How Are You?

Okay, the one verse that I want us to look at

and hopefully memorize is Psalm 119, verse 28.

Psalms 119:28

My soul is weary with sorrow.

Strengthen me according to your word.

One of the most annoying, irritating questions

in the whole world is the question,

how are you?

Now, sometimes it's irritating because of the person asking it.

So they ask you, how are you?

But by how they then kind of conduct themselves after that,

they reveal they don't give a toss about what your answer is.

They don't even listen to what you're saying.

So you could reply to the question, how are you, by saying,

my cat just got eaten by a badger

and my dad's in intensive care and my leg's just falling off

and they can go, oh, that's nice.

You know people like that?

They don't even listen to what you're saying.

Irritating.

But sometimes the people who are irritating

are the people who answer the question.

And normally because we verge on kind of two extremes of dishonesty.

So the question is asked, how are you?

And some people have had a lot going on in their life

so their cat might have just been eaten by a badger

and dad is in intensive care

and their leg has just fallen off.

But they reply by going, yeah, I'm good.

Fine.

Liar.

Christians are the worst, aren't we?

I'm fine.

Sometimes, though, there's other people who treat that question

as like a competition to try and win the kind of

whose day's been the crappiest competition.

And we're out for like maybe to manipulate emotions,

maybe to get something from the other person.

And so the response is, oh, my cat just got eaten by a badger

and my dad's in intensive care and my leg's just falling off.

When in reality, they've never had a cat.

Their dad's maybe got a wee tickly cough

and they've ripped their tights, but that's the extent of need.

But they're exaggerating for the sake of a little bit of empathy.

We're terrible at answering and asking the question, how are you?

But the reality is, every time you come to God's Word of the Bible,

God is asking you that question.

How are you?

And if the God of the Bible is real,

then dishonesty at that point is completely pointless.

He knows everything.

He sees everything.

All of my emotions, my motives, my thoughts, my past,

my scars, my nightmares, my fears, my relapses,

my darkness, my depression, my mania, my lies,

my prayers, my past, my future, everything.

It's like an open book to him.

And so, listen, that means church is not just an hour a week

where you turn up slightly smarter than you've been for the rest of the week.

And maybe with your kids encouraged to be slightly better behaved

than they have been the rest of the week,

to present some kind of disguise or mask.

It's about coming as you are to the God who already knows how you are.

And the hope that the Bible holds out for us depends on the extent

that we are honest with him.

And what we're going to see today is that when we are honest about how we actually are,

God gives us exactly what we need.

That's the first half of this verse.

Look at it again.

Psalm 119, verse 28.

Psalms 119:28

It is this guy responding to the question, how are you?

And he answers, my soul is weary with sorrow.

Now, let me ask three questions just to kind of dig into this a little bit.

We're going to ask what, where, and why.

So question one, what's he feeling?

Answer, weary.

Ever been there?

The word that's used weary there is also used in the Bible to describe a leak in a house.

So the word is giving you a picture, conjuring up something in your mind

that weariness feels that life is leaking out of you.

It's a classic cartoon sketch.

You know when there's a leak in a pipe and you go,

and then suddenly it's just everywhere else.

You know that feeling of, it's just emptying out of me,

and I'm left with nothing.

I'm empty.

The same word is also used in the Bible to describe the eyes,

pouring out tears.

Here's a man who knows that crying is tiring.

He's done.

You can also translate the word as melting.

He feels like his life is just dissolving.

It's like a snowman in a sauna.

It's just disappearing from him.

Weary.

Some of us know what that is like intimately.

That's what.

Question two, where?

Where is he feeling this?

He says, my soul is weary.

Now we all know what it is to feel physically tired,

but that's not what he's talking about here.

We don't just have a body that grows and then gradually decays.

We have a soul that lives and lives on forever.

The soul is the life that God has breathed into us.

It is not so much that we have a soul,

but we are a soul.

It's what we are.

It's the precious inner constant,

despite all of our life's outward changes.

It's my longings and my feelings and my hurts.

It's everything on that scale from delight to depression.

It's that part of me that gets overwhelmed and overthinks.

It's the soul.

And it seems to be involved in everything we do in this world,

but it also seems to be unable to be satisfied by anything in this world.

My soul is weary.

Never felt that?

Now identifying the wear of his weariness is important

because the wear of the symptoms will impact the what of the treatment.

So if part of our weariness is physical,

you might need rest.

You might need physio.

That's true.

It might be that part of your weariness comes from some kind of chemical imbalance

in your brain.

So you might need medication.

But if part of your weariness is in your God-given soul,

then we need a remedy that is more than a physio's manipulation

or more than a doctor's medication.

The question is,

who can cure a soul?

That's what we're going to get to when we get to the second half of the verse.

What weary were the soul?

Question three, why?

My soul is weary with sorrow.

Now we don't exactly know what has been going on in this guy's life.

We don't know if he's in danger.

We don't know if folk are after him.

We don't know if someone close to him or something that belonged to him has gone.

It's possible that he's sorrowful because he's been sinful.

If you look at verse 25,

he talks about feeling stuck in the dust.

So maybe he's referring to that kind of sin curse of,

to dust you will return.

In verse 29,

he asks to be kept from deceitful ways.

So maybe he's been bang at it.

But we don't know.

Actually,

the fact that it's undefined

means that I can make this verse mine.

My soul

is weary with

my sorrow.

Been there?

You feel that?

Now we are going to get to the second half of the verse and go,

well, where does he find relief?

Where does he find escape?

Where does he find answer?

But before we get to that too quickly,

we need to acknowledge

that wherever he is going to go,

we've got places that we normally go.

Now,

in our sorrow,

it's often somewhere that we can get stuck.

We kind of get wedged

into our

weariness.

Maybe some of us in the room this morning are going,

I've only ever lived in the first half of this verse.

That's been my whole life.

My soul,

weary with sorrow.

And we've probably got

some ingrained habits

and kind of coping mechanisms

of where

our weary soul

has traveled

to try and find answers.

So maybe there's

well-traveled paths

from our weary souls

to

retail therapy

where we try and spoil ourselves

when we feel like

we are

spoiled.

Maybe

to the makeup counter

when our head is telling us

that we're ugly.

Maybe to

the dealer

to escape

what won't stop haunting us.

Maybe to the off-license

to try and numb

all of the noise.

Maybe to pornography

to try and escape

the boredom.

Maybe to the gaming

world

when reality

is just too overwhelming.

Maybe to self-harm

when life feels

out of control.

Or maybe

just to phone

Just Eat

because

it offers

comfort

amid

a world

that is

dissatisfying.

But there's

well-trodden paths

to all of these things

and the truth is

they have never

got us

out of the first half

of this verse.

They're well-trodden paths

because we have

walked them

often

but we are

still

stuck.

My soul

is weary

with sorrow.

And we need

to see these things

and say

a bit like the language

in 119

verse 32

they have promised

to make us

run

but in reality

they have

left us

stuck.

They promised

enjoyment

they have left

us

enslaved.

My soul

is still

weary

with sorrow.

So how do we

get out of the

first half

of the verse?

Well he says

Psalm 119

Psalms 119:28

verse 28

My soul

is weary

with sorrow

strengthen me

according to your

word.

Let me ask

three more questions

just to try and

see what this

actually means

for us.

So first question

how?

How do you

get out of the

first half?

Answer

it begins

with prayer.

Prayer is

the 999

call

that connects

him to

the life

support that

God gives.

He

in the first

half of the

verse just

is kind of

describing his

feelings

but this

second half

of the verse

is the

desperation

of his

faith.

When he's

stuck

he acknowledges

that he

has to

look

beyond

himself

for help.

Now

we're not

good at

this but

we need

to own

this.

When

we need

an answer

the reason

why I am

often not

the answer

to my own

problems

is because

I am

the problem.

Or

sometimes

the reason

that I am

not the

answer to

my problems

is because

my problem

is way

bigger than

me.

And if

the sorrow

is deep

in our

soul

it is

not enough

to phone

a doctor

it is

not enough

to book

a counsellor

it is not

enough to

go to

a dealer

it is not

enough to

phone

Just Eat

you need

to cry

out to

God.

If your

soul is

created by

God then

your soul

can only

ever be

cared for

by God.

The one

who formed

it must

be the one

who fills

it.

and what

we are

being

modelled

here

from a

sorrow

wearied

soul

is that

the way

out of

this first

half of

the verse

the only

way out of

the first

half of

this verse

is to

cry out

to the

God of

the

universe.

You look

beyond

yourself.

Prayer

the 999

call of the

weary soul

to the

living God.

Okay,

question

two.

What?

What do

you pray

for when

your soul

is like

this?

Answer,

he prays

to God

for

strength.

Now that

is amazing

because what

does that

tell you?

You do

not need

to be

strong to

come to

God.

I think

we often

think that.

I need

to get

my life

together.

I need

to give

the

appearance

that

everything's

okay.

I need

to stop

crying.

I need

to have

some kind

of record

of good.

This

verse

says wrong.

The shape

of a

relationship

with God

as it's

pictured over

and over

again in

the Bible

is this.

We bring

our

weaviness

to him

and he

gives

his

strength.

to us.

See if

you're not

a Christian

that's the

shape of

a relationship

with God.

It's how

it starts

and how

it continues

and how

it ends.

It starts

by saying

God I am

weary in

my sin

and it's

the only

thing that

I've got

to offer

to you.

And we

bring our

sin to

him and

he gives

a strong

saviour

to us.

And if

you're at

that point

where you're

just

overwhelmed

with sorrow

the one

thing we

want you

to get

out of

this

service

today

is God

says you

do not

need to

come to

a place

or position

of strength

to meet

with me.

You just

bring your

weary soul

and you'll

hear the

Lord Jesus

say come

to me all

you who

are weary

and heavy

laden and

I will

give you

rest.

It's an

amazing thing.

You don't

need to be

strong.

But it's

also a

surprising

thing.

Right?

See if I

was writing

this,

this is

how I'd

finish it.

This would

be the

second half

of my

verse.

God,

my soul

is weary

with sorrow.

Take my

sorrow away.

Would that

not be what

you'd pray?

I want

easy life

and I want

quick fix.

God,

remove the

sorrow.

Is that

what he

asked for?

No,

he doesn't

ask for

his soul's

burden to

get lighter.

answer.

He asks

for his

soul to

get stronger.

He's not

asking to

escape the

sorrow, but

he's asking

for strength

to endure

the sorrow.

See, we

know the

only way to

escape this

sorrow-filled

world is to

leave this

world.

And that

is our

hope as

Christians,

isn't it?

That the

resurrection of

Jesus is

the steadfast

promise that

for someone

who trusts

in him,

the end

of this

life is

the end

of sorrow.

And it

is the

beginning of

forever

rest.

that is

better by

far.

We can

say,

to die

is gain.

But until

he saves

us from

that, we

need strength

for it.

And that's

what he

promises.

You just

bring your

soul

williness

to me,

and I

will give

my strength.

to you.

So, final

question.

How?

How will

God strengthen

us?

My soul

is weary

with sorrow.

Strengthen

me, what

does he

say,

according to

your word.

If prayer

is the

999 call

that cries

out to

God,

God's

word is

the life

support that

God provides

for weary

souls.

according to

God's word,

everything has

its origin

in God's

word.

If you remember

the first

pages of the

Bible say,

in the

beginning,

God

said,

let there

be light,

and there

was light.

Absolutely

everything in

this world

owes its

origin to

the word

of God.

God's

God's

love.

And all of a

sudden,

you just

feel like

it's weary

and you're

weary.

What do you

need?

Plug

yourself in.

That's what

we need.

The Bible

is life

support for

sorrow-filled

souls.

others.

But it's not

only that

creation comes

through God's

word,

and it's

not just

that God

speaks to

us in

a book,

which he

does,

but it's

that he

sent his

son Jesus

into this

world as

the word.

That's what

he's called.

And I

know when

you are

weary with

sorrow,

the Bible

can feel

like a

clamp

that is

shut.

And when

your eyes

are full

of tears

and when

your whole

existence

feels like

it's

melting

and life

has leaked

out of you,

the hardest

thing in the

world sometimes

is to open

the Bible,

isn't it?

The good

news on

days like

that is

it's not

just a

book that

you can

come to,

but the

word of

God is a

person who

has come

to you.

And if I

do anything

today,

I want to

make sure

that you

know and

see and

hear today

that the

word of

God

strengthens

sorrowful

souls and

that comes

through having

a clear

sight of

your

Savior,

the Lord

Jesus

Christ,

the

word of

God,

strength for

weary souls

comes through

a sight of

Jesus the

word.

And I

want you to

see this

word that

weeps with

you in

your sorrow.

Remember that

moment when

Jesus is at

the gravesite

of one of

his good

friends called

Lazarus and

we get a

simple

statement,

Jesus

wept.

his eyes

are leaking

tears.

His life

is like

it's

melting

away from

him.

And the

beautiful

thing about

the closeness

of Jesus,

the word of

God,

is in that

moment he

is not just

full of

sorrow at

death,

but he is

also there

in sympathy

with you.

you need to

see the

strength comes

by seeing

this word

weeping.

But we

need also

to see,

and I'm

desperate for

you to see,

the word that

then goes from

weeping to

willingly

suffering for

you.

the night

before Jesus

was killed

on a

cross,

he enters

a garden

called

Gethsemane,

and like

the psalmist

cries out in

desperate

faith,

the Lord

Jesus says,

my soul

is overwhelmed

with sorrow

to the point

of death.

Sound familiar?

It's almost

like he's

speaking,

Psalm 119

Psalms 119:28

verse 28,

my soul

is weary

with sorrow.

The eternal

word of God

that spoke

creation

into being

enters the

first half

of this

verse.

He willingly

takes on

your sorrow,

he willingly

bears your

burden,

he is

willingly

taking upon

himself

the suffering

and the

sorrow

and the

sin

that is

mine.

And he

takes that

burden the

next day

to a

hill called

Calvary

where we

are told

he bows

his head

and breathes

his last.

The eternal

word gives

his life

for you

so that

he can

give life

to you.

his strength

is gone

so that

he can

breathe

strength

into your

weary

soul.

And then

on the

third day

in what

is the

most

loud

communication

of

strength

God

to weary

people.

He rises

and do you

know the

word that

he speaks

almost more

often than

any other

word is?

He comes

to his

disciples and

he says

peace.

And in that

moment that

is not a

weak word.

That is a

word that

is strong

and it

is a

fighting

word that

says even

in the

moments where

your soul

is overwhelmed

with sorrow

even to the

point of

death

according to

the word of

God there

is peace

even now.

God.

And so I

want to

give you

this verse

as the

invitation of

God where

he comes to

you today

and says

you don't

need to be

strong.

You don't

need to

pretend.

You can

come exactly

as you

are and

my promise

to you

is that when

you bring

your weary

soul to

me my

word will

give you

strength.

And that's

what we've

been praying

for you

even just

in this

last week

from

Grace

Mount.

Shall I

pray?

Our

Father in

heaven

when our

souls are

weary

overwhelmed

with sorrow

please lift

our eyes

to see

your Son

the Word

of God

and in

seeing him

in hearing

him

may you

please

breathe

resurrection

strength

into our

sorrow

filled

souls.

And we

pray these

things in

the only

way we

can.

In

Jesus'

name.

Amen.