Life is full of seasons, and sometimes those seasons bring distress and the heaviness of unanswered questions. Sometimes it seems like God is absent or at least inattentive. And if you’re like me, sometimes those thoughts about God are accompanied by feelings of guilt, because you know in your head that God is never absent from His children but your feelings don’t always line up with what you know. It is in situations like these that we can find great encouragement in God’s Word.
When reading Psalm 77 the other day, I was impressed by what
a beautiful picture it contains of how we can respond when we are in distress.
Before we dig in, take a moment and read the Psalm here.
Right away, it becomes clear that Asaph is in distress. His
first words are, “I cry aloud to God,” implying that his inner angst has
become so great that it spills out in vocal expression. In verse 2, we see that
his distress is constantly with him both “in the day” and “in the
night” and that there is no relief: “my soul refuses to be comforted.”
Even thinking of God makes him groan (v. 3). Eventually, he becomes silent as
his burden grows even greater: “I am so troubled that I cannot speak”
(v. 4). In verse 5, Asaph begins to think about the distant past and desires to
turn his thoughts to more pleasant things during the difficult night.
At the end of verse 6, comes a turning point: “Then my
spirit made a diligent search:” What follows is a series of questions in
which we can see Asaph’s confusion and doubt: “Will the Lord spurn forever, and
never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his
promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in
anger shut up his compassion?” (vv. 7-9). These questions span the whole
gamut of second-guessing God. Asaph assumes the Lord is actively against him
and questions whether this rejection will last forever. He questions God’s
attributes, wondering if His love is only temporary. He doubts God’s promises,
asking if they have an expiration date. He questions whether God is
absent-minded, thinking He might be forgetting to be true to His character.
Finally, he considers again whether God is actively withholding His blessings
out of anger.
Then we come to verse 10. At first, this verse seems to be
another turning point, when reading the ESV. It reads, “Then I said, ‘I will
appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.’” However,
when looking at the original Hebrew, it seems that other translations are more
accurate, such as the NASB that reads, “Then I said, ‘It is my grief, That
the right hand of the Most High has changed.’” In the Hebrew for this verse,
there is a word that denotes grief, sickness, or weakness, so it makes sense to
see verse 10 as a continuation of Asaph’s feelings of doubt.[i]
He has questioned and seems to come to the conclusion that the answers to his
questions are ‘yes, God has forsaken me.’
But Asaph doesn’t stop there. These questions are only the beginning of his “diligent search.” As soon as he acknowledges his feelings that God has abandoned him, he begins to preach to himself the truths he knows about God, anchored in the reality of God’s past actions and His eternal character. Even though his feelings led him to think of all these questions, he refuses to stop short of completing his search. He does not wallow in his doubt. Instead, he makes a conscious decision to “remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds” (vv. 11-12). He once again turns his attention to the past, but this time his focus is more specific. Rather than generally “consider[ing] the days of old,” Asaph specifically remembers God’s hand in them.
Notice that he moves from just remembering to pondering and
meditating. In other words, he first calls God’s actions to mind and then mulls
them over, thinking about them deeply and purposefully. His conclusion is the
recognition that “Your way, O God, is holy” (v. 13). As he continues to
ponder, he asks another question—"What god is great like our God?”—to
which the implied answer is, “None!” Asaph focuses on the supreme uniqueness of
God and the perfect uprightness of His dealings with mankind.
Verse 11 marks another turning point, as we see Asaph move
from talking about God to talking to Him. Perhaps it is
meditating on the greatness and holiness of God that causes him to erupt in
worship: “You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might
among the peoples” (v. 14). He acknowledges God’s power as well as His
grace in revealing Himself not only to the Israelites, but to other peoples
too.
For the rest of the Psalm Asaph recounts specific ways in
which God’s sovereignty over nature was displayed (vv. 16-18), His tender care
was exhibited (v. 20), and His redemptive plan was set in motion (v. 15). In
verse 19, Asaph acknowledges that there were times when God was at work yet His
“footprints were unseen.” In offering specific praise to God, Asaph reminds
himself that the fact he cannot see God moving does not negate the fact that He
is.
I hope you’ve seen by now that Psalm 77 not only teaches us
about God, but it also provides us with a blueprint for how to care for our
souls when suffering from a distressed heart. It shows us that it is okay to
question and have moments of doubt, but that we should press through the doubt
to the glorious assurance that awaits us on the other side as we discover anew
the greatness and kindness and compassion of the God of Heaven. It shows us
that we should preach to ourselves the Truth of who God is, reminding ourselves
of what we know from experience and from the unfailing Word of God. It shows us
that we should think deeply about what God has done and is doing for us,
choosing to dwell on that rather than on our current distress.
My prayer is that if you are distressed today, you will find
encouragement in Asaph’s psalm and, following his example, will make your own
diligent search until you find the peace of God in Jesus Christ that comes from
knowing Him, pondering His mighty works, and resting in His love and care for
you.
To read the Arabic translation of this post, click here.
لقراءة الترجمة العربية لهذا المنشور إضغط هنا.
[i] Bible Hub. Strong’s Lexicon: Psalm 77:10. https://biblehub.com/parallel/psalms/77-10.htm. Accessed 27 October 2020.
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