Asaph¡¦s Wilderness
Psalm 77
Tonight I want to talk to you about the wilderness. The wilderness is a place of Spiritual Dryness ¡V of emptiness that takes the soul. Asaph who wrote this psalm was in the wilderness. Asaph - was the worship leader for Israel. A famous and skilled musician King David had appointed him chief of the Levites who provided music at the ceremony held when the Ark of the Covenant was brought back to Jerusalem. He wrote 11 of the Psalms recorded in the Bible and was instrumental in many others. This praise and worship leader is the same one who cries out to God and says
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
Listen to the questions of the Wilderness- V7-9
Where is God, Why can¡¦t I seem to find Him, why doesn¡¦t he answer me, are you there
Let me make a distinction here ¡V between a Desert and a Wilderness scripturally.
Desert ¡V is caused by sin ¡V need is for repentance.
Wilderness ¡V is a place of growth ¡V need is for trust.
How do you survive a wilderness?
1) Realize that Wilderness experiences are a part of life. - If you find a pastor or a person who says they have never experienced a Spiritual dry time - they either have not been in Christ long, are too proud to admit it, or are just plain better than me and everyone else.
David a man after Gods own heart said
My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. O my God, I cry by day, but Thou dost not answer; And by night, but I have no rest.
Jeremiah the great Prophet wrote in Lamentations
"For these things I weep; My eyes run down with water; Because far from me is a comforter, One who restores my soul; My children are desolate Because the enemy has prevailed."
Have you ever felt like they did? Ever experience that kind of wilderness in your life. In the wilderness there are places of comfort ¡V we will call them springs ¡V because they are places of life and growth.
„Y The Spring of Prayer-v. 1-2 Days of trouble must be days of prayer. Notice that in the day of trouble Asaph didn¡¦t give up on God. Istead he cried out all the more to see Gods deliverance. Its tempting to believe that God stops listening and simply disappears when in reality He is right where He has always been. Never Stop Praying.
„Y The Stream of Remembrance- V 11-15 In the following verses Asaph answers his own questions about God by remembering Gods faithfulness in the past. All the times of plenty and provision. Matthew Henry said ¡§The remembrance of the works of God, will be a powerful remedy against distrust of His promise and goodness; for He is God, and changes not.¡¨
„Y The Stream of God¡¦s Greatness- v16-20 We drink from the stream of God¡¦s greatness. There is none to compare. He spoke and the world listened. He spoke and light was separated from darkness. He spoke but a word and the universe was formed. He spoke and the Sun and Moon and Stars obeyed His command. This is the God we serve. Not a sightless, deaf, and dumb idol- Not the creation itself - but the Creator of all things. He who holds the worlds in His hands also holds us in His hand. Isaiah 59:1 Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short That it cannot save; Neither is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. Our deserts do not change the nature of God- It is He who saves, strengthens, and heals.
