Comfort for the Crushed
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Happy Mother’s Day! One thing we all have in common on this day is we all have or had a mother. But that is where it stops. Our experiences with our mothers is as varied as there are people in the room.
It is possible, some didn't even know there biological mother. Some are missing their moms, either by distance or they have passed. Others are not. Some are mother’s , some are grieve becasue they are not. Some mother have estranged children, others have young children. For some today is a wonderful day, for others today can be hard.
No matter where you are today, God our Father knows exactly where you are. He knows your hurts and pains, and joys and successes. God has given us His word, to help us live life through no matter what you are in. See one common mistake we make or think, is that we think this book is a plan of perfection for how to live a perfect life.
Then when we don’t measure up, or when our life doesn’t look like the perfect plan, we are discouraged and beaten down. This book is not a plan for a perfect life. If is a book about a good, and loving God that comes to meet us, in no matter what our circumstances are.
In here we have stories about people who have heartaches like you do, and joys like you do, successes in life and failures. and in here God shows himself to us and lives WITH us. He walks us through the our pain, gives us hope in the hopeless situations, and joys in joyous moments.
Today, I hope you to show, how you can meet with God, no matter what your circumstances and see that as Paul writes in 2 nd Corinthians.
“ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, “
Often on Mother’s day, we talk about all that a Mother does. In an ideal situation, we have this ideal picture of a mother working hard her whole life day, and night for family. They do. Many mother’s do.
Every year salary dot com does an evaluation of what a stay at home is worth. In 2018 is was $162, 5181, and 2019 it was $178, 201. Preacher’s love that figure, and it shows us all that we should appreciate everything our moms do or have done for us.
The varied job titles include.
Academic AdvisorAccountant Art DirectorAthletic DirectorBuyer IICEOCoachDay Care TeacherDietitianInstructor
Event PlannerExecutive HousekeeperFacilities DirectorGroundskeeperInterior Designer IIJanitorJudge/MagistrateLaundry ManagerLogistics Analyst Maintenance Supervisor
Network AdministratorPhotographerPlumberPublic School TeacherPsychologistRecreational TherapistStaff NurseSocial Media SpecialistTailorWork/Life Manager
And if that is not all, our scripture passage talks all about what woman do
Our Scripture reading this morning is from the book of Proverbs chapter 31 on page 657 of your worship Bibles.
PRAY
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.
20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope
21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.
24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?
25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
As I look back on my time with my mother-She did a LOT-SSHE was busy- I have two older sisters and my mom was the glue that held our house together. She was a stay at home mom and She worked outside of the home. She managed the household well. Cooked and cleaned for us, she loved us and cared for us and worried about us. Unfortunately, I do not get to see my mom today. Perhaps I will get through on the phone but that is difficult. Anyway, many of you for whatever reason wether it is distance or maybe they have gone to be Lord, whatever it is, many will be missing mom today.
There are a lot of woman, that live this Proverbs 31 life. For whatever reason God has placed several Proverbs 31 women in my life. My wife is one, my mom, and I know several ladies, that this could be said about them.
But equally, if I am honest I also know woman that want this but feel they haven’t been this way. tMaybe they have found it outside of their reach. And not everyone has this kind of woman in their life.
Some struggle with illness, either for a time or on a permanent basis and they physically cannot do those things. Others, have lives of brokenness for whatever has happened life is just not always perfect. Motherhood in their lives, is not a Hallmark card.
What can happen is unintentionally, we as Christians In an effort to recognize the self-sacrifice of motherhood, can hold women up to an ideal standard. We unintentionally say ladies- IF you are not a Proverbs 31 woman, then you are doing something wrong, or you are less, or you are somehow less than God’s plan.
And reality says, that there a large percentage of people that don’t have a Proverbs 31 woman in their life, and a large percentage of woman that aren’t the do everything super mom, and large amount of woman that are hurting because they can’t or aren’t a mom and desperately want to be,
Instead of drawing them to Christ and the local fellowship of believers for support love and kindness, we hold up this ideal unachievable picture. As a result they seem to think they can’t possibly measure up and it actually draws them away.
We have to be careful, as Christians we are to be people of compassion, people of comfort. We are to have those motherly traits as we welcome and offer compassion to those that are struggling.
Does the Bible leaves us with this ideal of aht perfect Mom, or wofe- then leave it unachievable?
If so people who cannot achieve this level of perfection, or whose lives just don’t intersect with perfect ideal Hallmark motherhood, are left outside.
Yet in the New testament, the Apostle Paul writes this to the Church Corinth,
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.
He calls God the Father of compassion, and the God of all comfort. Our God is a God of comfort
Psalm 34: 18 says this
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
So while we read that passage, and hold it up as the ideal, more often than not, we are left short, and brokeness is apparent, and we are cruched in spirit.
God through his word shows us His compassion to those experiencing the difficulties. 1 1 sam chapter 1 there was a woman named Hannah.
Hannah, wanted to be a a mother. She felt that if she did not have a child she was not complete. Her worth of woman was diminished. Not everyine today can have children, or lose children or do not have the opportunity to have children, and our worth sufferes, Our outlook on life suffers. \Hannah would go to the temple, and another lady would look down on her for not having children. She wanted children so bad that she pleaded with the Lord, and pledged that if Gd gave her a child she would dedicate him to the Lord.
She poured out her soul to the Lord the Scripture says.
10 In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly.
As she prayed, as she poured out her soul to the Lord, in verse 19 we read that The Lord rembered Hannah.
The God of all comofrt-looks down on this wom Hannah, who takes her pain and her grief to the Lord, and the God of Israel, the God of the whole nation of people, the God of the whole of creation looks down on Hannah, and he remembers her prayers.
There was ruth and Rachel, and other woman who had less than perfect lives, and the God of all comfort looked down and remebered them and guided them, and led them, and looked on them with compassion.
SOmetimes illness interrupts the perfect vsion of motherhood. SOmetimes sin, sometimes death, sometimes disappointment-it can be any number of reasons, but as we turn to the pages of scripture, more often than not we do not find this ideal pciture of motherhood, instead we find, hurting and brokeness, and pain.
Ruth was out of her land, due to a famine looking for life for herself, struggeling to get by with Naomi.
Last week we read of the woman at the well in John 4 who was struggeling with broken marriages and being an outcast. There is the woman caught in adultry, in John 8. there is the woman with the demon possed daughter in Matthew 15.
There is the woman who couldn’t stop bleeding and touched Jesus’s garment in Mark 5.
When we look more at Scripture, rather than seeing this one ideal that is held up, we see this God of comapssion and mercy, a God who is close to the cbroken hearted a God who knows how you miss your mom, or miss your kids. A Gpd who cares about you.
A God who knows that life isn’t all about a hallmark Mother’s day moment but instead life is hard and challenging, and we cry out ot this God in our pain and anguish, and he hears us. The apostle Paul wrote this is ROmans chapter 8.
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
I consider Paul writes that our present sufferings that is our-that includes yours, YOu suffering now-whatever that is-It may big for you and small for some people, and huge for others-OUR Present suffereings whatever they be-pain heartache, brokeness, sickness, persecution. Whil bad and huge now-they are incomparable if laid alondie of the glory that WILL be revelaed one day In us. That is when we get to eternity.
He goes on and he says.
19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.
All of creation-The collective mood is eager anticipation. No one- not anyplace of creation is immune to the destruction that is present. Wether you have the perfect motherhood or not, all around us is decay, we are getting older, rocks are withering away rust, things are wearing out, The whole of creation is on edge anticipating looking ahead waitning for that moment.
20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope
Becasue everything here was made to decy God made the earth to decay to wear away life here in our current earthly body ends. Our joints crack our skin changes our muscles grom weak. Things tend toward decay, and while this frustrating, while this is unplesant God did it for a reason, it is happening to casue in us a hope.
A hope for future if something better a hope for an eternity that is better
21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Mothers you know what childbirth was like-IT was unpleasant to say the least. It was downright awful for others. Yet, as awful as it was, there was the hope if a new life, there was something to look forward too. There was new life, It’s like that living here.
There is this brokeness and pain, and vists all of us, oh it all different. For some it is around motherhood, for others it something else but it cvisist us all and Paul is saying that we are eagerly anticipating the day when things will be f=diffrent cause out there is this hope. This real tangible hope, hope we can see hope we fell, hope in a person Hope in this man Jesus.
See the God of all comfort and compassion looked on the brokeneess of his people He looked on the sinsick sinner, and the crushed in spirit, He looked at creation that was decaying,
ANd he so loved you and wanted to set you free that he took upon himself the imfirmates. He took on our sin and went to the cross to amke a way for us to Be called his children.
He made a way for us to be born again and made new in our souls. When we have that tangible new birth- WE KNOW that the rest of creation will be right someday. We have that hope and with that hope comes peace and comfort.
DOnt look to the ideal and feel short, or imperfect or broken Instead look to the gOd of all comofrt and comapssion who will restore all things, The God seeks out the crushed and broken and makes the whole Seek after Jesus who procvdesds peace and comofrt
Yeah we may be hirting right now, Look to Jesus We may be missing our moms or our kids, Look to Jesus We may feel like we fell short of the perfect exoectation of motherhood, but CHrist knoews and he has come to rescue you, ANd when you are born again in your souls you know Jesus and you know that this is temporary-this is passing, so wait, You wait in eager expectation for that moment when this pain will be gone and creation will be restored to its goodness , In Jesus name,