Sermon Title: What To Do When You Feel Like A Nobody
You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
One night in April, 1994 rocker Kurt Corbin took his life by overdosing on drugs and alcohol. Although he was famous, wealthy and successful, he suffered from depression and often felt out-of-place and misunderstood. He wrote the following the night of his death: "I can't stand the thought of Frances becoming the miserable, self-destructive, death rocker that I've become." Frances was the name of his only daughter and he feared that she would grow up to lose the innocence that he long lost in his own life. Although Mr. Corbin was admired by literally millions of adoring fans throughout the world, he found himself feeling like a nobody at the very end of his life.
We, too, can have a life filled with loving, caring people and yet at times feel like a nobody. No doubt the King David, the writer of Psalm 139, found himself at times feeling like a nobody - left by friends, betrayed by loved ones with many upset with him. He, too, could say, "I hope my children don't grow up to be like me." But his "self-esteem" was not based on his own accomplishments or lack thereof. No, he knew he was important and a "somebody" because he was important to God. It was God Who followed him, created him, and worked in his life. Because God cared for him so much, David knew that he was always a "somebody."
This coming Sunday we will talk about how we can overcome feeling like a "nobody" by remembering that we are important to God, we are desired by God, and we are loved by God as we continue our sermon series, "God Is Closer Than You Think." Hope to see you then!
