“Don’t defame our sovereign God by saying that 2020 has been wasted.” Remember this line from Pastor Greg’s Sunday sermon? It’s one of those purifying daggers you want to forget, but realize you need it more and more as life multiplies daily in complexity. Meditation on such a statement is a great opportunity to reorient our thinking on that which is most important—the glory of the Most High. I say it’s a great opportunity, but I dare not say it’s an easy road to traverse. Nonetheless, saints of old have gone before us paving the way of increased joy in the Lord.
Asaph, appointed Levitical songwriter (1 Chron 6:31-48) and author of Psalm 77, is one such helper in our reorienting journey. The Psalm plays out like two halves of a football game, interrupted by a regrouping halftime. The first half gives us a picture of an intense battle—a picture of misery and struggle to achieve victory. The second half portrays confidence and expectation of victory. What happens between both halves is of utmost importance. It is here that reality meets the sovereign purposes of God. Let’s break huddle and learn how Psalm 77 reveals a common struggle for believers, yet a common hope.
The First Half: Misery and Struggle
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.
5 I consider the days of old,
the years long ago.
6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;
let me meditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
7 “Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at and end for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion? (ESV)
Did you recognize the language of misery? The psalmist cries aloud in the day of trouble. His prayerful hands are stretched out, yet comfort to his soul is not evidenced. He moans and faints. Words and strength are failing him. This experience leads him in the direction of despair. He recognizes the chasm between blessing and bafflement. A course correction in thought should’ve occurred here, but in his misery the psalmist continues to travel the path of despondency. He views God as one who spurns and cuts off favor from his people. He questions God’s love and promises. He assumes the well of God’s grace has dried up and compassion is but a distant memory. Facing trouble, the psalmist finds himself bruised and battered, tormented and spiritually waning.
Let us not fail to recognize, however, that the psalmist’s defeatist mindset wasn’t void of being challenged. He does cry out to God. He does pray to God. He does meditate. He does long for a joyous song to lift his mind toward things of heavenly comfort. Yet, the battle rages on. Wrong thinking seems to have the upper hand.
For many of us, this has been 2020. We’ve expressed longing for the satisfying taste of God’s grace, yet we have too often followed the path of despair. Perhaps we have established God in our minds as more indifferent than sovereignly working every detail of life to make us more like Jesus. Is 2020 the marker of God’s ceasing favor? Is it the boundary of God’s compassion? Have His promises come to an end? This was the thinking of the psalmist, and if we don’t wake up from our spiritual lethargy it could continue to be our demise.
Halftime: A Time to Regroup
But it doesn’t have to be this way. It’s time to head to the locker room to regroup. It’s time for the coach to correct errors in our thinking. It’s time to gain perspective on what plays must be engaged in the second half. It’s time to be motivated to fight for victory. Who is our coach in this spiritual battle? It is the Holy Spirit. His pep talk, brought to bear on the psalmist’s mind, is verse 10:
10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.
Here, the kind and truth-recalling Spirit (see John 14:26) enables the psalmist to begin thinking differently about his circumstances. Other translations render the verse:
10 It is my grief, That the right hand of the Most High has changed. (NASB)
10 So I say, “I am grieved that the right hand of the Most High has changed. (CSB)
Not much of a pep talk, right? But it is. The gracious Spirit is moving the psalmist to come to his senses concerning where his logic has led him. The right hand of the Most High (God’s power working for the good of His people) has not changed, but the psalmist has been deceived into thinking it has. It was a lightbulb moment, a deeper level rallying cry—one that encouraged healthy contemplation that something is not right and needs to change.
So, where has wrong thinking led us this year? Are we despairing? Tempted to despair? Have we gone to the locker room with our heads hung low in bewilderment? May the Holy Spirit wake us up from accepting the lie that God’s best days are far behind us—that He has changed in His character and conduct toward His beloved.
The Second Half: Renewed Confidence of Victory
It’s only when we are awakened from this lie that we can begin to play the second half with confidence that God has always been and always will be victorious in every battle we face. Beyond this lie is where we reorient our thinking and fight for truth, for life, for joy. Kick-off…
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.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.
What God is great like 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. (ESV)
Game on. Strengthened by the Spirit, the psalmist contends with a resolve to remember who God has been in ages past. This will motivate him on the basis of expectation for victory knowing that the Most High does not fail. He reminds himself of the holiness of God and the undeniable fact that there is no one like the God of all creation. Notice the lengths he goes to be reminded. He doesn’t just state that God is the God who once delivered a people from Egyptian bondage. He details the might of God over His creation. Water trembled at the presence of God, the earth itself trembled and shook. Thunder crashed and lightning illumined creation.
What might we be missing by not remembering God’s faithfulness to us in the past with great detail? Even right now, think of a past trial God helped you endure and recount the details. Ponder how He used specific people, specific circumstances, specific Scriptures, and specific songs to stir up gratefulness for His faithful and specific care. God’s children are worth more than sparrows and clothed in array like no grass of the field has or will ever know (see Matt 6:25-34). This Lord has not abandoned us; He is still conforming us to the image of His Son (see Rom 8:28-30). He has not ceased showing favor; He is still the One comforting us with a peace the world can never manufacture (see John 14:27).
Beyond the exodus and into the wilderness arena, the Psalmist is led in memory back to calm water, comforting pasture in verse 20: you led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. The Most High is still leading His people, the Spirit of Christ our life and guide (see Rom 8:1-11). We may find ourselves in the midst of present suffering (broad applicability, just like Ps 77), but there is a glory soon to bloom that will make us laugh that we ever spent a blink of an eye worrying about any earthly circumstance (see Rom 8:18-39).
So, dear saint:
If you are playing the first half on your way to despair, take advantage of halftime. Ask God to help you reorient your thinking about who He is in light of Your circumstances. Don’t give in to the lie that the game is over. Jesus has already won the victory over all evil and for all eternity.
If you’re in the locker room, use every second wisely to regroup. Ask yourself honest questions about how you have crafted in your mind a weak God who has abandoned His post for your eternal good. Refuse to run back onto the field with a faulty view of God. Resolve to fight for victory, knowing through Christ you are a conqueror in the face of trouble.
If you’re enjoying the pleasures of comfort in second half, praise God. Sing of His praise. Speak of His praise. Keep praising and remembering His faithfulness to His own, for there will likely come a time when you are tempted to entertain the path of despair. If you’re playing the second half, don’t forget to encourage those who are struggling. Help them remember the goodness of God.
The mighty God of the exodus is the mighty God of our eternal good. Come seasons of disaster or relief, God is giving us opportunities to grow in joy as we see and treasure Him for who He is.