Untitled Sermon (2)

Intro

There are three things I find myself lacking throughout my life

Water, Food, and Security

It is not that these things are far off, but I often lack

 the discipline, the consistency, the lifestyle

Water

I carry a large water bottle around to make sure I catch a few ounces a day

Food

I have nine food allergies and only an appetite for the things I can’t have

Security

I am consistently in immediate care, sick, and questioning my expiration date

One day met all three of these 

Three things

Water, Food, and Security

Absent and then filled

Thirst, Hunger, Insecurity

Quenched, Stuffed, Defended

Side of the road, Albuquerque, 12 miles from town

Hundreds of miles from town, hours from help, Inches from the Interstate

Thirsty, Hungry, Insecure

Insecure

I was feeling insecure already on the way to our unforseen destination

I kept hearing the tire of our van making absurd noises 

The intended route was Phoenix to Dodge City, as we were heading home from our San Diego Senior Trip

But that was not the Van’s Plans nor God’s Plans, 

The Car started swerving, this way and that, seventy mile per hour traffic. Semi-trucks, RVs, U-hauls, Teslas, and Fords, and maybe even a jeep gladiator. But quickly we were not among them, but on the shoulder of the road, crooked with our rear end near the interstate, and I was in that rear-end, with a pivoting head, watching every car zoom by in wonder and insecurity if we might get clipped. 

We lost a wheel bearing and it was so far gone, my loving father noted, “Yeah, you’re screwed” after he saw the damage. 

Ring, Ring, Ring

Everyone is calling everyone we know

Everyone is frustrated, just wanting to know

Know a way out, a way home, a way to comfort

Tired from a long trip

But we got answers

But we had God rise up and take up the cause of His people

I was defended, made secure, given an answer

A Church welcomed us in

Picked us up, in fact

Brought us food

Food, Food

Hunger, I passed out on the chairs of this Church’s sanctuary

It was pizza they brought, God bless them

Pizza, a food so scrumptious, greasy, and good that I once declared my praises of it- now leaves me lifeless, limp, and lonely 

My roommate grabs me

“I’m not that hungry” “Really, I don’t need anything”

I’m in the van

“Where do you want to go?”

“Subway, I can eat”

The ride was quiet, I was being taken care of and didn’t know what to say

We arrive,”awesome--- there are only a few people in line- it’ll be quick”

The people working were of a special kind of speed

I stare through the glass, they’re making an online order, but they’re making the wrong order

They throw the toppings back in the tubs and restart over- simultaneously breaking every food safety code at one time

I am starving at this point- I overlook it

20 minutes later-”Hey, how can I help you?”

At once, I finally get food. 

I throw down on my Steak and Cheese Protein Bowl

Filled

We were split up and taken to different houses of generous people from the Church

We stayed the night on the floor of a crafts room.

I had ignored all my essentials the entire day-- only eating on the whim of my roommate that I was hungry

Water, Thirsty

I forgot to drink any water the entire last day and a half

I’m laying in my sleeping bag at 2 am in the morning in a strangers house, I am thirsty

I am stranded it feels 

It feels like I am in a desolate land, thirsty

I go to the restroom and I hover over the sink, thirsty

I turn the faucet on and cup my hands

Drinking, slurping, drawing water in

Thirsty, Thirsty, no satisfied- just enough to get me through- I feel like I am fainting

There is this desire in my whole being to get a satisfying drink

There was this gratefulness for the big protein bowl that was delightful to my hunger

There was this triumph in a security given to me that I didn’t deserve

These things were not far off, in fact, some were minutes away, a couple miles away, a few steps

But there is a desperation in a moment of deep thirst- a full day that led me to give no thought to my real need for the essential

The need for water was now felt in the absence of it

Background

David accounts these feelings in a far different experience than me or you would relate with

He was living the life

The normal days, enjoying the prosperity of what God has put under his feet as King

David was a man after God’s own heart after all

David was faithful to the Lord and led successfully over the nation of Israel and unified the nation

He typified the messianic king that was to come 

Yet, he was not a perfect human being, there were lots of character flaws and moral failures along the way

When He compromised His faith for Bathsheba, David continued to expereince the consequences of His sin even though he had been forgiven

Most important to this story, David was not a great father and his household reeked of sinfulness

His child Absalom had become a nuisance and betrayed his own family and overthrew his Father by persuading and manipulating the Israelite citizens who entered the Kings palace

David, yes, David, the military champion, cowers and flees into the wilderness in fear of what a monster His child has become

Away from the holy mountain where God’s presence chose to rest

Away from the luxurious care of the King’s palace

Away from the protection of the Jerusalem walls

David falls to his knees, cupping his hands

David looks to the sky with salivating lips

David finishes standing to His feet and raises his fist in confidence of God

But how? What takes us from the depths and raises us in confidence? 

MAIN DIVISION 1

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

    my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

2 

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

    beholding your power and glory.

3 

Because your steadfast love is better than life,

    my lips will praise you.

4 

So I will bless you as long as I live;

    in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

6 

when I remember you upon my bed,

    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

7 

for you have been my help,

    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

8 

My soul clings to you;

    your right hand upholds me.

But those who seek to destroy my life

    shall go down into the depths of the earth;

10 

they shall be given over to the power of the sword;

    they shall be a portion for jackals.

11 

But the king shall rejoice in God;

    all who swear by him shall exult,

    for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

Thirsty, David thirst

Cupped hands

Looking around at the wilderness that He now finds himself in

Are you there? Are you there?

Have you found yourself away from the consistency of what was once “normal”?

Away from your throne?

Away from the comfortable consistency of good life?

Was the job you thought you’d have taken away? Not what it seemed? Not what you wanted?

Was the scholarship you thought you’d get not there anymore? Not enough to get you through?

Did that person you staked your life on, your love on, your time, energy, thoughts, money, beliefs, cares, did that person just walk out? Do something you never expected? Betray you in a way that seems unhealable?

Did your family shut you out when it mattered most? 

Did someone deny you opportunity because of the way you appear and not how you actually function?

Did it all just fall out from underneath you?

Are you on your knees?

Are you feeling empty?

How did I get here?

It wasn’t supposed to be like this

I have been faithful to you God-- --- for the most part

There’s nothing out here, God

Nothing is satisfying this thirst

This life is unpredictable

I’m here God and I looking for you

I’m here God and beyond the thirst of my mouth- I am even more thirsty for you

My lips are parched

I wake up before the sun rises, to search out for water in the cool air- but its not there

I search my life for something to fill this void-- and I am left with cupped hands, parched mouth, and fainting from a lack of water- a lack of something real- consistent

“God, I thirst for you”

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

    my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

God, in my trouble, I long for you- you are my desire

But are we there? You and me?

Is that the thirst?

Is that what we seek?

Or are we grabbing for the sand, grabbing for the rocks, the dry desert plants?

When life falls through- are we on our knees with cupped hands- thirsting for God

Or are our hands combing the ground, dry things, that will never satisfy

This life is less- less than the God we search for

You see the vulnerabilities, the feeling of needing more, the returning to that toxic relationship, the search for riches that consumes your heart, the scraping and crushing to be the top dog, the approved of, the desireable

They’re all less- in fact dry, undrinkable, inedible things

Less than what? Less than the the consistent, the satisfying, the quenching, the filling steadfast love of God

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

    beholding your power and glory.

3 

Because your steadfast love is better than life,

    my lips will praise you.

4 

So I will bless you as long as I live;

    in your name I will lift up my hands.

David looks back, he remembers the presence of God he has experienced in the past

He remembers the great beauty

He remembers the love and tears start streaming 

“Your Love, God, its better than everything”

This love is better than life

Better than your relationship with your significant other 

Better than your dreams 

Better than your wealth that I could accumulate 

Better than the pressures that are facing you

Better than your life 

So what is the response when given something so great 

Oh God my lips will praise you

As they had in the good time, my lips will praise you

I’ll lift up my hands and praise you God 

My thirst is quenched, but does it go further? 

Is this just a momentary joy? 

Is this help just for this spiritual high? 

Is it just now? 

No, 

MAIN DIVISION 2

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

6 

when I remember you upon my bed,

    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

7 

for you have been my help,

    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

8 

My soul clings to you;

    your right hand upholds me.

My soul is satisfied

I am protected 

Like a 12 oz ribeye and mash potatoes after three day fast 

It fills not just my gut, but more and I’m going to need a to go box

Satisfied with rich food

I am filled up 

The richness of God’s steadfast love is a full set five course meal- it keeps coming and it never ends

A homeless man named Clarence,  I once knew described it as a “gravy train” 

It is to take a bite and say quite literally “Oh My God, that is so good” 

Why? Why is it so good? What makes it so rich, so much better than life? 

David recounts, when I lie awake at night I am not in fear, but my mind pacing with wonder 

When I’m most vulnerable here in the wilderness, I am covered by your protection.

This love is so great because it puts a reversal affect on life 

When life seems like the most precious thing, God offers something more 

When our lives seem vulnerable and threatened, we are most protected 

When we are in desolate places, we are given food and drink 

When we are on the side of the highway, we are picked up and driven into town 

It is not a life absent of desolate lands and sleepless nights, but the desolate land is full of the Grace and guidance of the Lord

We are strengthened by the Lord

But I am still struggling with how my life will pan out

How will things just work

MAIN DIVISION 3

But those who seek to destroy my life

    shall go down into the depths of the earth;

10 

they shall be given over to the power of the sword;

    they shall be a portion for jackals.

11 

But the king shall rejoice in God;

    all who swear by him shall exult,

    for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

I do not know how, I’m still working in faith with this, but the Lord will set all things right. 

The Lord’s steadfast love is satisfying and full because it does not stop at affection, it is strong with Justice

In the light of the resurrection of Christ, we are given hope in the protection and salvation of Christ

The current struggle holds no bind on us because we are set free in the steadfast love that was, and is and is to come 

God wants us to seek and depend on that steadfast love

The steadfast love that satisfies, that protects, and that redeems us