Bible Text: 1 Peter 5:8-14 | Preacher: Pastor Dorry Newcomer | Series: 1 Peter, Living Hope | Have you ever heard the expression, “Hit the wall”?  It comes from the sport of marathon running, and it refers to that moment when the long-distance runner simply feels like they cannot continue.  They are out of energy, and because the body has burned through its stored carbohydrates, the brain starts to send out negative messages in an effort to get the exertion to stop!  To get over the wall and finish the race, not only does the athlete have to fuel their body physically so there is more to draw on than just the stored carbohydrates, they must also battle the negative thoughts that are urging them to quit.  I find this fascinating.  Not that I have any personal experience with marathon running.  Oh gosh, no!  But I know all about hitting the wall.  I know all about experiencing a sudden loss of energy in a long race.  I know what it is like to battle negative thoughts. And I’ll bet you do, too.

My name is Dorry Newcomer, and I am the lead pastor here at Lima United Methodist Church.  I decided to film the sermon this morning in my office at church, and specifically from this love seat.  I’ve only been pastor here, well it will be two years next week!  And in that short time, many people have come to talk to me, and have sat in this exact spot, and recounted to me how they have “hit the wall”.  I’ve been in a lot of pastor’s offices over the years, and they all have a similar set up.  There’s a desk where the pastor does his or her administrative work.  There are shelves and sometimes a table filled with resources for study and sharing.  And there’s an area like this for sacred conversation.  That almost every pastor’s office I know is set up with an area like this tells me that hitting the wall is an extremely common phenomenon for Christians!

I think that is why Peter closes his letter with these words:  “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…”  These are good words for us, too.  The corona virus is like a houseguest or piece of fish after three days:  it’s starting to stink.  It’s been with us too long, and it’s not going away on its own any time soon, that’s for sure. Turns out, we are running a much longer race than any of us anticipated.  Marathon runners tend to hit the wall between mile 18 and mile 20, about 2/3 of the way through.  I don’t know if we are 2/3 of the way through our corona marathon.  But I know from my conversations with you and with other clergy that, even though by and large you’re not coming in and sitting down on the love seat to talk to your pastor,  “hitting the wall” is an even more common phenomenon for Christians these days than it was before.

And to that, I would like to say three things.  First, I’m sorry.  Hitting the wall is painful and scary and not fun.  We are in a time of dysregulation.  Everyone around us is hitting a wall at different times.  This makes life very hard.  The second thing I want to say is, as awful as hitting the wall is, the good news is, it’s a sign that you’re hanging in there!  It’s a sign that you’re keeping the faith, that you’re still in the race!  So give yourself some credit.  You’ll have to pat your own back, with social distancing and all, but go ahead!  Give yourself a high five!  Life has landed some tough punches on you lately, and maybe you’ve felt down.  But you are not out!

And the third thing I want to say is, when we hit the wall, we need nourishment, and that nourishment is Truth.  Early in the letter, chapter two verses one through three Peter wrote, “Rid yourselves of all malice and deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.  Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted and seen that the Lord is good.”  When we hit the wall, we need the pure spiritual milk of Christ.

At the end of the letter, Peter writes, “Be alert and of sober mind, because your enemy the devil prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour.”  Sober mind.  I like this phrase.  Peter knows how, when we are tired, we can lose our hold on what is true.  We become vulnerable to malice and deceit and slander of every kind.  When we’re tired, we are more likely to believe the negative things we hear others say, and we are more likely to believe the negative things we say to ourselves, and these thoughts lead to discouragement and depression.  Like the long-distance runner who is exhausted, our minds urge us to give up in order to protect us from further pain.  But we are not destined for discouragement!  We have been raised into a living hope!  God wants to help us get over the wall and finish the race.

Recently Phil and I started watching a series on Netflix called “Anne with an E.”  It’s based on the Anne of Green Gables books.  Green Gables is a farm on Prince Edward Island, in Canada, owned by a brother and sister, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, and they take in an orphan named Anne and make her part of their family.  But this is no “Little Orphan Annie” storyline.  The episodes deal with really tough issues, including poverty, child labor, bullying, sexual orientation, feminism, and mental health.

Toward the end of the first season, the Cuthberts have some bad luck and hit the wall financially—they are about to lose their farm.  Matthew is so despondent, he starts to think that Marilla and Anne would be better off without him, because his life insurance proceeds would solve their financial problems.  Marilla says, “Stop this morbid nonsense!”  But in his distressed state, contemplating suicide is not nonsense to Matthew.  It makes perfect sense to him, because his thinking is poisoned by fear and shame.  He needs love and support to bring him back to sobriety, to the real truth of his worth and value.  Spoiler alert in case you want to watch the show:  Love renews Matthew’s hope, and he is able to get up and go on.

Did anyone ever teach you about the dangers of drunk thinking?  We all know about the hazards of drunk driving, operating machinery while under the influence, even drunk dialing!  We do not make good decisions while we are intoxicated.  Methodists have traditionally discouraged alcohol use as a way to avoid all of those problems.  But none of us can avoid getting “drunk” by discouragement from time to time.  Our despair may not be as intense as Matthew Cuthbert’s was on the television show.  But we will all struggle sooner or later with distressing thoughts. We know God doesn’t want us to give up.  We know God wants us to persevere with hope and joy.  So what should we do when we hit the wall?

The answer is as easy as ABC.  The ABC model was developed by Albert Ellis, who was an American psychologist and author.  The A stands for Adversity.  Like it or not, adversity is part of life.  Peter was writing to Christians who were facing adversity ranging from subtle intimidation to persecution so intense some people were martyred for their faith.  We are also dealing with a range of adversity these days, everything from a minor inconvenience like being hot and uncomfortable because of having to wear a mask in public, to much more intense feelings of discomfort from being isolated for a long period of time, or laid off from work, or gravely ill.

The B stands for beliefs.  Adversity triggers in us self-talk.  When we encounter problems, we instinctively start to coach ourselves, and we believe what we think!  This inner narrative leads to Consequences. If our beliefs are positive, we will experience positive consequences and healthy coping.  But if our beliefs are negative, we will start to experience negative consequences and feel depressed and discouraged and be less able to cope in healthy ways.

Let me give you an example.  A few minutes ago you saw Jim Hoover on your screen.  He volunteered to do our call to worship and the scripture lesson for today, and I volunteered to record him on my laptop using Zoom.  He nailed it in two takes.  After we finished recording, I wanted to edit the video to make it shorter so Sabrina wouldn’t have to do that.  All I needed to do was trim off the first take, which I had seen my daughter do a few weeks ago.  But when I tried to do it, I couldn’t remember what she showed me.  Adversity!  And right away, I heard myself say, “Dorry, you are so bad at technology!”  Belief!  And guess what?  I wanted to give up.  My negative thoughts about myself led to negative consequences.  Have you noticed that in yourself?

Thankfully, we all know that after C in the alphabet comes the letter D.  And D is a very helpful letter.  Not because my name starts with D, but because there are two things we can do when we find ourselves having unhelpful thoughts.  We can DISTRACT ourselves, as in “Now is not the time to think about that.  I will deal with that later.”  But even better is DISPUTATION.  We can dispute those negative thoughts.

In my case, when I heard myself say, “Dorry, you are so bad at technology!”, at first I wanted to give up.  But I disputed that thought.  I gave myself credit, because a few months ago I didn’t know how to use Zoom at all.  Now I can.  That is proof that I can learn new things with technology.  I also remembered that I am not alone.  I could always ask Sabrina for help if I need to.  And I could always text my daughter, too.  Just knowing I had options, just knowing I was not alone and defeated, was a huge relief!

Which leads us to E, energization.  You will know you have successfully disputed your negative beliefs, because your energy will return.  I texted Adrienne, confirmed I was on the right track, and I celebrated that I was able to edit the video.  But the celebration started before that.  Disputing my negative beliefs gave me the energy I needed to stick with it and be successful.

ABCDE.  Adversity triggers Beliefs that lead to Consequences.  Negative beliefs lead to negative consequences.  But we can Dispute those negative beliefs with the truth.  As Jesus said, the truth sets us free.  Truth returns us a state of Energization.  It gets us over the wall.  It helps us finish the race.

This ABCDE model comes from a secular source, but I see it as a form of prayer.  Prayer is thinking things over in the presence of God.  Disputing our negative thoughts gives us the chance to bring God’s truth to our situation.  It is another form of enthusiasm.  It is a way for each of us to place ourselves on the love seat in God’s office, and hear what God has to say to us.

I titled this sermon today, “Hope leads to peace”.  This is our last Sunday working with the book of First Peter, and I think it’s important for us to pay attention to how Peter started and finished his letter by saying, “Peace be with you.”  The living hope he writes about ultimately leads us to peace, because hope is what helps us persevere.  Hope is what gets us past the wall to the place where we can feel good again.   Hope is what keeps us in love with God.  So be alert and of sober mind!  We don’t want to get devoured by the devil who is prowling around like a lion, looking for someone he can convince to give up!

These are crazy times.  We will all find ourselves under the influence because of fatigue, fear, change, and disruption.  That’s just how it is these days.  It’s not “if” you hit the wall, it’s when.  And when you do, I hope you will remember ABCDE.  A is for adversity, which triggers our Beliefs.  If our beliefs are positive, we will have positive consequences and be able to keep going pretty well. But if our beliefs, our self-talk turns negative, we will suffer negative Consequences.  We will become discouraged, depressed, paralyzed, angry, and self-defeating.  Our ability to see the Truth and do what’s right will be compromised.

When that happens, remember, we all need love.  We need the pure spiritual milk of Christ, who died and rose so we could know our worth, and live in hope and peace.  For the love of God, dispute those negative thoughts, and get over the wall!  Rest yourself on God’s love seat for a time, and let the truth of who God is, and how God sees you, to re-ignite in you the enthusiasm and energy to carry on. For God is with us, and calls us teammates and friends.  May the peace of Christ be with you. Amen.