Bible Reading for June 6 – Psalm 77

What do we do when our most urgent prayers go unanswered? What do we do when God Himself seems so far away? EPC Teaching Elder Andrew Brunson was held in a Turkish prison for two years. All during that time, he prayed for peace, but didn’t feel any. He says, “I had grace, but it was an unfelt grace.” And as a result, at the end of his first year in prison, he admits that he was spiritually broken.

Asaph would understand. In his own day of trouble, he cried out to the Lord. His hands kept stretching out to God, day and night. But he found no comfort. Instead, even the thought of God disturbed him (verses 1-3). He wondered, “Is God going to reject me forever? Has God forgotten His promises? Doesn’t God love me anymore?” (verses 7-8). Maybe, in the midst of your own pain and heartbreak, you’ve wondered about things like that too.

So, what do we do when we’ve hit bottom, when we can’t even feel God’s presence? Well, after spending a whole year in prison, Andrew Brunson made a decision. He prayed to God, “Whatever You do or don’t do, I will follow You. If You do not give me Your voice, I’ll still follow. If you don’t give me Your presence, I’ll still follow You. If You do not set me free, I’ll still be faithful.” In the midst of persecution, and in spite of his pain and confusion, He said to God, “I’m going to fight for my relationship with You and I choose to turn my eyes ‘toward’ rather than ‘away.’”

In the same way, Asaph’s faith became an act of will, not of emotion. He said, “I shall remember the deeds of the Lord” (verse 11), even though he didn’t see any of those deeds himself. He said, “I will meditate on all thy work” (verse 12), choosing to rehearse the facts of God’s mighty acts in the past, even though his own prayers continued to go unanswered. While he continued to suffer, he made a conscious effort to remember Who God is: holy in His ways, and unmatched in His greatness (verse 13).

In short, no matter how miserable and lonely he felt, and no matter how little evidence he saw of God working in his life, Asaph made a conscious choice to fix his mind on Who God is and what God has done. In fact, in the last five verses of the psalm, he enlisted his imagination to help him focus on God, picturing what it must have been like for the children of Israel as they stood on the shores of the Red Sea, when God opened up a way through the waters for them to escape Pharaoh’s pursuing army.

Now, we don’t know if God gave Asaph the same sort of miraculous escape from his own problems. And we may not know how God will answer our prayers either. But because of the cross of Christ, we know that sometimes suffering is an essential part of God’s plan. And we know that deliverance sometimes comes only on the other side of the grave.

But Christ’s empty tomb also proves that it is never too late for God to be Who He is. It is never too late for God to provide a way of escape, not just from slavery in Egypt, but from bondage to sin and death. So, no matter how we may feel, let’s keep our eyes fixed on Christ – on Who He is and on what He has done. For He will hear our prayers (verse 1), and He will lead us safely through – in His way and in His time (verse 20).

Psalm 77 (NASB)

For the choir director; according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.
My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud; My voice rises to God, and He will hear me.
2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; In the night my hand was stretched out without weariness; My soul refused to be comforted.
3 When I remember God, then I am disturbed; When I sigh, then my spirit grows faint. Selah.
4 Thou hast held my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I have considered the days of old, The years of long ago.
6 I will remember my song in the night; I will meditate with my heart; And my spirit ponders.
7 Will the Lord reject forever? And will He never be favorable again?
8 Has His lovingkindness ceased forever? Has His promise come to an end forever?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah.
10 Then I said, “It is my grief, That the right hand of the Most High has changed.”
11 I shall remember the deeds of the LORD; Surely I will remember Thy wonders of old.
12 I will meditate on all Thy work, And muse on Thy deeds.
13 Thy way, O God, is holy; What god is great like our God?
14 Thou art the God who workest wonders; Thou hast made known Thy strength among the peoples.
15 Thou hast by Thy power redeemed Thy people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.
16 The waters saw Thee, O God; The waters saw Thee, they were in anguish; The deeps also trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water; The skies gave forth a sound; Thy arrows flashed here and there.
18 The sound of Thy thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook.
19 Thy way was in the sea, And Thy paths in the mighty waters, And Thy footprints may not be known.
20 Thou didst lead Thy people like a flock, By the hand of Moses and Aaron.