The God Who Knows My Situation - 66

0:00Welcome to Broken and Believing, a show for those caring pain, searching for hope, and finding strength in the cracks of life. Unbrother, Ken Blanchard, Pastor, Guitarist, and Storyteller. Here we discover how God uses broken things to bring beauty, power, and renewal. Let's begin the journey, broken, but still believing. Hey, this week we're going to talk about. The God who knows my situation, sovereign and near. A text is coming from Psalm 139, verses 1 through 5, Psalm 34, verse 18, Psalm 121, verses 3 through 5, Hebrew is 4, 16, and Genesis 16, verse 7 through 13. That's a lot right, I know, but there's a lot going on. For those who are new to the show, welcome.

1:02I am so glad that you found me in this great Sarah Gassel Sea of the Internet. There's a whole bunch of places you could have listened and tuned into, but you chose to stick out with me. Appreciate that. For those who have been with me for a minute, love you guys. Thank you so much for rolling with a brother and praying for me and staying by my side through thick and thin and high water. We've gone through some stuff, haven't we? Well guess what? I still am going through. You know about the situation with me and my wife, the caregiving stuff of 5 years, almost 6 now. But now I'm managing a health concern. It's treatable, but it's requiring some changes in how I live and move. I'm sharing this so you understand if I seem quieter or more focused on my well-being. I'm not looking for advice, just letting you know what's going on, okay?

2:02Sometimes life gets too real. The seasons when the words don't come easy, I'm there. The prayer that feels like a whisper, when fear sits heavy on your chest, when uncertainty fogs up the windshield of your life. Now I found out that in these moments we don't come to God with poetry, we come with trembling, we come with questions, we come with the truth, we rather not admit. Lord, I don't have eloquent words today, I'm wallowing in fear, I'm unsure. Help me anyway. And the good news is this, God does not require eloquence, He requires honesty. And He meets us, not from a distance, but from right beside us. Today I want to preach from this truth, God is sovereign and God is near.

3:03He knows your situation and He's not intimidated by. So God's sovereignty is not cold, it's caring. Psalm 139 verses 1 through 5 says, you have searched to me, Lord, and you know me. You are familiar with all my ways. Now when we hear the word sovereign, we often picture a distant king on a high throne, but the God of Scripture is not a far off ruler. He is a close father. Like Mitch says, Abba, David says, you have searched me, you know me. Not you know the world, not you know the galaxies, but you know me. Which means to me, you know my fears. You know my thoughts before I think them. You know the situation that I'm in, the one I can't even articulate. You know the tears I hide, you know the questions I'm afraid to ask out loud.

4:03I'm here to remind you that God's sovereignty is not detached. It is intimate, it's personal, it's attentive. You don't have to explain your situation to God. He already knows the details you forgot to mention. What is near even when you don't feel strong? Remember the theme of this podcast, Psalm 3418? The Lord is near to the broken heart. There's a reason why I changed the title and the thrust of this show. Long before I admitted that I got an issue going on, I was feeling some stuff. Matthew 6, 8 reminds us that your father knows what you need before you ask him. God's nearness is not measured by your emotions, is measured by his promise. We might feel overwhelmed, but he is near. We might feel afraid, but he is near.

5:06We might feel like our prayers are weak, but we shouldn't realize that he is near. Some of us think God only draws close to you when you're strong, confident and spiritually polished, got it all going on. But the Word of God says the opposite, it says he is near to the broken hearted, he is near to the trembling, he is near to the ones who whisper instead of shout. Now I wish that I could have heard this second hand and read it off of a book somewhere, but I'm living this thing right now, so believe me when I say this is real. Your weakness does not repel God. Your weakness attracts him. Your fear doesn't disqualify you from God's presence, it invites his compassion. I'm reminded of the story of Hagar in the book of Genesis, chapter 16, verses 7, 313. She said, the God who sees me and in Hebrew, the Mesoameric says, El Roy is who that means.

6:16So let me bring in the woman from scripture who knows exactly what it feels like to be overwhelmed, mistreated and unsure of her future. Her name is Hagar and she's the mother of Ishmael. In Genesis 16, Hagar is not in the sanctuary, she's not in a prayer meeting and she's not surrounded by support. She is running in the wilderness, pregnant, exhausted, mistreated and alone. She doesn't have poetic words, she doesn't have a strong prayer, she doesn't even have a plan and she's in pain and a desert. But right there in the place where she thought nobody cared, nobody noticed, nobody could help or would help, God shows up. The angel of the Lord meets her, speaks to her, comforts her and gives her direction. And Hagar responds with one of the most powerful declarations in all of the scriptures. It says, you are the God who sees me, Genesis 16, 13.

7:17In Hebrew, she calls him El Roy, the God who sees. Not the God who sees everything, not the God who sees the world, but the God who sees me. Hagar is saying, Lord, I don't think anybody saw me. I didn't think anybody was even paying attention to me. I didn't think anybody cared. I didn't think anybody understood what I was going through, but you saw me anyway. And that's the same truth your heart has been praying. Lord, I don't have eloquent words. I'm wallowing in fear. I'm uncertain. Help me. Anyway. Well, maybe not you, but that's been my words. And God answered the same way he answered, hey, God, he said, I see you. I know your situation and I am always near. Hagar didn't find God, God found her. She didn't pray a perfect prayer. God still showed up.

8:17She didn't have the strength and God still gave her a future. She didn't have clarity that God still gave her direction because the God who is sovereign is also the God who sees. God knows your situation better than you do. Some 121 verses 3 through 5 says, he who watches over you will not slumber the Lord watches over you. See, God is not simply aware. He's watching. He's guarding. He's watching what you don't even know to pray about. I'm worried about the stuff I can't see and God is already handling the part that I can't. He sees the danger you missed. He sees the trap you almost stepped in. He sees the enemy forming a weapon and he breaks it before it reaches you. Some of the greatest blessings in your life are the things God blocks and that you never

9:18knew about. In case you forgot, you slept last night. God didn't. He stayed up watching over you. So because God is sovereign and near, you can pray honestly. He brews 416 says, let us come boldly to find grace in time of need. Boldness is not loudness. Boldness is honesty. He can come to God trembling in tears, stuttering, uncertain, afraid, with a prayer that sounds like a sigh. And God will say, come anyway. He doesn't need your polish, your church talk. He wants your truth. He doesn't need your eloquence. He wants your heart. He doesn't need your strength. He wants your surrender. And God is not impressed by eloquence.

10:19He has moved, though, by honesty. This week I want you to remember this, when you can't find the poetry, God hears the plain speech. When you can't find the courage, God stands close. When you can't find the words, the spirit intercedes. When you can't find your way, the shepherd still leads. When you can't hold yourself together, his sovereignty holds you. God is sovereign. God is near. God sees you. God knows your situation. And God will help you anyway, amen. I've been writing a book of Psalms, and this is one that's going into connection with this week's, I stopped for a minute. They were flowing like water for a while, but then it stopped.

11:19But then that was okay. I figured I should stop, too, and not push the thing. This is a Psalm for uncertain heart. Lord, my words feel small today. My tongue is tired. My thoughts are trembling. My impotry refuses to rise in me, yet here I am, whispering anyway. I am wallowing in fear and uncertainty. The ground shifts beneath me, and courage feels like a stranger, passing through my house without staying. I do not feel eloquent, my prayer stumble, my sentence is break, my voice shakes more than it sings, but you, O God, have never required perfection from dust. I know you are sovereign, I know you are near, I know you stand fully aware of every detail that keeps me awake at night. Nothing in me is hidden from your sight. So help me anyway. Help me with my faith feels thin, with my hope feels borrowed, with my strength feels

12:20like it's leaking through my fingers. Teach me to trust the God who hears broken prayers, as clearly as the beautiful ones. Teach me to rest in the God who holds trembling hearts as gently as triumphant ones. You are my refuge when I cannot run. My peace when I cannot think straight, my song when I cannot sing, be near to me now, Lord. Not because I am strong, but because you are, amen. That's the song of a uncertain heart. Yeah, almost rhymed a couple times, but go in my intention. I show what you're going through this week, but together with God, you can make it till next week. Hang in there because he knows and he sees you. Heavenly Father, I ask that you bless the hearer of these words.

13:21I thank you for the opportunities to speak to them. Thank you for this time that you've cut out so that we may share, even though we're separated by time and distance in this moment we are with you. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for every blessing, everything you've kept us from, everything you've taken us to and through. Please continue to be with us, and I was to be with you. Love you, Lord, and thank you for the friends that you have given me. Thank you for those who have been moved out of my way. Thank you, Lord God, for the opportunity to say, I love you. Thank you for the time that I have had thus far. We love you and we thank you for every gift that you've given us, every day that you've given us, every thing that you've given us. It is in Jesus' name that I praise you and thank you. Amen. All right, y'all. Now may the grace of God and the sweet communion of the Holy Spirit rest, rule, and abide

14:25with you both now and forever. Just in case I don't see you in the flesh on this side of the river, I am looking forward to seeing you at the feet of Jesus. Thank you for joining me on Broken and Believing. Remember, the Lord is close to the Brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. If today's message spoke to you, share with someone who needs hope. And to the podcast, so you don't miss the next story, song, or reflection. I'm your friend and your brother from another mother to Reverend Ken Blanchard. Still broken, still believing, and still walking this journey with you. Until the next time, keep the faith and Shalom, baby.