I’d like to share with you something that God unexpectedly spoke to me during a time of prayer today. Though this reflection is quite lengthy, I hope you will be blessed by it and that it speaks to you as much as God spoke to me through His Word.
So, I was interceding for some teammates, when I was directed to this Psalm. At first glance, I didn’t think there was much here that related to what I was praying for or to anything in my own life. But after reading it several times over, God spoke…
Psalm 77
For the director of music.
For Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm.
1I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me.
2When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
at night I stretched out untiring hands
and my soul refused to be comforted.
3I remembered you, O God, and I groaned;
I mused, and my spirit grew faint. Selah
4You kept my eyes from closing;
I was too troubled to speak.
5I thought about the former days,
the years of long ago;
6I remembered my songs in the night.
My heart mused and my spirit inquired:
7“Will the Lord reject forever?
Will he never show his favor again?
8Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
Has his promise failed for all time?
9Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” Selah
10Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
11I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12I will meditate on all your works
and consider all your mighty deeds.
13Your ways, O God, are holy.
What god is so great as our God?
14You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.
15With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you and writhed;
the very depths were convulsed.
17The clouds poured down water, the skies resounded with thunder;
your arrows flashed back and forth.
18Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,
your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked.
19Your path led through the sea,
your way through the mighty waters,
though your footprints were not seen.
20You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Here is what God spoke to me:
Verse 1 – “I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me.”
In desperate times, where do we turn for help? We ought to go first to God with our problems – not Google, not Facebook, not family, not friends; just Jesus. As someone who has wanted to “get it right,” growing up, I always made it my habit to get advice from those I trusted when I anguished about a certain problem… mom, dad, family, friends, mentors, coaches, teachers, mentors… Even on the Race, I’ve found myself turning to teammates, sermons, and internet posts, for answers to my anxious questions of which God Himself has the answer. He holds the answer in the open palm of His hand for me, if only I’d ask Him.
Verse 2 – “When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted.”
Earlier this week, one of the women in our cell group (church small group) shared her prayer habit. She daily for a few hours until she hears a response from God. She doesn’t stop when the clock strikes, when she’s tired, or when she feels like she’s done her duty… No. She prays until she hears response from God, whether that be a, “No,” “Not yet,” or “Yes.” Even Asaph, the writer of this psalm, has written that he sought God with “untiring hands.” When I pray, I usually end it when I run out of things to say, when I get bored, the clock strikes, when my mind begins to wander or I start to fall asleep. If I’m so desperate, why don’t I keep at it until I’ve heard from Him?
Verse 3 – “I remembered you, O God, and I groaned; I mused, and my spirit grew faint. Selah.”
After reading this verse, I had to look up the word “muse.” I’ve heard it used and I’ve even used it myself, but what did it really mean. The dictionary said that it was to mull-over, ponder, cogitate, or meditate on an idea. As I read this verse, I noticed that Asaph, makes note of remembering God in the midst of his distress. He’s mulling over something about God. Whatever it was, whether positive or negative, it made his spirit grow faint.
Verse 4-6 – “You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak. I thought about the former days, the years of long ago; I remembered my songs in the night. My heart mused and my spirit inquired:”
Asaph was so troubled that he could not even speak, yet God kept him awake to walk him through his troubles. How often my troubles have found me at night, when I wish to sleep, yet I cannot… God kept Asaph awake so that He could find resolution to his troubles.
Asaph looked back to the past, focusing on a cause for his current trouble… Perhaps he looked back with a longingness, maybe a sadness, or despair…? Remembering once how he praised God with joy. In all this, his heart was trying to figure out the meaning for his trouble; why was the joy that he’d formerly experienced now gone?? Throughout the last 10 years, I’ve looked back to my upbringing, my happy childhood, and my college years with longingness… Things seemed so hopeful, so joyful, so happy… Why then can happiness allude me as an adult? The solution of our heart is to inquire, why…?
Verse 7-9 – “’Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show is favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?’ Selah”
When I first read these verses I thought, yeah, what’s with God? Why isn’t he showing his compassion and love? Why has he failed Asaph? It took me reading the passage another two times before I understood what was happening here… His heart was crying out, why? I’ve often heard it said that the heart is deceitful, even the prophet Jeremiah spoke of this, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) Asaph’s heart was simply running on default, deceiving him. Rather than look to God for help in the matter or even examine himself to see where he may have gone wrong, Asaph questions God and God’s character. He blames God for all the trouble, all he’s experiencing, for all the unanswered, “why’s?” Yet, it was his heart that was to blame, speaking lies… My heart has often led me astray. When life doesn’t go the way I expect, or someone treats me wrong, my heart and emotions react… I find myself asking all kinds of “why’s” to figure out what went wrong… Yet, my heart is deceitful and will lead me astray, just like it was going with Asaph…
Verse 10 – “Then I thought, ‘To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High.’”
Before letting his heart carry him away, Asaph reminds his heart the truth about God. Rather than letting his heart lead him, Asaph leads his heart with the truth. God is not to blame for his trouble, predicament, or feelings. Asaph reminds himself of God’s saving acts, God’s Sovereign right hand which works for his own salvation. In Hebrew tradition, the right hand of God was often mentioned when bringing about salvation or showing favor. So here, Asaph preaches to himself to remind himself of God’s goodness.
Verse 11-15 – “I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Selah”
So, Asaph makes a choice, the choice we all have – to look back with fresh eyes, remembering the truth of all the good that God has done for us… Asaph CHOOSES to remember the miracles God has done, things he himself experienced. When mulling over God’s acts of kindness, Asaph remembers how holy God is, how truly separate He is from humanity. Now, rather than musing about the “why’s” born from the deceitfulness of his heart, he mulls over the ways God has been good to him.
Birthed out of this consideration is a wonder, a hopeful, even an almost joyful exclamation, “What god is so great as our God?” In full view of all the people, God displays His awesome power to redeem the people He has chosen. I often find it difficult to take the time to look back and remember the good things God has done in my own life. Yet, I would be not only a fool but a liar to say that God has not blessed me, answered my prayers, healed my wounds, or given me direction when I needed it most. In our times of desperation, to keep ourselves from bitterness, anger, and ugliness, we must preach to ourselves acts of God’s goodness in our own lives.
Verse 16-19 – “The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed. The clouds poured down water, the skies resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth. Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.”
The ancient Hebrews considered water to be a symbol for chaos and uncertainty. So, when Genesis says, “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” (Genesis 1:2), it speaks of God bringing order to the chaos, giving a certain foundation to that which is uncertain, giving formation to that which was formless. Similarly, the waters here can be seen as chaos or trouble or uncertainty. When the waters (trouble) saw God, they were afraid. When was the last time your troubles were afraid of God? When met face to face with God, the waters of our trouble recede in fear.
Raging waters always remind me of an experience I had river rafting. Our guide taught us to focus on listening to his instructions, rather than the size of the rapids. One time, we came to some large rapids. For a moment, my eyes were diverted to the water… Immediately, I was nearly paralyzed with fear at the strength and size of the waves. As quickly as I lost it focus, I regained my focus, and put my attention towards paddling at the sound of my guide’s voice. I was reminded of Peter’s story… “Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, began to sink…” (Matthew 14:29-30). When Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the storm around him, he began to sink. We begin to sink in our troubles when we focus on the size of the rapids, rather than the One who made them.
God responds to the violence of the waters through the sky… Here, heaven meets earth. God opens up the skies, the clouds pour down rain, the thunder claps from one end of the heavens to the other, lightening shatters the expanse, and the wind carries it all on its breeze… The troubles of the earth shrink back at the presence of God. God came in the clouds, the sky, the thunder and lightning, and the wind… The earth was shaken… Yet God moves through the midst of the chaos… He is not shocked or afraid of the waters…
And, though His footsteps cannot be seen, and there is no assurance of where He is leading us or that He goes before us, His path leads through the waters…
Verse 20 – “You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.”
Though He leads us through the chaos, through the storm, He does not leave us alone. God leads us like a flock of sheep, providing company and leaders along the way. Jesus said, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20) Even the writer of the book of Hebrews reminds us, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25). God created community. Even He Himself has never been alone. The Hebrew word used for God way back in Genesis is Elohim which is plural, implying that God the Holy Spirit and God the Son, Jesus, were living and existing together from the beginning. So, it stands that since we are made in God’s image and God does not like being alone, He would not create us to be alone. God has given us each other to walk through the storms of life.
Some takeaways…
- When in distress, turn first to Jesus.
- Wait expectantly for His response.
- Lead your heart away from the “why’s?” of life.
- When looking back, remember how God has blessed you.
- When the waters of your trouble threaten to drown you, take your eyes off of them and look to the skies of God’s presence.
- Remember you are not alone and if you feel alone, reach out for help as you walk through the waters!
And so, I hope you feel encouraged!
