Enduring Times of Distress

Today I want to examine Psalm 77 to see how we should respond to trying times in our lives. I believe this Psalm illustrates a framework through which we can overcome distresses in our lives.

Here is the entire passage:

Psalm 77

^"1My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud;
My voice rises to God, and He will hear me.
²In 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.
³When I remember God, then I am disturbed;
When I sigh, then my spirit grows faint. Selah.
⁴You have held my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
⁵I have considered the days of old,
The years of long ago.
⁶I will remember my song in the night;
I will meditate with my heart,
And my spirit ponders:
⁷Will the Lord reject forever?
And will He never be favorable again?
⁸Has His lovingkindness ceased forever?
Has His promise come to an end forever?
⁹Has God forgotten to be gracious,
Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah.
¹⁰Then I said, "It is my grief,
That the right hand of the Most High has changed."
¹¹I shall remember the deeds of the LORD;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
¹²I will meditate on all Your work
And muse on Your deeds.
¹³Your way, O God, is holy;
What god is great like our God?
¹⁴You are the God who works wonders;
You have made known Your strength among the peoples.
¹⁵You have by Your power redeemed Your people,
The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.
¹⁶The waters saw You, O God;
The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
The deeps also trembled.
¹⁷The clouds poured out water;
The skies gave forth a sound;
Your arrows flashed here and there.
¹⁸The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightnings lit up the world;
The earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹Your way was in the sea
And Your paths in the mighty waters,
And Your footprints may not be known.
²⁰You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron."

† Lit and did not grow numb

This Psalm is written by Asaph, whose character isn't very well known. David and the commanders of the Army said that his and Herman's sons were those "who were to prophesy with lyres, harps and cymbals" (1 Chronicles 25:1-2). He wrote Psalm 50 and Psalms 73-83.

Stage One: Fear and Confusion

In Psalm 77, Asaph is obviously describing a very difficult time in his life. For some reason, God doesn't appear to be responding to his supplication and prayer. Verses 1-9 lay out the problems Asaph has in his present distress.

Within those verses, 1-5 almost show somewhat of a battle in Asaph's mind/heart. Verse 1 says God will hear him when his voice rises to Him, but then later in verse 3 Asaph says "³When I remember God, then I am disturbed;". So on the one hand he says God will hear him, but on the other something about God disturbs Asaph. Asaph says in verse 4 that he is so troubled he cannot speak. All in all, we have a man who does trust God, but yet is obviously immersed in a very unpleasant situation.

Verses 6-10 hit me the hardest. Here God uses a wonderful speech pattern of question asking.

Psalm 77:6-10

"⁶I will remember my song in the night;

I will meditate with my heart,
And my spirit ponders:

⁷Will the Lord reject forever?

And will He never be favorable again?
⁸Has His lovingkindness ceased forever?
Has His promise come to an end forever?
⁹Has God forgotten to be gracious,
Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah.
¹⁰Then I said, "It is my grief,

That the right hand of the Most High has changed.""

Asaph thinks about these questions. Mulling them over. Have you ever asked any of these? Have you been to a point in your life where you are crying out to God saying "How long are you going to forget about me? Do you care? Have you stopped loving me? Are you mad at me!?"? I know I have and as sinners it's easy to feel this way. Since we aren't God and can't see all of history unfold before a millisecond of it has passed, we naturally feel a sense of insecurity and wonderment at God's apparent lack of sympathy and aid when we're facing a seemingly unending distress.

This is stage one: Fear and Confusion. In distress we are always afraid of what's going to happen then we wonder why it's happening. The natural (yet somewhat comical) response is "but I'm a Christian! I have GOD with me! I shouldn't be in troubles like this!" I contrast this with 1 Peter 4:12-14:

"¹²Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;

¹³but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.

¹⁴If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you."

If God is testing you, don't be surprised if it hurts. It sometimes takes pain to move us forward. It forces us to draw near to the only thing we as *Christians* have: God. Anything that pushes us closer to God and His Word is a very good thing--even pain.

Stage Two: Trusting God

The whole tone of the Psalm changes starting in verse 11. Here we see several ways that Asaph takes comfort in God. The following are what I believe are the steps to enduring a distress until it ends.

1. Remembering God's Previous Answers/Triumphs

Psalm 77:11-12

"¹¹I shall remember the deeds of the LORD;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
¹²I will meditate on all Your work
And muse on Your deeds."

Starting with verse 11, Asaph takes a new approach to his distress. He starts with remembering God's past deeds and wonders of old. Such stories could be of God's deliverance of Noah, He leadership of Abraham, His formation of Israel. Asaph chooses to remember what God did do instead of thinking about what (he thinks) God hasn't done. Verse 12 says Asaph meditates on God's works and muses (which is defined as being absorbed in thought) about God's deeds.

This remembering of past actions is echoed back in verses 16-20, where Asaph talks of God's power and also mentions His deliverance of Israel from Egypt through Moses and Aaron.

Thinking about His past wonders and being absorbed in thought about God is always a help in time of distress. It reminds us of God's faithfulness and that He will come through at some point.

2. Reflecting About the Nature God

Psalm 77:13-14

"¹³Your way, O God, is holy;
What god is great like our God?
¹⁴You are the God who works wonders;
You have made known Your strength among the peoples."

God is God put simply. Asaph says "what God out there is great like ours?" Most likely Asaph is referring to idols. Pieces of wood or metal. How does a piece of wood compare to the God who created the wood AND created the man who could fashion that wood? It can't. He is all powerful and works wonder. Also, He has shown His strength through example to the peoples of the earth. (vs. 14).

3. Remember that God Redeems Powerfully

Psalm 77:15

"¹⁵You have by Your power redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah."

Asaph says that God through His power redeemed His people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Verses 16-20 are an illustration of this power as God parted the Red Sea for Israel as they were being delivered from Egypt:

Psalm 77:16-20

"¹⁶The waters saw You, O God;
The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
The deeps also trembled.
¹⁷The clouds poured out water;
The skies gave forth a sound;
Your arrows flashed here and there.
¹⁸The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightnings lit up the world;
The earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹Your way was in the sea
And Your paths in the mighty waters,
And Your footprints may not be known.
²⁰You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron."

God dealt powerfully with Israel. He redeemed them from Egypt through an amazing show of power: parting a Sea! Moving thousands of gallons of water out of the way to allow Israel to walk across dry land to safety and deliverance on the other side. Simultaneously he wiped out the Egyptian army, thus destroying their previous captors. Verse 20 says God led His people "like a flock"--a Loving Protector that kept those that were too weak to defend themselves safe. When someone like this is on our side, what do we have to fear (see also Romans 8:31).

Although it is wonderful that God can help us and that we can take comfort in Him, there is one fatal mistake people make.

Sin: Short Circuits Prayer

Consider another Psalm.

Psalm 66:18

"¹⁸If I †regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear;"

† Or had regarded

If I regard wickedness, or cherish it, the LORD will not hear. Plain and simple: willful sin short circuits prayer. Be careful to not make the mistake of thinking you are not to blame for the distress you find yourself in. Your first step before doing any of the above is to make sure that you're not the cause of the problem in the first place. If you have sinned, confess the sin (1 John 1:9), repent of it (which means to change your mind about it and cease doing it, see Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:15) and ask God to forgive your for it.

Conclusion

Like many believers, we find ourselves in difficult and trying situations. However, as seen here in Asaph's struggles, God does comfort and will follow through on His word. We just have to trust Him.

God bless,

Robert A. Rowlett