The Calvin and Hobbes cartoon has the little boy, Calvin, lying on the grass with his stuffed tiger, Hobbes. Hobbes, of course, is alive when no one else is around, giving Calvin someone to bounce off his ideas. Hobbes asks Calvin, “Do you think there’s a God?” Calvin ponders. Then he says, “Well, somebody’s out to get me.”
There are many people who feel that way about God. In fact, sometimes even Christians doubt about God. We doubt His love. We doubt His involvement in our lives. We doubt His holy character.
Psalm 77 was written by a man who, himself, struggled with God in a time of trouble.
THE DARKNESS OF DOUBT – 77:1-6 (Stanza 1):
First, Asaph’s soul refuses to be comforted – verses 1-3 (First Strophe) – Asaph begins his inward struggles here in Psalm 77 by directing his “voice” to God. He cries out to God. He is experiencing a day of trouble, so He seeks the Lord. The verb tense for “cry aloud” suggests that this was not a single, momentary twinge of doubt. Rather, “the speaker’s life has become defined by the doubt and anguish of the circumstances” (Tate, 274).
Second, in the darkness of doubt, Asaph’s mind wanders – verses 4-6 (Second strophe) – In verse 4, Asaph feels that his insomnia comes from the God of heaven. God is holding his eyelids open. Not only that, but he cannot speak. He goes from “crying aloud” in verse 1, to being unable to speak. I do not know if his crying caused him to be hoarse or if he cried aloud, then received no answer, so that he simply did not have anything else to say.
THE DOUBT IN THE HEART – 77:7-12 (Stanza 2):
As Asaph lies in bed with his heart meditating and his spirit pondering, his heart begins asking questions, questions about the nature of God. Six questions born from doubt – 77:7-9 (Strophe 1).
It is not a sin to question God. Great men and women of the Bible have done so, including Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. It is a sin to create our own answers and/or suggest that we need to give God advice on how He controls the universe and our lives. God works in His own time. Our responsibility is to wait and to be faithful to Him.
THE ASSURANCE IN THE MIND – 77:13-20 (Stanza 3):
We, generally speaking, cannot control our feelings. Emotions are not easily controlled. But our thinking is controllable. In the day of Asaph’s trouble, he finds assurance in what he thought about. When we find ourselves stuck in “stinking thinking” about our own problems, maybe we need to grab ourselves by the nape of the neck and shake ourselves back into reality…
This is hugely used for the treatment levitra wholesale of male organ dysfunction for which male looses confidence to make love to his female partner. viagra tablets for sale Regular intake of Saffron M Power capsules improves power. Fact: This pleasure point is located about two cipla generic cialis inches inside the front vaginal wall. The thymus gland is a major gland of rejuvenation and the immune system therefore it is so important that we move back into the body and in particular the second brain, and heart space of discounts on levitra course, do we begin to gain mastery of the human vehicle whilst moving further into our divinity and evolution, that is the return journey.
Asaph thinks about the nature of God – 77:13-15 (Strophe 1).
Finally, Asaph thinks more specifically about God’s power expressed in the creation and the exodus – 77:16-20 (Strophe 2). In verse 20, Asaph reminds himself, in his mind, that God is the one who led His people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
The Lord was the shepherd that guided Israel out of the slavery of Egypt, across the Red Sea, and into the promised land. Jesus is our “Good Shepherd” who will lead us out of the slavery of sin, across the valley of death, and into the Promised Land called Heaven.
So, in reflection, in our “days of trouble,” what does Asaph show us that we can do to stabilize our faith in the days of doubt?
1. We should never doubt in darkness what God has told us in the light. Bible study.
2. Pray.
3. Remember.
4. Confess the nature of God.
5. Go to worship.
6. Reflect on God’s power.
–Paul Holland
Trusting During Trouble – Psalm 77
The Calvin and Hobbes cartoon has the little boy, Calvin, lying on the grass with his stuffed tiger, Hobbes. Hobbes, of course, is alive when no one else is around, giving Calvin someone to bounce off his ideas. Hobbes asks Calvin, “Do you think there’s a God?” Calvin ponders. Then he says, “Well, somebody’s out to get me.”
There are many people who feel that way about God. In fact, sometimes even Christians doubt about God. We doubt His love. We doubt His involvement in our lives. We doubt His holy character.
Psalm 77 was written by a man who, himself, struggled with God in a time of trouble.
THE DARKNESS OF DOUBT – 77:1-6 (Stanza 1):
First, Asaph’s soul refuses to be comforted – verses 1-3 (First Strophe) – Asaph begins his inward struggles here in Psalm 77 by directing his “voice” to God. He cries out to God. He is experiencing a day of trouble, so He seeks the Lord. The verb tense for “cry aloud” suggests that this was not a single, momentary twinge of doubt. Rather, “the speaker’s life has become defined by the doubt and anguish of the circumstances” (Tate, 274).
Second, in the darkness of doubt, Asaph’s mind wanders – verses 4-6 (Second strophe) – In verse 4, Asaph feels that his insomnia comes from the God of heaven. God is holding his eyelids open. Not only that, but he cannot speak. He goes from “crying aloud” in verse 1, to being unable to speak. I do not know if his crying caused him to be hoarse or if he cried aloud, then received no answer, so that he simply did not have anything else to say.
THE DOUBT IN THE HEART – 77:7-12 (Stanza 2):
As Asaph lies in bed with his heart meditating and his spirit pondering, his heart begins asking questions, questions about the nature of God. Six questions born from doubt – 77:7-9 (Strophe 1).
It is not a sin to question God. Great men and women of the Bible have done so, including Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. It is a sin to create our own answers and/or suggest that we need to give God advice on how He controls the universe and our lives. God works in His own time. Our responsibility is to wait and to be faithful to Him.
THE ASSURANCE IN THE MIND – 77:13-20 (Stanza 3):
We, generally speaking, cannot control our feelings. Emotions are not easily controlled. But our thinking is controllable. In the day of Asaph’s trouble, he finds assurance in what he thought about. When we find ourselves stuck in “stinking thinking” about our own problems, maybe we need to grab ourselves by the nape of the neck and shake ourselves back into reality…
This is hugely used for the treatment levitra wholesale of male organ dysfunction for which male looses confidence to make love to his female partner. viagra tablets for sale Regular intake of Saffron M Power capsules improves power. Fact: This pleasure point is located about two cipla generic cialis inches inside the front vaginal wall. The thymus gland is a major gland of rejuvenation and the immune system therefore it is so important that we move back into the body and in particular the second brain, and heart space of discounts on levitra course, do we begin to gain mastery of the human vehicle whilst moving further into our divinity and evolution, that is the return journey.
Asaph thinks about the nature of God – 77:13-15 (Strophe 1).
Finally, Asaph thinks more specifically about God’s power expressed in the creation and the exodus – 77:16-20 (Strophe 2). In verse 20, Asaph reminds himself, in his mind, that God is the one who led His people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
The Lord was the shepherd that guided Israel out of the slavery of Egypt, across the Red Sea, and into the promised land. Jesus is our “Good Shepherd” who will lead us out of the slavery of sin, across the valley of death, and into the Promised Land called Heaven.
So, in reflection, in our “days of trouble,” what does Asaph show us that we can do to stabilize our faith in the days of doubt?
1. We should never doubt in darkness what God has told us in the light. Bible study.
2. Pray.
3. Remember.
4. Confess the nature of God.
5. Go to worship.
6. Reflect on God’s power.
–Paul Holland