sucked in, washed up and blown over? Maybe you even feel that God is like Chippie’s owner and that He has irresponsibly made your life miserable. If so, then you feel the same way that Ethan the Ezrahite felt. Ethan had a troubled heart and he had some piercing questions for God and unlike chippie his troubled heart didn’t stop singing but compelled him to write this song. As we look at Ethan’s song we will see the ways that he dealt with his troubled heart.

1. Ethan’s Presupposition

Psalm 89:1–4 NASB95

1 I will sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord forever; To all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth. 2 For I have said, “Lovingkindness will be built up forever; In the heavens You will establish Your faithfulness.” 3 “I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, 4 I will establish your seed forever And build up your throne to all generations.” Selah.

WELLBEINGDECEMBER 7, 2020

Posted Saturday, December 12, 2020 8:10 pm By BRANDON PORTER, Kentucky Today

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (KT) -- If you’re struggling after months of the COVID-19 pandemic, you’re not alone. A recent survey revealed most people say they’ve endured mental health challenges in 2020. “The sudden change of everyone’s normal routine coupled with the fear of contracting the virus has naturally been challenging for everyone,” said Steve Rice, Kentucky Baptist Convention church consultation and revitalization team leader. There’s one group, though, who say they have remained the same or even improved. A Gallup study released this week revealed people who attend church frequently had stood their ground during the pandemic. The report is called American’s Mental Health Ratings Sink to New Low. “Mental health is at its optimum in a person’s life when they view the world through the lens of God’s truth. The truth about themselves, their future, their faith, their circumstances, their world, and their God,” Alan Witham, KBC regional consultant, said. The only group among those surveyed who improved in mental health was people who attend church frequently.

Americans' Mental Health Ratings Sink to New Low

BY MEGAN BRENAN

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Americans' Rating of Their Mental Health as Excellent, by Demographic Groups.

Religious service attendance 2019 & 2020

Weekly 42 46 +4

Nearly weekly/Monthly 47 35 -12

Seldom/Never 42 29 -13

Witham says regularly hearing truth from a pastor, a Sunday School teacher, or a small group leader provides excellent stability. “The book of Hebrews commands us to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together but to encourage one another,” he said. “Assembling with other believers has a number of positive effects on our lives and the lives of others, one being the improvement of our mental and spiritual health,” Witham believes. Rice adds, “Attending church reminds a believer of the bigger picture. God is Sovereign, and God was not surprised by this pandemic. God holds the future of the believer in His hands, and that provides comfort.” “This observation is very significant, and it highlights one of many reasons why regular church attendance is so crucial to a person’s well-being,” said Jason Lowe, an associational missional strategist for the Pike Association of Baptists. points to a passage like Philippians 4:4-9 that calls Christians to set their minds on things that are true, honorable, just, lovely, commendable, morally excellent, and praiseworthy. “When we gather with fellow believers in weekly church attendance, we are more likely to dwell on these things and thus allow the God of peace to nurture our mental health,” he said. Christians are prone to share the joy they have received through their relationship with God and others. The three leaders offer encouragement to reach out to family, friends, and neighbors who struggle as the pandemic continues. Witham (Alan Witham) encourages, “I would ask good questions about their struggle before I said anything.” He suggests questions such as:

What is your greatest struggle in light of all you’ve faced in the last few months? How are you coping? How has your faith in God informed or encouraged you during this time? Lowe encourages people to realize they do not have to face their challenges alone. “If you don’t have a church family, I would encourage you to look for a church in your community and reach out to the pastor. By God’s grace and the encouragement of fellow Christians, you can get through this difficult season,” he said. “Start by talking to someone — a trusted family member, a friend, a pastor, your family doctor, or a counselor,” added Rice.

2. Ethan’s Praise

a. For His Supremacy over Creation

Psalm 89:5–14 NASB95

5 The heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones. 6 For who in the skies is comparable to the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord, 7 A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones, And awesome above all those who are around Him? 8 O Lord God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty Lord? Your faithfulness also surrounds You. 9 You rule the swelling of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them. 10 You Yourself crushed Rahab like one who is slain; You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm. 11 The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all it contains, You have founded them. 12 The north and the south, You have created them; Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name. 13 You have a strong arm; Your hand is mighty, Your right hand is exalted. 14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You.

b. For the Blessings of His People

Psalm 89:15–18 NASB95

15 How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! O Lord, they walk in the light of Your countenance. 16 In Your name they rejoice all the day, And by Your righteousness they are exalted. 17 For You are the glory of their strength, And by Your favor our horn is exalted. 18 For our shield belongs to the Lord, And our king to the Holy One of Israel.

c. For His Servant David

Psalm 89:19–29 NASB95

19 Once You spoke in vision to Your godly ones, And said, “I have given help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people. 20 “I have found David My servant; With My holy oil I have anointed him, 21 With whom My hand will be established; My arm also will strengthen him. 22 “The enemy will not deceive him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him. 23 “But I shall crush his adversaries before him, And strike those who hate him. 24 “My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him, And in My name his horn will be exalted. 25 “I shall also set his hand on the sea And his right hand on the rivers. 26 “He will cry to Me, ‘You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.’ 27 “I also shall make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth. 28 “My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever, And My covenant shall be confirmed to him. 29 “So I will establish his descendants forever And his throne as the days of heaven.

d. For the Discipline of His People

Psalm 89:30–37 NASB95

30 “If his sons forsake My law And do not walk in My judgments, 31 If they violate My statutes And do not keep My commandments, 32 Then I will punish their transgression with the rod And their iniquity with stripes. 33 “But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him, Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness. 34 “My covenant I will not violate, Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips. 35 “Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David. 36 “His descendants shall endure forever And his throne as the sun before Me. 37 “It shall be established forever like the moon, And the witness in the sky is faithful.” Selah.

Why does he spend so much time praising God? I think the answer to that question is illustrated by a story that…

Robert Louis Stevenson tells of a storm that caught a vessel off a rocky coast and threatened to drive it and its passengers to destruction. In the midst of the terror, one daring man, contrary to orders, went to the deck, made a dangerous passage to the pilot house and saw the steerman, at his post holding the wheel unwaveringly, and inch by inch, turning the ship out, once more, to sea. The pilot saw the watcher and smiled. Then, the daring passenger went below and gave out a note of cheer: "I have seen the face of the pilot, and he smiled. All is well."

When the trials of life come, you need to look at the face of God to know that “all is well.”

3. Ethan’s Problem

Psalm 89:38–45 NASB95

38 But You have cast off and rejected, You have been full of wrath against Your anointed. 39 You have spurned the covenant of Your servant; You have profaned his crown in the dust. 40 You have broken down all his walls; You have brought his strongholds to ruin. 41 All who pass along the way plunder him; He has become a reproach to his neighbors. 42 You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries; You have made all his enemies rejoice. 43 You also turn back the edge of his sword And have not made him stand in battle. 44 You have made his splendor to cease And cast his throne to the ground. 45 You have shortened the days of his youth; You have covered him with shame. Selah.

4. Ethan’s Plague

Psalm 89:46–48 NASB95

46 How long, O Lord? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath burn like fire? 47 Remember what my span of life is; For what vanity You have created all the sons of men! 48 What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah.

5. Ethan’s Proposition

Psalm 89:49–51 NASB95

49 Where are Your former lovingkindnesses, O Lord, Which You swore to David in Your faithfulness? 50 Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants; How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples, 51 With which Your enemies have reproached, O Lord, With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.

6. Ethan’s Point

52 Blessed be the LORD forever! Amen and Amen. (Psalms 89:1-52 NAS95)

The Psalms ore divided into five books and verse 52 is the final verse of the third book. You can identify how each book ends with this double amen. You can see them in 41:13, 72:18, here, 106:48, and 150:6. So with this verse Ethan drives his point home and fittingly closes the third book of the Psalms. His point is simple. No matter what the trials of life are, no matter how dark things seem to be, His blessedness (or His deserving of all the good things we can give back to Him) never changes.

Gary Smalley and John Trent, Ph.D., The Gift of Honor, pp. 56-58.

During the Vietnam War, David went through rigorous training to become part of the ultra elite special forces team the Navy used on dangerous search-and-destroy missions. During a nighttime raid on an enemy stronghold, David experienced the greatest trial of his life. When he and his men were pinned down by enemy machine-gun fire, he pulled a phosphorus grenade from his belt and stood up to throw it. But as he pulled back his arm, a bullet hit the grenade, and it exploded next to his ear.

Lying on his side on the bank of a muddy river, he watched part of his face float by. His entire face and shoulder alternately smoldered and caught on fire as the phosphorus that had embedded itself in his body came into contact with the air. David knew that he was going to die, yet incredibly he didn't. He was pulled from the water by his fellow soldiers, flown directly to Saigon, and then taken to a waiting plane bound for Hawaii.

But David's problems were just beginning. When he first went into surgery -- the first of what would become dozens of operations -- the surgical team had a major problem during the operation. As they cut away tissue that had been burned or torn by the grenade, the phosphorus would hit the oxygen in the operating room and begin to ignite again! Several times the doctors and nurses ran out of the room, leaving him alone because they were afraid the oxygen used in surgery would explode! Incredibly, David survived the operation and was taken to a ward that held the most severe burn and injury cases from the war.

Lying on his bed, his head the size of a basketball, David knew he presented a grotesque picture. Although he had once been a handsome man, he knew he had nothing to offer his wife or anyone else because of his appearance. He felt more alone and more worthless than he had ever felt in his life. But David wasn't alone in his room. There was another man who had been wounded in Vietnam and was also a nightmarish sight. He had lost an arm and a leg, and his face was badly torn and scarred. As David was recovering from surgery, this man's wife arrived from the States. When she walked into the room and took one look at her husband, she became nauseated. She took off her wedding ring, put it on the nightstand next to him, and said, "I'm so sorry, but there's no way I could live with you looking like that." And with that, she walked out the door. He could barely make any sounds through his torn throat and mouth, but the soldier wept and shook for hours. Two days later, he died.

Three days later, David's wife arrived. After watching what had happened with the other soldier, he had no idea what kind of reaction she would have toward him, and he dreaded her coming. His wife, a strong Christian, took one look at him, came over, and kissed him on the only place on his face that wasn't bandaged. In a gentle voice she said, "Honey, I love you. I'll always love you. And I want you to know that whatever it takes, whatever the odds, we can make it together." She hugged him where she could to avoid disturbing his injuries and stayed with him for the next several days. Watching what had happened with the other man's wife and seeing his own wife's love for him gave David tremendous strength. More than that, her understanding and accepting him greatly reinforced his own relationship with the Lord.

In the weeks and months that followed, David's wounds slowly but steadily healed. It took dozens of operations and months of agonizing recovery, but today, miraculously, David can see and hear. On national television, David made an incredible statement. “I am twice the person I was before I went to Vietnam. For one thing, God has used my suffering to help me feel other people's pain and to have an incredible burden to reach people for Him. The Lord has let me have a worldwide, positive effect on people's lives because of what I went through. I wouldn't trade anything I've gone through for the benefits my trials have had in my life, on my family's life and on countless teenagers and adults I've had the opportunity to influence over the years.”

You may be here this morning with battle scars as deep as David’s but your Savior, your friend, your sovereign God stoops down to kiss you on the cheek and say, “Honey I love you. I’ll always love you. And I want you to know that because of who I AM, whatever it takes, whatever the odds, we can make it together.” And with the sound of those words still in our ears we can say with Ethan, “Blessed be the LORD forever, Amen and Amen.”