Responding to the Past

Sermon from the morning of Sunday 4th 2026

Texts: Job 19; Psalm 51; Lamentations 3:21-24; Daniel 2:23

Listen below:

Responding to the Past

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Here is a summary blog post of the sermon:

Responding to the Past

A year has passed. Many things have happened. As we look back, there may be experiences we have left undealt with – things without closure, unfulfilled hopes, actions taken or avoided, joys embraced and sorrows endured. It is important to consider how we respond to these things.

This is not a call to endless introspection or emotional excavation. Rather, it is a reminder that just as we instinctively know how to respond to physical needs – eating when hungry, drinking when thirsty – we must also learn how to respond to experiences, thoughts, and emotions. Day by day, year by year, God teaches us how to do this through his Word.

So let us bring the past year before us and consider how to respond to it rightly, and how to move forward in light of it. Under each heading, we will learn from the responses of those who have gone before us in Scripture.

1. Suffering

Suffering often lingers unresolved. We may still feel anger, confusion, or grief about what has happened. Job’s response gives us profound guidance. In the midst of terrible loss and false accusation, Job declares: “For I know that my redeemer lives” (Job 19:25).

Job’s hope was not in immediate relief, but in a living Redeemer who would vindicate him, restore him, and bring his suffering to an end (Job 19:25–27). His confidence reached beyond this life. Even if suffering followed him all his days, it would not have the final word.

So too for all God’s people. If the past year has brought pain, Christian, lift your eyes from earth to heaven. Your Redeemer lives. He pleads your cause and will one day remove every trace of sorrow. Let this truth shape your response to suffering now and in the year ahead.

2. Sin

All of us have sinned this year. Some sins may weigh heavily on our consciences. Psalm 51, written by David in repentance after his sin of adultery and murder, shows us the right response.

First, we must consider the steadfast love and mercy of God (Psalm 51:1). His love is so deep that it caused him to send his Son to die for sinners (John 3:16). God does not receive repentant people with reluctance, but with joy – like the father who ran to embrace his prodigal son (Luke 15:20).

Second, we must honestly confess and plead for mercy. David holds nothing back, asking God to wash him clean (Psalm 51:2, 7–8). What we refuse to bring into the light will be as a ball and chain in our spiritual lives, or as a burden on our back. God is willing to forgive all our sins, let us retain none of them but cast them before him.

Third, we must seek renewed joy. Conviction is painful, but repentance leads to restoration. God delights to restore “the joy of [his] salvation” to broken hearts (Psalm 51:8–12).

3. Disappointments

Disappointment arises when desires are unmet. Jeremiah knew deep disappointment – rejection, persecution, and apparent failure. Yet he reminds himself that “the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases… his mercies are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:21–23), and concludes, “The LORD is my portion… therefore I will hope in him” (Lamentations 3:24).

Our ultimate hope is not in our desired outcomes coming to pass, but in God himself. He knows best. His plans are good: “For I know the plans I have for you… plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). His love is proven most manifestly at the cross (Romans 5:8). When disappointment comes, we respond by trusting his wisdom and resting in his faithfulness.

4. Successes and Joys

The past year has also held many blessings – personal joys, shared victories, and spiritual gifts. How should we respond? Like Daniel, we acknowledge that success comes from God and give him thanks: “To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise” (Daniel 2:23).

Scripture repeatedly reminds us that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). From material provision to spiritual blessing, all we have is from his hand. In Christ, we have been blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3).

As we move into the year ahead, may we respond rightly to the past – trusting in suffering, repenting of sin, looking to God in disappointment and giving thanks in joy – living all for his glory.