Psalm 77
I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and He will hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
In the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
My soul refuses to be comforted.
When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints.
You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I consider the days of old, the years long ago.
I said, "Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart."
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
"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 His anger shut up His compassion?
Then I said , "I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High."
I will remember the deeds of of the Lord; yes,
I remember Your wonders of old.
I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
You have made known Your might among the peoples.
You with Your arm redeemed Your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph.
When the waters saw You, O God,
when the waters saw You,
They were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled.
The clouds poured out water;
the skies gave forth thunder;
Your arrows flashed on every side.
The crash of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
Your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth trembled and
shook. your way was through the sea,
Your path through the great waters;
yet Your footprints were unseen.
You led Your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
God's word can be a double-edged sword, but it can also be a comforting, soft refuge.
So often I find my self raising these questions to God;
Where are You?
Why has this happened?
Have You turned Your back on Me?
The constant problems of this cursed world can
sometimes weigh my soul down into the depths.
This passage deals directly with this dilemma;
What am I to do when it seems as though God has forsaken me?
Here are some things I have found as a great help
from this great passage and I hope they can comfort
and assist my troubled brothers and sisters in Christ.
...
Earnestly seek the Lord in prayer.
"
I cry aloud to God, aloud to God,
and He will hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted"
-Do you think, my friend,
that you would be alive today
if someone had not put you in there arms as
a infant and cared for you?
Therefore,
do not go one day without running to the
Lord in prayer for help and sustenance,
without which you will not survive.
Prayer is no easy task.
"
My soul refuses to be comforted.
When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate,
my spirit faints.You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak."
-It is of the opinion of many that prayer is such a simple,
easy thing to do.
I respectably disagree, along with the writer of this passage.
His soul was comfortless,he moaned and groaned,
and could barely utter a word.
Does that sound like a simple,
easy prayer life?
Meditate on God.
"I consider the days of old,
the years long ago.
I said, ....... let me meditate in my heart.
Then my spirit made a diligent search:"
-The only way to gain peace from God
is to meditate on God.
Think long and hard on all of God's attributes.
Think on His omniscience (He is all knowing),
immutability (He cannot change), His perfect love,
His Perfect grace, His Sovereignty (He is in total control of all things),
His perfect justice, omnipresence (He is always everywhere at the same time),
perfection, omnipotence (His is all-powerful), wrath, etc....
Think long and hard on these things, and I promise you,
my dear friend, your troubles at this present time
will not seem so troublesome anymore.
Sing to the Lord.
"Let me remember my song in the night;"
-Singing to the Lord is a concept all throughout the
scriptures and especially the book of Psalms.
The reason for this is due to the fact that
singing to the Lord is what we were made to do.
In heaven, right now, trillions of angels and
heavenly beings are singing to Lord.
Join in with them as you lay
your head down to sleep,
and shout out to Him without restraint.
He will come to your aid.
Do not be afraid to ask God difficult and bold questions.
"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 His anger shut up His compassion?"
-It does not offend God when His troubled people
raise these difficult questions,
with an interest in the explanation.
Tell Him how you honestly feel,
beg Him to help you understand why you
are going through such difficult times.
Remember what God has done for you up to this point.
"Then I said , "I will appeal to this, to the years
of the right hand of the Most High."
I will remember the deeds of of the Lord;
yes, I remember Your wonders of old.
I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
You have made known
Your might among the peoples.
You with Your arm redeemed
Your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph.
When the waters saw You, O God, when
the waters saw You,
They were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled.
The clouds poured out water;
the skies gave forth thunder;
Your arrows flashed on every side.
The crash of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
Your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
your way was through the sea,
Your path through the great waters;yet
Your footprints were unseen.
You led Your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron."
-Here, the writer remembers
what God did for the Israelites.
He remembers how God came
and saved them from the hands of pharaoh.
They were beaten, killed, and became slaves.
For years it was like this,
but the great sovereign God
had not forgotten His people.
At the appointed time He came
and rescued His people for His glory.
Now, my friend, whatever it is you are going through,
remember this..
Remember what God did for you.
Remember how God came
and rescued you from this world, sin, and Satan.
You were born into slavery of sin.
For years it was like this,
but the great sovereign God
did not forget you.
At the appointed time He came
and saved you for His glory.
Dear brother or sister in Christ,
meditate on this and I assure you
that God's love, joy, and peace will
come down on you like a 100 foot wave,
and it will restore your soul.
