Psalm 77
July 21, 2013
The other day I was watching the movie, “The Magnificent Seven.” It’s a great old western. As the movie ended, a thought occurred to me as the final two gunslingers turned to go home . . . how did they know which way was home? I mean, they didn’t have a compass, they didn’t have a navigation system, there was no google maps or mapquest. So, how did they know which way to go?
Well, how’s this for a fact, the average person travels an average of 275 miles a year aimlessly driving around lost, rather than asking for directions. Accidents are caused by people looking at maps, GPS systems, and going the wrong direction on one way streets. Some accidents occurred because the driver was distracted while arguing with a passenger when they were lost. Being lost is not fun.
Being lost while driving is a temporary thing. Eventually we find our way to our destination, or just go home. But, sometimes in life, we plain and simply feel lost. Often times we go through periods of life where we don’t think we’re going to make it. It could be a situation about a child, a spouse, work, school, family, friends. Sometimes our situations hit us like a ton of bricks and we feel totally paralyzed, we can’t catch our breath, and we don’t know where to turn.
Well, as we finish a summer of Psalms, I want to look at a very powerful Psalm, Psalm 77. Let’s look at the first 4 verses and see what shape the psalmist is in.
1 I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and He will hear me.
2 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.
3 When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints.
4 You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
Do you hear the emotion in this? You can’t read this without emotion. The psalmist, Asaph, is crying out to God. The root for crying out is to SHRIEK. He’s in distress and he’s seeking the Lord.
And often times our greatest times of distress and crying out to God occurs in the night. It was what St. John of the Cross called “The Dark Night of the Soul.” At night we lay in bed – and toss and turn, we can’t sleep. Our heart, spirit and mind are racing. We’re searching, we’re crying, we’re shrieking. There is no comfort for our body and soul. Our spirit faints, we refuse to be comforted because we’re in so much distress. We can’t even speak, we’re so much at a loss for what to say and how to say it. We’re exhausted, we’re depressed.
Isn’t this a great Psalm? And you know what’s so great about it, it’s real! It’s raw, and it’s a reminder that we can come to God and cry out to Him and He’s not going to run away, or send a lightening bolt to strike us down for being depressed or in despair.
We see people like Elijah running and hiding under a juniper tree, telling God to kill him now. Paul had so many difficult experiences that he, “even despaired of life itself” (1 Corinthians 1:8). Jeremiah was called the “weeping prophet.” We read other psalms which speak of despair as well. And how many times did Jesus deeply sigh and mourn His people?
Many of the world’s and the church’s greatest leaders have dealt with despair and depression. People like Abraham Lincoln, Charles Schulz, Beethoven, Ernest Hemingway, Terry Bradshaw, Winston Churchill confessed he was “hounded by the black dog of despair.” Charles Haddon Spurgeon, one of the great preachers of the 1800's, continually fought depression.
Sometimes life gets to us. I’m not going to go into reasons we get depressed and feel desperate. I’m not here to diagnose or have a discussion about depression or symptoms. Let me just say upfront, there’s nothing wrong with taking medicine for depression. We take medicines for lots of things, and there’s nothing wrong with taking anti-depressants if you need them.
Now, I want to step back for a moment and let you know why I’m using the ESV of the Bible compared to the popular NIV. I believe there is a huge distinction in the translation. Look at the two versions side by side.
ESV —I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and He will hear me.
NIV — I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me.
My point is there is a huge difference in the meaning. The better translation is what we’re using and it’s much more comforting, too. Asaph was telling us right from the get go . . . God will hear me, or as some versions say, God will give ear to me. God is listening and He’s responding. The NIV makes it sound like I’m pleading with God to listen to me. Nope! Take heart, friends, God is listening.
Okay, that said, I love what the psalmist did. He asked 6 questions to God. They’re great questions directed right at God. Listen to these questions, and tell me you’ve never asked them or thought about these questions when you were going through a difficult time?
5 I thought about the former days, the years of long ago;
6 I remembered my songs in the night. My heart meditated and my spirit asked:
7 “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?
8 Has His steadfast love forever ceased?
Are His promises at an end for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has He in anger shut up His compassion?”
Have you ever thought it’s not safe to ask God questions? Maybe I shouldn’t ask God some of the tough questions I’m feeling in my heart . . . maybe if I do God will make it worse. I should just suck it up and deal with it. Stop being a cry-baby. Get over it!
But the reality is this — — you’re not getting over it. You’re sinking more and more into despair and depression. You think you can get out of it all by yourself. BUT — you need to stop at this point and look back to one scripture from last week.
Psalm 46:10, when God says, “Be still and know that I am God!” In other words, stop trying to solve all of your problems on your own and I know it’s really, really hard, but STOP, be still and let God be God and let God do His thing.
Talk to God, cry out to God, ask God questions. Pour out how you feel. It’s okay. God wants you to do this. Don’t do it in the middle of Walmart, but find a safe place. Find a safe friend or family member, find a professional. Don’t hold it in, but let God be God.
Those were powerful questions. I’m not going to dissect them, but consider what he’s asking God ~
Have I been spurned by God, like a jilted lover?
Has His steadfast, unwavering, firm love stopped?
Have God’s promises come to an end?
Is God’s grace totally gone, even though He gave us Jesus?
Has God turned off His compassion?
Those questions many of us have asked at one time or another. Or maybe your litany of questions includes different ones. Understand, it’s okay to ask, just don’t get stuck in the asking and asking and asking.
Because sometimes we don’t get the answers we want, and if we think we’re going to hold out for what we want, we’ll sink further into despair.
Instead, consider what Asaph did?
10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.
Do you see what he did? He stopped his questioning and then looked back to God. Don’t you love the saying, “Hindsight is 20/20?” It’s when we look back at life we see where God was active and leading. But we have to stop and consider how God was leading us. That’s what the psalmist is doing. He’s going to remember the works of God. He’s going to ponder the work of the Lord, He’s going to meditate on God’s mighty works. He says the same thing in 3 different ways.
He’s going to remember / he’s going to ponder / and he’s going to meditate on what God has accomplished in his life and in those around him. And when Asaph does that He realizes how active God has been in his life.
He realizes, God’s way is the right way, even if he doesn’t understand it. No other god is going to help him. Only God can help. And in the process of helping, God will reveal Himself.
The psalmist didn’t have all the answers to his problems. He didn’t know if he ever would get all of the answers he wanted. He didn’t know how long the hardship would last. Yet he knew this — God had delivered His people before, and He will do it again. You see, what God has done in the past, also revealed God’s heart for the people — His love, His grace, His relentless passion and power . . . and that has not changed.
He was able to recall God’s power as He led the Israelites out of Egypt and crossed the Red Sea.
13 Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God
14 You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples.
15 You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph.
16 When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side.
18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
20 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
We realize nothing can defeat God. Even nature quakes when God acts. No trial is unconquerable when God is involved. But, we must stop, and seek God’s presence in the midst of the bad. Even when we don’t know the answers, the call is to trust that God does.
No matter the situation, no matter who’s at fault, there’s a plan for us to hold onto and to trust in the power of God’s grace and love, His power and presence. It’s always there for us. When we seek Jesus, when we discover He’s really real, and as we proclaim Him as our own, then when those moments hit us, and they will, we can believe what God did way back then . . . God still does today.
Do you believe that? Can you look back and see God’s presence, even in the midst of some of your most difficult and trying times. The times when you were filled with more grief and loss than you can imagine. God was there! He was with you! Now, if God was with you in the past, why would God choose not to be with you in the present? He loves you, He sent His Son for you, because He loves you. God will always be with you. His presence is a constant, never ending presence. God’s constant presence is always, always with you!
Sometimes it seems like the trail has led to a dead end. When they looked back; the footprints in the sand were gone… It’s only our footprints. It looked that way when the Israelites were crossing the Red Sea, with the Egyptians hunting them down.
We know God rescued His people . . . and you know what . . .
It looked like a dead end when Jesus was arrested.
It looked like a dead end when Jesus was carrying His cross.
It looked like a dead end when Jesus was nailed to the cross.
It looked like a dead end when Jesus said, “It is finished.”
It looked like a dead end when the Romans took a spear and stuck into Jesus’ side.
It looked like a dead end when they rolled the stone to close the tomb.
But I have “Good News” our God is not a God of dead end trails, but our God is a God of new beginnings.
The crucifixion was not the end.
The tomb was not the end.
The cross was changed from a dead end to the beginning of a new covenant
Forgiveness by grace.
The tomb was changed from a place of death to a place of new life.
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