Week 10: Psalm 77:12(7-20)

Hey gang!  This week we are going to be moving on Psalm 77; sticking with the meditation theme for one more week.  The entire Psalm is outstanding, but verse 12 is the verse that has to do with meditation.

Will the Lord reject forever? And will He never be favorable again? Has His lovingkindness ceased forever? Has His promise come to an end forever? Has God forgotten to be gracious, Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah. Then I said, "It is my grief, That the right hand of the Most High has changed." I shall remember the deeds of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will meditate on all Your work And muse on Your deeds. Your way, O God, is holy; What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your strength among the peoples. You have by Your power redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were in anguish; The deeps also trembled. The clouds poured out water; The skies gave forth a sound; Your arrows flashed here and there. The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook. Your way was in the sea And Your paths in the mighty waters, And Your footprints may not be known. You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron.
(Psalms 77:7-20)

Kind of a cool little personal story behind this verse:  A few weeks ago, we had a meeting with some of the friends joining us on these promises and decided to move on Joshua 1:8-9, then Psalm 119, then Psalm 77:12.  That was the order that I had presented them to the group, so that was the order we decided to move on them.

Then on February 25, while we were moving on Joshua 1:8-9, the Lord gave me the verse from Jeremiah 32:27, "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for me?"  I really felt like God was telling me that something big was going to happen - maybe not even to me, but to someone moving on these promises.

It was a good kick in the pants to stop "praying like a sissy" and start trusting in the Lord to deliver!  I mean, come on!  He's God...NOTHING is too difficult for Him!  So for the rest of that week and into the next week meditating on Psalm 119, Jana and I pressed in and prayed hard.  We asked for the impossible.

And to date...nothing has happened.  In fact, last week I had a particularly bad week.  There have been "mountains" in my life that I have been praying to move and they all seemed to come crashing down on me last Wednesday.  I actually made the comment to Jana, "I know what David meant when he said, 'My eyes fail with longing for Your word, while I say, "When will You comfort me?"'  I have been looking for God's answer to this prayer for so long, I just physically don't know that I can look for it anymore."

"Ummm...Jeremy," you're probably thinking, "not the kind of thing you want to post to get people to join your group."  I know, it doesn't exactly inspire does it?  But that's because the story isn't finished!

I have to be honest, we chose these verses to move on because they all had to do with meditation.  I really didn't study all of them in depth before I picked them.  I read through the verses, but generally I don't read the context of the verses until a few days before we move on them...primarily so I can write this blog.

God knows His word though (duh!), and I believe that He laid out this plan and my circumstances perfectly for this exact moment.  Reaching a point of brokenness is no fun, but it can also be the most beautiful thing in the world.  When you reach the point when you can't solve the problem on your own, when you have exhausted all avenues and there is only one road left to take - total and utter dependence on God - that is when things can finally start to move.  You can't give up though.  You have to press in, even when your eyes fail looking for God to come to the rescue.

That's why I love Psalm 77 so much, and that's why I love that God designed it to come this week; the perfect time for me (and hopefully you as well).  Psalm 77 is all about pressing in.  The writer is filled with the same questions I have been asking this past week:

"Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?"

But look at what the author does when these questions threaten to destroy his faith.  When doubt begins to attack and strangle out the hope that is ours. 

Then I thought, "To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High." I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Selah The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed. The clouds poured down water, the skies resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth. Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

 The same is true today.  We serve the same God who parted the sea for Moses and Aaron.  The same God who brought down the walls of Jericho.  The same God who slew Goliath.  I don't know if we don't believe those stories, or if we just don't believe that they happen anymore, but we serve that same GOD! 

I don't know that you'll be in a situation where you literally need a sea parted so you can walk through it, but I know that God can do it.  I don't know that you or I will literally need to break down the walls of a fortified city or kill a giant threatening our nation, but I know that God can still do it!

It doesn't matter what you need as long as you know who you need.  When fear and doubt start to creep in and replace peace and hope, meditate on God's past works and mighty deeds.  He is the same God!  He hasn't gotten weak in His old age...in fact, He doesn't age!

So press in!  Remember God's miracles of long ago, meditate on them, and apply them to your life!  When you reach the point when your eyes fail looking for God's promise, remembering His faithfulness in the past will fuel your hope and give you the faith to push on.

"not one word has failed of all His good promise..."
1 Kings 8:56