Dealing With Life's Hardships and Uncertainties (Part 5)

I'm going to guess that in this room there's a lot of you that have something in common with me when I was a kid.

As a little child, and I'm not going to tell you how long it took me to get over it, I was afraid of the dark.

And sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night because I thought I heard something.

And we lived out in the country and we didn't have air conditioning, so in the summer, really late spring, summer, this time of year, we always slept with the windows up.

And when you're sleeping with the windows up and you hear something outside, you're a little kid, you get scared.

A lot of nights I can remember getting scared.

But then I would hear a sound, a familiar sound coming from the next room that I really liked.

That was my dad snoring.

Snoring loud.

But you know, as a little kid, hearing my dad snore in the next room did not keep me awake.

That helped me to sleep.

Because it really did make me feel secure.

It was comforting.

Wasn't any booger going to get me with my dad in the next room.

In Psalm 139, David had a better source of comfort, knowing he was not just in the next room, but that he was with him everywhere he went.

David talks about the comfort he found in knowing God, knowing that he was always with him, that he knew everything about him.

And as we're going to see this morning, that God made him.

Psalm 139 is one of the most comforting chapters in all the Bible.

It teaches us a lot about just who God is, how he is.

What I want us to see is, as a part of this series, why we're focusing on Psalm 139.

It's really written in four different sections, four different thoughts.

Thoughts.

We're in the third one today.

It teaches us why we can and should trust God instead of worrying about life's uncertainties, life's hardships.

You know, life's that way.

There's times in our lives when we just have sort of a, we're anxious because we don't know what's going to, about to take place.

We're anxious about some people or situations.

And sometimes we're stressed out because we're going through a hard time personally or because of somebody we are close to, we love, who's going through that hard time.

Well, David found great comfort in all such situations in knowing who God was, how he was, how he was so involved in his life.

I want you to look at the first two things we have seen in Psalm 139.

Show you what I'm talking about.

We're not going to go through any of this.

I just want to show you the statements.

In verses 1 through 6, David tells us about God's knowledge, about how God knows everything.

But as you read that, David made it personal, so we're going to make it personal.

God doesn't just know everything.

God knows me.

That's how we need to think.

God knows me and everything about me.

Then in the next section, 7 through 12, David writes about God's presence.

God is everywhere.

As we looked at last week, we need to make this personal.

God is with me.

Always.

We can always count on him.

No matter where we go.

Even if we want to escape him, we cannot.

God is always with me.

Well, the third section, verses 13 through 18, really tells us how God knows us so well

and can always be wherever we are.

Let's read it together.

Psalm 139, verse 13.

Psalms 139:13

For you formed my inward parts.

David is writing, writing a poem, writing a song about how God is so involved in his life.

For you formed my inward parts.

You knitted me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works.

My soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance.

In your book were written every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God.

How vast is the sum of them.

If I would count them, they are more than sand.

I awake, and I am still with you.

The source of David's comfort and praise in these verses is God's power.

God can do anything.

And the way he makes it personal,

and the way that we need to make it personal is to think this.

God made me.

God made you.

We're going to look at what that means.

The description of how God made us is comprehensive here in these verses.

God created each of us according to who he wanted us to be.

God made you according to who he wanted you to be,

and according to the life he had planned out for you.

Let's look at it.

First, think this way.

Think about this.

God made us.

David describes that in verses 13 and 15.

Let's look at verse 13 again.

For you formed my inward parts.

You knitted me together in my mother's womb.

I want you to look at how Chuck Swindoll describes God's work of forming and knitting us together

in his paraphrase of that verse.

Look at it.

For God alone, none other, originated my vital organs.

You knitted my inner being together in the womb of my mother.

David is trying to tell us.

God made us from the inside out.

And then in verse 15, look at it.

My frame was not hidden from you.

When I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Now that last phrase, don't let it throw you off, in the depths of the earth,

that's a poetic description of a child being formed in secret,

as he just said, in the mother's womb.

Poetic expression.

He uses a lot of imagination to try to help us understand the work of God.

The mother's womb is a dark, hidden, secret place.

Look again at Swindoll's paraphrase of this verse.

My skeleton and bones were not hidden from you

when I was made in that concealed place of protection.

When my veins and arteries were skillfully embroidered together

in variegated colors like fine needlepoint.

Now let's think about what we've read, verses 13 and 15 together.

David is describing how God carefully, and like an artist,

skillfully created each individual human being.

God created our inner parts and our outward form.

This includes your physical features and your psychological makeup.

In other words, think like this.

God made your basic personality.

And God made you, your form, your structure,

how you are, high, you know, tall, short, whatever.

God made your physical appearance to be as it is.

Now, let's make some quick corrections or adjustments here.

The fact that God made us this way does not mean that we should not try

to look as good as we can.

For the benefit of some people, let me say that again.

Just because God made us a certain way

does not mean we should not try to look a little bit better

in every way, to act a little bit better.

But here's the real point.

You are who you are by God's design, personality, overall structure,

and you can't change who you really are.

You can't change the way God made you in this kind of specific way.

If you're six feet five, you cannot be five feet five.

If you are wired in such a way that, you know,

you're just the kind of person who's always alert,

you're sort of a type A, you know, everything matters,

you can work on it,

but you're never going to be just a laid-back,

K, Sera, Sera kind of guy or girl.

If you ever do the Myers-Briggs type indicator,

you can go online and do that.

That's a great personality test,

sort of figure out who you are, why you are the way you are,

and that's just you.

Every couple ought to do that.

Understand who you are by God's design,

who it is you've married.

You can't change who you married.

It's not your job to change who you married.

Just like it's not who you married,

it's not their job to change you.

God made us.

Now, along this line,

every person should have a healthy sense of self-worth

or self-esteem for at least three reasons.

Number one, God created us in His own image.

Out of all the creation,

only human beings were created in God's image.

I want you to look at a verse of Scripture

that I know you're familiar with.

We've looked at it in days gone by.

I've done studies about this.

But just look at Genesis 127.

So God created man in His own image.

In the image of God, He created him.

Male and female, He created them.

Men and women equally are created in the image of God.

And for if no other reason,

you ought to think,

I am of worth and value as a human being in this world

because I am created in the image of Almighty God.

Number two, God created us as the person we are.

That's what we just read in verses 13 and 15.

You are not an accident.

You are not a mistake.

Every single one of us in here,

we can think, we can look around and think to ourselves,

I wish I was like that person.

I wish I was built like that person.

I wish I had the personality of that person.

I wish I could be more laid back.

Or I wish I could be more assertive.

See, there's always somebody

that you think, I'd like to be like them.

And a lot of times they're your opposite.

God has a reason for you being you.

So be you.

Be your best you.

But be you.

Number three,

God sent His Son to save us

in spite of all of our sins,

our flaws,

and our failures.

In case I don't say it at the proper time later on,

I hope I do.

Nobody has it all together.

We all are messed up in some way.

A lot of times we want to do our way

instead of God's way.

Life's all about me

and my glory,

not God and His will and His glory.

We need to understand

that we are sinful people.

We've come short,

far short,

of God's standards,

God's expectations,

God's commands,

God's glory.

And the penalty for sin is death.

We don't deserve anything from God

except death,

separation from Him.

We should reap what we sow.

But the good news,

look at Romans 5, 8.

But God shows His love for us

in that while we were still sinners,

rebels,

selfish,

arrogant,

while we were still sinners

of whatever kind,

Christ died for us.

God did something we did not deserve.

He provided a way for us

to be forgiven of our sins,

made right with Him,

made children of Him

through the actual merits

of what Jesus did,

living His righteous life

and dying on the cross

to pay the penalty for our sins.

All of us,

we should accept who we are

by God's design

and then seek to be

the best that we can possibly be,

living according to

God's owner's manual.

God made us as we are

and He's given us

an instruction book,

His Word,

the Bible,

to guide us

in everything

of importance in life

in terms of what we should believe

and how we should live.

How we should live

in a relationship to God

and how we should live

in a relationship

with other people,

people we go to school with,

work with,

and especially we live with.

Now,

God's not only given us

instructions

on how He wants us to live

as the person He created us,

but if we're Christians,

if you truly are

trusting in Christ

as your Savior and Lord,

when that took place,

when you first believed,

when you were born again,

God put His Spirit in you,

and the Holy Spirit

living in every Christian,

every Christian,

He will enable us

to better understand

God's owner's manual.

He will help us

to believe it.

He will help us

to put it into practice.

Because we still have

this sinful nature,

we're not going to put it

into practice perfectly,

but He's going to help us,

He's going to give us

the desire

and the ability

to grow

and actually make progress

in living like God's people.

God not only made us,

but I want you to look

further in verse 16,

God planned our life.

Look at it.

Your eyes saw

my unformed body.

All the days ordained

for me were written

in your book

before one of them

came to be.

That's out of the NIV translation.

David's telling us,

listen to what he's saying,

before God formed us,

he planned out our life.

God made us for a purpose.

That's another way

to look at it.

The prophet Jeremiah

understood that.

Prophet Jeremiah understood

that God didn't just make him,

but God made him

for a specific purpose,

a reason.

One big one.

Probably a lot of little ones,

but one big one.

Look at how he describes it

in Jeremiah chapter one.

He said,

the Lord gave me this message.

I knew you

before I formed you

in your mother's womb.

Before you were born,

I set you apart

and appointed you

as my prophet

to the nations.

Jeremiah is saying,

before I was ever a thought

in my father's mind,

before my mother and father

even knew one another,

God knew me.

He knew that I was going

to come to be

at a certain place

at a certain time

and God planned

what I was to do

in terms of serving

his purpose

in this world.

He understood that.

Here's what I want us

to think.

God has a plan

for every person

he creates.

God has a plan

for all of us.

He works in all

the details

of our life

to bring it about.

Now, I don't want you

to get the wrong

impression here.

Everybody's not called

to be a great prophet

of God

like Jeremiah.

Everybody's not called

to do something

that the world

will sit up

and take notice.

But everybody

has been made

by God

the way they are

to fulfill

the purpose

God has for them.

And that purpose

includes being

a certain kind

of father

and mother

and husband

and wife,

child,

employer,

employee,

student,

whatever.

God has a purpose

for our lives

really at various

stages.

sometimes it takes

a lot of time

for us to figure

some things out,

doesn't it?

Sometimes it takes

a lot of us

trial and error.

Sometimes we have

to learn things

the hard way.

I've learned

a whole lot of

lessons in my life

the hard way.

There's been a lot

of things in my life

that I needed

to be there

but I went

around this way

to get there.

Can you identify?

Some more

than others.

God,

let's give you

an example.

God planned

for the Apostle Paul

as we know him today.

If you read

through the book

of Acts

and a lot

of the New Testament,

it's his letters.

God planned

for Paul

to be the world's

greatest missionary.

He planned

for Paul

to plant

churches

throughout the

Roman world

in the first century.

God planned

for Paul.

Part of his purpose

was to

so,

do these things,

be a missionary,

plant churches

and later on

write letters

to these churches

that became

a large part

of our New Testament.

God planned

to use Paul

to write

Scripture.

But how did

Paul begin

his life?

A lot of you know.

Most of you know.

Paul didn't begin

as the great

believer and follower

of Jesus.

Paul began,

at least what we

learned of him,

he was a religious

man,

very devout,

but he didn't

believe anything

about Jesus.

He hated

followers of Jesus.

He was the

world's leading

persecutor

of Christians

before he became

the world's

greatest

preacher,

establisher

of churches.

How did

that change

come about?

Well,

for Paul,

God had to

literally

knock him

down one day

and blind

him

to wake him

up,

to get his

attention,

to do what

God intended

to do

with his life.

For Paul,

it was a painful

lesson,

but he learned

the lesson

and he got

on board

and he fulfilled

God's purpose.

God has a way

of just working

in people's

lives and

if we took

the time,

I bet there's

a lot of people

in this room,

you could stand

up and tell us

about your

story,

about how you

started out one

way or you

started out in a

way so unlikely

to be where you

are today.

Let me give you

another example.

I know everybody

here doesn't like

Clemson University,

everybody doesn't

like football,

everybody doesn't

like Davos

Swinney,

but I'm going

to guess that

most people in

this room,

you know the

story of Davos

Swinney.

You know his

childhood,

teen years,

even college

years,

nothing desirable,

had nothing,

family had

nothing,

took care of

his own mother

in his dorm

or in his

college place.

As a coach,

he was never

a defensive

coordinator,

never an

offensive

coordinator.

As a coach,

he was a

receiver's coach.

He was down

to pecking

order on any

college level

coaching staff.

And before he

came to Clemson

as the receiver's

coach,

coach,

he'd quit coaching.

Out of it all together.

But God so

worked in his life,

and I'm not

saying Davos was

running from God

or rebelling,

anything like that.

I'm just saying

the circumstances

were such.

But God worked

in his life

in a tremendous

way

to elevate him

to a position

where now

he's one of this

nation's most

popular coaches.

he is one of

the best

paid coaches

in this country.

And like it

or not,

non-Clemson

fans,

he is one of

the most

successful coaches

in this country.

Head coaches.

what I want us

to see is

it may not

be ever

on the news

or in the paper

or anybody

talk about it

in a sermon

illustration,

but God has

a plan for our

lives.

And where you

are now

is important,

but it's not

where you're going

to be

later.

Truth is,

all of us

are still

in process.

We're all

still on that

journey.

There's a lot

of young people

in here.

You're just

getting started

in your life.

And there's

just a lot

of,

it's like life

is,

you need to

think of what

we're talking

about here.

Life is an

adventure.

You don't know

what God's

planned for you.

If you're a

Christian,

you're his

child.

He has some

good things

planned for you.

It may not be

to be wealthy

or famous.

He's got a

good plan for

you if you'll

be faithful to

seek it,

to follow it,

to put it

into practice.

A lot of

people here,

let's say it

this way,

a lot of

people here

are old.

I see a

woman back

there,

old as I

don't know

what.

But if

we're alive,

life is not

over.

And we

don't know

what tomorrow

holds for any

of us.

At any age.

But if

God is our

heavenly father,

we can trust

him.

That he is

still at work

in our lives,

working out

that plan,

the good

plan that he

prepared for

you.

And he made

you like you

are so that

you will be

successful at

your plan

that God has

for you.

if we'll be

faithful to

live life

God's way

and cooperate

with his

indwelling

spirit.

We don't

have to sit

around and

worry about

what God

has planned

for us.

We just

need to live

faithfully

day by day

and just

accept it as

it comes.

And if we

don't know

something,

we pray and

seek his

wisdom,

seek his

direction.

We just

seek his

help.

These verses

show us that

God shapes

each of us

to the person

he wants us

to be in

order to

carry out the

purpose that

he has for

our lives.

And that's

why we don't

have to be

anxious about

life.

That's why we

don't have to

be all stressed

out and worried.

We have a

heavenly father.

Remember what

Jesus said in

Matthew 6?

We have a

heavenly father

who knows us,

knows everything

that we need.

We can trust

him to take

care of us.

We can trust

that he's got

everything under

control.

It does

matter how

we live.

It does

matter the

choices we

make.

So we need

to be faithful

to do what

we know God

wants us to

do.

And as I

said, pray

about the

things we

don't.

Seek God's

wisdom.

Seek his

help.

But the

bottom line

in all this

is we can

and must

trust God

if we want

to be able

to deal

with life's

hardships and

uncertainties in

a healthy way.

But I want you

to note how

David responded

to all this.

verses 14

and 17

and 18.

The thought

of how God

made him

was just

overwhelming.

And we need

to think.

The very thought

about all this

stuff we've been

looking at.

How God made

us.

How he's got

a plan for

our lives.

That should

cause us to

praise God

just as David

did.

Look at verse

14.

As he thought

about how God

made him.

For you

former

Emerald

Parks

verse 13

verse 14.

I praise

you for

I am

fearfully

and wonderfully

made.

Wonderful

are your

works.

My soul

knows it

very well.

Verse 17

and 18

same way.

How precious

to me

are your

thoughts

of God.

How vast

is the sum

of them.

David is

expressing

praise and

awe at

God's

greatness

and goodness

in general

and specifically

in his

life.

like David.

If we'll

just sometimes

just think

about how

God made

me.

How God

works in

me.

Works out

his plan

in my life

through good

times and

bad.

God's

sovereign.

God's in

control.

It'll cause

us to praise

him.

It'll cause

us to be

in awe

that he

could love

us and

bless us

and do

in us

the kinds

of things

that he

does.

But I

want us

to look at

one final

application

of what

we've seen

in all

these verses

this morning.

The fact

that God

made us

and even

planned out

our lives,

that is

foundational.

Two things.

As creator,

God designed

human life

to be

sacred.

As David

describes himself

in verse

13,

he understood

from the

time of

my

conception,

he was a

unique

individual,

human being

growing inside

his mother's

womb.

This shows

us clearly

that every

child,

every single

child

conceived,

growing in

his or her

mother's womb,

is a special

creation of

God,

a human

being,

created in

God's image

of extreme

worth and

value and

dignity.

And that

life in that

womb should be

protected,

should be

honored,

should be

taken care of.

And you know

where I'm going

with this.

This helps us

see as clearly

as any other

passage in

Scripture,

abortion is

murder.

It is the

taking of a

human life,

a human life

that is just as

valuable on the

side of God,

inside the

mother's womb,

as any life you

can see here

right now,

this morning.

we need to

honor life from

conception on.

We need to

understand that

that which is

growing inside a

woman is not

just mere

tissue.

It is a

human

baby

created in

the image of

God.

God has a

plan for that

child.

And we need to

honor that

life.

Secondly,

as creator,

God determined

human sex

or gender

to be fixed.

I want you to

look one more

time at

Genesis 127.

God created

human beings

like this.

So God created

man in His

image and in

the image of

God He

created them.

Male and

female He

created them.

God created

human beings

in two ways.

Everybody's

either a

male or

they are a

female.

male.

One or the

other.

And our

anatomy

tells us

what sex

or gender

we are.

If you have

male anatomy,

you are a

male.

If you have

female anatomy,

you are

a female.

Our bodies

do not lie

to us.

God made

us this

way.

If you have

a problem

accepting that,

if you

think,

you look at

yourself in

the mirror,

you know,

I am

made

biologically

a male.

But I

just feel

like I

should live

my life as

a woman.

I feel like

I'm a woman

trapped in a

male body.

I want you

to understand,

you do

not have

a physical

problem.

You have

a psychological

problem.

I want you

to understand

that.

Same thing

goes true.

If you

are

biologically

a female,

but you

just think,

I just feel

like I've

got to live

my life as

a male,

you're

confused.

Here's what

I want you

to understand.

Now,

if you have

these kind

of feelings,

you need

to seek

true

help

from

committed

Christians

who understand

Scripture,

who have

a good

understanding

of what

the kind

of thing,

the kind

of issues

you're

dealing

with,

and will

try to

actually help

you.

One thing

that we're

doing a study

in my Sunday

school class

talking about

male,

female stuff,

and Matt

Chandler is

the actual

teacher on

video,

and one

thing he

said in

our last

week's study

that just

stood out

to me

that's so

true,

the church

of Jesus

Christ needs

to be a

safe haven

for every

human being

with any

kind of

problem.

And I

want you

to hear

that.

If you

struggle

with your

sex or

gender

identity,

if you

don't know

someone to

try to

help you,

you talk

to me,

and I'm

not going

to berate

you or

do anything

negative,

say anything

negative to

you.

I will

try to

help you.

The

church,

we will

try to

help you,

but it is

not helping

you to say

to you,

you just

be whatever

you feel

you ought

to be.

That is

a lie.

That will

lead to

even more

confusion and

misery because

you'll be

living your

life according

to the

opposite of

the way

God designed

you to

live.

It is

not our

choice as

to whether

we live as

male or

female.

God

designed

that.

God

determined

that when

He created

us,

either male

or female.

And if

you have

confusion

about that,

doubts

about that,

you need

to seek

help.

It is a

psychological

problem

that can

be addressed,

that you

can be

helped,

but you've

got to

seek it.

And the

way to

begin is

saying,

God is

God.

He is

the creator.

He determines

these things,

not me.

I'm the

creation.

And I

will

submit to

the

authority

and the

things that

God says

as my

creator.

Let's go

back to

the main

point of

these verses

to conclude.

God has

created and

shaped each

of us

into the

person He

wants us

to be

in order to

carry out

the purpose

He has

for our

lives.

He made

us.

He's got a

purpose for

us.

And the

question is,

are you

cooperating with

God about

this?

Are you

seeking to be

the person

He created

you to

be with

His help?

Are you

seeking to

do His

will and

serve the

purpose He

created you

for?

And just

start where

you are.

Start where

you are in

your home,

where you

work,

in this

church,

where you

are in

life.

Be faithful

to be the

person that

God's called

you to be

there.

Fulfill that

purpose at

this point

in your

life.

But the

only way

we can

do this

is to

truly have

a right

relationship

with Jesus

Christ.

And if

you don't,

if you

don't know

Him,

I want to

encourage you

right now,

if you will

admit to

God that

you don't

know Him,

that you

are a

sinner before

Him,

you're seeking

to live life

your way

instead of

His way,

if you'll

confess that,

if you'll

repent of

that,

turn from

that,

that mindset,

that way

of life,

put your

trust in

Jesus Christ,

that He

actually paid

the penalty

for your

sins when

He died

on the

cross.

If you'll

call upon

Him to

save you,

forgive you,

He will.

In fact,

God will

put His

Spirit in

you,

He'll

make you

new,

He'll

cleanse

you,

He'll

give you

a fresh

start.

You might

think to

yourself this

morning,

I am a

Christian,

there's no

doubt,

I know what

you're talking

about,

but I'm

not as close

to Him now

as I used

to be,

and really

as I want

to be.

I haven't

been so

concerned here

lately about

serving the

purpose that

He has for

me,

because I've

been too

busy serving

my own

purpose.

That's a

problem.

That's a

rebellion.

That's you

trying to live

as the

Creator instead

of God.

And the

way to solve

that problem

is to admit

your sin and

repent of

that.

Come back to

Christ in

renewed

commitment,

faith,

surrender.

Tell God,

I've made a

mess of

things living

life my

way.

I want to

come back

to you and

start one

day at a

time living

life your

way.

Listen to

the Lord and

do whatever

it is He tells

you to do in

response to

His Word this

morning.

Would you pray

with me?

Dear God,

help us to

see now how

we need to

respond in

light of the

fact that

you've made

us and

you've made

us for a

purpose.

Help us,

Father, to

see how we

need to

respond so

that we can

demonstrate to

you that we

trust you in

the details of

life.

Help us,

dear God,

to quit being

so anxious and

stressed out

about everything

going on around

about us.

Help us to

truly trust that

you are our

Heavenly Father.

You know us

better than

anyone because

you made us.

And help us to

trust you that

you're working out

your good purpose

in our lives,

in the bad

times as well

as good.

in an attitude

of prayer,

you just do

what God

tells you to

do and

He'll be

pleased if

you're obedient

to Him.

I'd be happy

to pray with

you if you

would like to

come forward

during this

time.

Just listen to

the Lord and

obey Him.

That's the

important thing.

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