Lessons from Psalm 77

In June of 2017, my husband Bruce was diagnosed with cancer. It was an aggressive cancer and we knew from the beginning that his chances of survival were low. At night, I couldn’t sleep, thinking and worrying about the future and all the possible outcomes, and every night, I cried out to God and begged Him to heal my husband.

Psalm 77 (ESV) begins with these words – “I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and He will hear me. 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.” God invites us to come to Him, to cry aloud with all the sorrow and sadness we feel and with all of our questions and fears. Sometimes we don’t even know what to say to God. Thankfully, the Psalms are full of ancient songs and prayers that can help guide us as we bring our questions, our tears, our prayers and pain, our hearts and our hopes to Him.

When we are in deep grief, it can feel like God has forgotten us. The psalmist expresses the depth of his pain in verses 7-9: “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 His anger shut up His compassion?” Thankfully, the answer is a resounding NO to those questions, but sometimes it takes a journey of suffering to come to that conclusion.

One of my biggest fears was that my husband would die and I would be alone. What will I do without him, I thought? I began to read and study the Psalms. Over a third of the Psalms are songs of lament: prayers of suffering and despair. When I read Psalm 77, the Holy Spirit reminded me that I could trust God’s character – as it says beginning in verse 11: “But I will still praise the works of the Lord, for I remember your wonders of old. Yes, I will consider all Your works, and meditate on all Your mighty deeds.”

I have known God since my childhood and this helped me remember that He guided me through many difficult situations in my life. I meditated on how God had shown His faithfulness to me in the past and remembered all the times I had experienced God’s presence, favor, grace, compassion and steadfast love.

Many of the Psalms describe the Exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt and recount how God has been faithful to His people over thousands of years. Psalm 77 references the way God parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross it on dry ground. As God’s children, we can remember the power and love that He displayed in the past, in order to have victory over our present fears and to trust Him with the future. Our perspectives change as we remember who God is and what He has done. 

By the time Bruce died in April of 2018, God’s Spirit had been transforming me through His Word to rely on Him and trust Him more, and He continues to work in me as I study and grow in my faith. In His faithfulness, God showed me mercy and love through the outpouring of love and help from family and friends. He brought peace to my heart by increasing my trust in His promises. Even in my darkest moments, I felt His presence and that gave me hope. 

Verse 19 became one of my favorite verses – it says “You made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.”  When I am faced with difficult circumstances or problems, I remember that God has a solution already – His way will lead me through, even though I can’t always see the path.  

Do you ever feel that your situation is impossible? God said nothing is impossible for Him (Luke 1:37). His path led THROUGH the sea – a path that was humanly impossible! Christ’s death on the cross seemed like a defeat, but it was the impossible and miraculous way by which God accomplished His plan of salvation. This is often the way God works, using impossible situations for our good and His glory.

The journey of grief is one that we cannot avoid or go around – we have to go through it and keep moving forward to a place of healing, hope and joy. Psalm 77 was written for public worship; as a lament, yes, but also a song of remembrance and praise. When God’s people go through trials, they should not do it alone. Who can you ask to walk alongside you on this journey?

On our journey with Jesus, He does not promise that we will never have to face stormy seas. Rather, He gives us the hope and strength we need in order to pass through those storms with deeper faith, with more dependence on God, trusting that He will bring us out of the waves, victorious. He makes a way for us to move forward, even when it seems impossible. We don’t always see His footprints, but we can be confident that He is leading and guiding us as we seek after Him.

                                                            

Read all of Psalm 77.

How do you sense God’s presence in your darkest nights?

What “impossible” situation are you currently facing? Do you trust God to provide a solution?

Remind yourself of ways you have seen God’s faithfulness in the past.