David faced a lot of pressure and there were moments in his life when he didn’t handle the pressure very well. Sometimes he reacted out of character for a man after God’s own heart. In the end though David found God’s grace and love to be stead-fast and sure, a very present help in times when the crazy in his own life went out of control. You don't have to go crazy when the panic attacks come, but if you do there is still a God who loves you in spite of your out of character moments. A God who stays in character based on the promises of his word and actions found in the plumb line of salvation through Jesus Christ death on the cross.
Yes there are times in our lives when we are so overcome by fear, worry, addiction, pain, loss that we can respond out of character and go just plum crazy. But take heart because in spite of the panic attacks in life we have a loving God who drives out the panic with his presence and gives us strength to get back on our feet and restore our sanity.
Date: 02/04/18
Scripture: I Samuel 21:10-15 and Psalm 34
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From Series: "My Crazy Life"
It’s a brand-new year. As we close the book on 2017 and open the fresh pages of 2018, we can’t help but wonder, “What will this year bring?”
What was the headline story of your life in 2017? What would you like it to say in 2018? Do you know the changes you desire or need to make in order to accomplish that? If people would look at your 2018 goal would they think, “You’re Crazy!”?
Actually, if we were to read most anyone’s life story we could close the book and say about him, “You’re Crazy!” So, come to think of it, we’re all crazy! We live out our days on this third rock from the sun called Earth and the one thing we all seem to be able to figure out is that life itself is crazy and we’re in it and a part of it.
This is nothing new, though. It was no different for the people whose names fill the pages of the Bible. One of the most famous names in the Bible is a person whose life could also be defined as “crazy.” When you read the stories about this person they actually read like a best-selling novel – they’re filled with drama, suspense, emotion, action, joys and sadness. And after reading the account of this person’s life your thought very well could be, “That’s Crazy!”
Some of the greatest and craziest stories in the Bible are told about a shepherd boy, a warrior, and king of a nation. His name was David. Like you and me he lived and dealt with a roller coaster of highs and lows in this crazy thing we call life. But through it all God saw in David a man after his own heart (I Samuel 13:13).
If we could put a title to the story of David’s life we might call it, “My Crazy Life.” The ups and downs of David’s life were crazy. He did some “stupid crazy” things and some people no doubt thought he was just “plum crazy.” But you know what? In spite of all of it – the crazy highs and the plum crazy lows -- God loved David anyway. God forgave David for the craziness, showered him with grace and through this grace David was ultimately able to be victorious in life.
As a musician, prophet and poet, David wrote some of the most powerful and inspirational words in scripture. In one of the most beloved passages in all the Bible,
Psalm 23, David writes, “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6. In spite of the “crazy,” David had unwavering confidence in God’s love, mercy and forgiveness.
Starting next Sunday, January 14, Pastor Roland begins an exciting, new sermon series titled, “My Crazy Life.”
Join us as each week as we explore the life of David, see the grace he experienced which enabled him to turn his world around, and discover that this same grace is available to us today. Through David’s own writings in the Psalms and other powerful passages in the Bible that depict David’s life story, we’ll learn that the changes we want or need to make in our own lives can happen for us, too, if we just leave our “crazy” at the altar and trust in the love, mercy and forgiveness of God.
