Sermon Title: "Strength for Today; Hope for Tomorrow"
Date: August 17, 2008
Minister: Rev. Charles E. Ensley, Jr.

Lesson:  Psalm 118:1-9, 21-29

Sermon request:  “How do we find strength for this week?”

The person who requested this is indeed fortunate, for I am answering the second of the four requests they put on this sheet last September.  Of course, they had to wait a while, and I can’t promise if and when the other two will get answered.

When I looked at this as a possible subject for today’s sermon, a phrase immediately came to my mind.  We’ve already heard it said and sung twice this morning.  It comes from the third stanza of our opening hymn, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, and I used it as inspiration for my sermon title:  “…strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow…”

Is that not what someone who is looking for strength for the week desires?  Enough to get through today, with some hope for tomorrow.  I cannot expect to adequately answer for everyone here what they need for a week’s worth of strength, but I will attempt to share some of what works for me, using today’s Psalm 118 as a model.

Last Sunday after worship, a visiting minister told me at the door that she really liked my prayer that morning.  I didn’t get to chat with her afterwards, so I don’t know whether she meant the opening prayer we read in unison, or my pastoral prayer.  In this week’s Carillon, I referred to that prayer’s plea for elusive peace in the world.  But I also remember very well how I began that pastoral prayer.  I thanked God that each of us awoke that morning, that our heart was still beating, our lungs were still taking breaths, that our eyelids opened.

Next to the 23rd Psalm, probably the next most well-known verse from the Psalms is that which Robert Schuller began the Hour of Prayer for decades:  “This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (118:24)  That is a wholly worthy prescription with which to begin each new day.

Each morning when I awake, I try to thank God for that new day.  Sure, when I get out of bed my joints are going to ache more than they did a decade ago; but I am still alive, able to think, reason, function, walk, talk, eat, drive, read, work.  It seems to me the best way to begin the day, even before you ask God for anything, it to thank God for that new day.

Then, ask God for the help you need.  Each Sunday morning at 6 a.m. I ask God to be with our worship leaders, Julie, Alicia, the choir, myself those who will be teaching Sunday School.  Give us the attentiveness and skills we need to do our job well that day, both for your benefit and to the glory of God.

Other days of the week, I pray for persons in our church who are in need:  those going through medical treatments, those having trouble with a family member, those facing a financial or employment dilemma.  If I know I am facing something challenging or difficult that day, I ask God for the strength to deal with it.  Centuries ago, the Psalmist prescribed this as well:  “Out of my distress I called on the Lord…  With the Lord on my side I do not fear.  What can mortals do to me?  The Lord is on my side to help me…  It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in mortals.  (118:6-8)

You are not alone in dealing with what you think you need strength for if you admit you are not alone.  Are you dealing with it solely yourself?  Or did you ask God to help guide you through it?  You may not get exactly what you asked for in the manner you wanted, but you could be assured God walked with you through it if you asked for help at the beginning.

As I am fond of saying, the time to pray is not when the test is being handed back.  You’re supposed to pray before the test and ask God to let those answers you studied flow out of your memory bank.

Then, don’t forget to give God thanks afterwards.  Maybe it went well.  Maybe it didn’t.  Maybe you’re whipped, drained of all energy and enthusiasm.  But at least pray, “Thank you God for getting me through that.”  Even the Psalmist remembered:  “I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.” (118:21)

Another way to get strength for the week is through some use of meditation or a devotional.  Some of you may be reading your way through the Bible.  Others may find daily devotionals helpful, such as The Upper Room and the Daily Word, both available free out in the narthex.  Last spring the United Church of Christ made available a daily devotional online for the Lenten season.  It included a brief scripture, a paragraph or two reflection, and a brief closing prayer.  It was so well received that it has continued beyond Lent.  It pops up on my e-mail each day.  I confess that when I arrived back from two week’s vacation, I deleted all 14 that had come, because I just didn’t have time to read them.  And not every single one speaks to me, but I know they mean something to some reader somewhere.  You can subscribe by going to ucc.org, click on Online Community, and then to the tab for Subscribe to free email meditation.  It’s free; it’s easy; it’s fast.

I’ve already covered asking God for help so you don’t need to go it alone, but it needn’t stop there.  How about asking for help from your family or friends?  In my career as a pastor, I believe that more than half of the problems for which people have sought out my counsel have been over matters that were not religious or spiritual.  Sometimes when you share your dilemma with someone else, they can see a path or a solution that is not clear to you.  Or maybe it’s one you pondered, but need affirmation that might be just the approach to take.  So don’t be afraid to take it to a trusted family member, friend, colleague, pastor or counselor if the burden of carrying it and trying to solve it alone becomes overwhelming.

The 16th Century Protestant Reformer Martin Luther called Psalm 118 “My own beloved psalm.”  In it, he saw the work of the Lord, who heard the cry of distress and gave deliverance.  That deliverance was not casual or accidental.  It was due to the steadfast love which endures forever and must never be forgotten.

Many charges have been brought against Martin Luther; some have been admitted by even his stoutest defenders.  What cannot be denied is that he was above all a religious man.  It was as natural as the psalmist for him to look beyond himself, even beyond all human protectors, and to find in God his refuge and hope.  When enemies came and sneeringly asked where he would be when church and state, princes and people, were against him, his answer flashed back:  “Where will I be then?  Why, then as now, in the hands of the Almighty God.”  In sorrow and in joy, in adversity and success, it was the same.

“How do we find strength for this week?”  You’ve begun in the right place.  Many people go to church to hear, to learn, to discover something to take with them to help them in the week ahead.  But every day isn’t Sunday.  You need to find ways to be in communication with God day-by-day so that you are assured that no matter what you face, no matter what befalls you, no matter what joys or disappointments you encounter, the Lord is there with you.  Both the Psalmist and Martin Luther were assured of this.  We should be no less confident, no less willing to ask.