SITUATION CRITICAL BUT NOT HOPELESS!
By: Dr. Mike Jones
Down through the annals of time when God’s people sought relief from the problems of life, they would immediately turn to the Psalms, because they reflect the experiences of men and women in the life of faith. And Psalms has been crowned the most loved of all books of the Old Testament.
Psalm 77 is about Asaph [King David’s music director] who faced the exact same problems that many of us are facing today.
Each of us can think back to at least one experience of turning to God in a moment of desperate need, praying and asking God to help, and it seemed as through nothing happened; and in desperate situations, when there seem to be no answer, we find ourselves asking WHY? One noted Bible teacher said, “Doubt flood minds and we wonder what is wrong, either with God or with us.”
The Psalm was written to help people who have cried out to God, but no answer; and it drove Asaph almost to the point of giving up. Then wisdom kicked in, and he realized he had to change and correct his thinking, and it brought him to the place of trust, of peace, and of strength again. Psalm 77 is about moving from the place of giving up to receiving God’s peace.
When you read the entire Psalm (77), we’re never told what specific trouble or problem that he was facing; but whatever it was, it was severe! Some Bible scholars have speculated it was some deep disappointment, such as what many of us experience from time to time. Others say, it could be a sorrow that came into his life, or the death of a love one or friend. We really don’t know, so the Psalmist only refers his problem as, “the day of my trouble.”
Take your mind off this man’s problems and yours, and realize what else we know about him; that he’s a believer in God, that he brought his trouble to God, and last but not least, he know there is help in God.
In Psalm 77:5-6, Asaph says, “I have considered 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.” What he’s saying is – I’ll just meditate on how good God has been to me in the past: Saints, while we wait on God to answer our cry/prayer, take a moment and meditate on how good God has been in the past, when you’ve been in a hard place, pressed on every side, waiting on God to answer.
In verses 7-9, we see the thoughts that crept into Asaph’s mind: “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 anger, shut up His compassion?” Selah.
What Asaph is saying is: In the past God was there for me-but not now! So, I conclude: I’ve misjudged God. The God that said, “I changeth NOT,” has changed. And I’ve concluded that He’s no different than a normal man—you can’t always count on Him. THIS IS WHAT’S TROUBLING ME!
CONCLUSION
There are times in all our lives that we call out to God knowing full well He’s there, but there’s no answer coming from Him. We, who are serious students of scripture, know this is standard practice from Him. He uses this quiet time as a tool for discipline and training us.
(Adapted from the Teaching SITUATION CRITICAL BUT NOT HOPELESS!: all Scripture references are taken from the KJV unless otherwise noted.)