Counseling from Psalm 77
I once sat with a new Christian who had recently lost many close family members in a short amount of time. Her grief overwhelmed her, and her background before converting to Christ taught her to never question the Lord. But, here she was, crushed by the weight of her grief, unable to process her thoughts and emotions through a biblical worldview because she was desperate for the answer to one question, “why me?” She was right to not ask that question of God. It would have been sinful complaining. My task as her counselor was to turn her away from the world, which demands an answer to every heartache, and to the Lord who cares deeply for her experiences at this point in her life. He is nearest to her through her grief as Psalm 34:18 tells us, with “near” meaning “next of kin”. She may have lost family members, but God, her greatest comfort was still closest. Would her questions remain the same with this truth in her heart? Would she be able to put aside her indignation and victim mentality when she read from Scripture how a psalmist was able to express himself to the Lord, while going through trouble and feeling heartache himself? We want our counselees to grow in the Lord and to see these moments as the best invitations to become more like Jesus (2 Corinthians 4). Seasons of suffering does not translate to open season for sinful complaining against God, rather humble submission and transformation.
Psalm 77 speaks to days of trouble. Asaph experiences great distress which causes him to doubt God’s goodness in his life. The emotions that are described not only in this Psalm, but at least one third of the Psalms are not unfamiliar to us. Nonetheless, the fact that the Psalm exists for us, means that he still chose to turn to God. In the process we are given a blueprint for how to faithfully turn to the Lord and trust him, and let his word change us.
The Day of Trouble - Can we ask questions of God?
We read from the very beginning that something has caused him great distress - to the point that his soul refuses to be comforted (v. 3). No matter how much he turns to God, he feels a disconnect. He cannot speak and he is aware that it is only the grace of God that is holding him fast (v. 4). The questions begin bubbling to the surface. Does God still love me? Are his promises still good for my life? Am I in this position because he is angry at me? (v. 7-9). Verses 7 through 9 ask four questions about God that the Psalmist is grappling with. Should we counsel counselees to ask these questions of God? Is that what Asaph is doing? I believe that we should counsel those who suffer to ask the questions of themselves and their situations. Asaph has already said that he is struggling to meditate on the Lord. These questions, directed at Asaph and not the Lord when answered, shows Asaph that his faith is in a precarious position. If he allowed these questions to start to be pointed to God, he would enter into sin against the Lord.
We see the way God answers these kinds of questions in the book of Job over the course of two chapters, 38 and 39. Job 40:2 sums up the reason why we should not complain through questions to God by calling us faultfinders who try to contend with the Almighty. We have no right. He is the sovereign Lord of the world, we are small, sinful people. We have no right.
Psalm 77:10 stands on its own.
“I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High”.
Once we ask those questions of ourselves, and remember that God is the sovereign Lord of the world, we know that we only have one place to go for comfort in the day of trouble. We don’t run to God to lash upon him questions that serve more as accusations, but to remember his goodness and faithfulness and wisdom. We run to him for safety and comfort and the truth that there is no better place to be, regardless of the circumstances which drove us to him in the first place.
How to be faithful through suffering
Asaph makes a choice to remember the work that God had done. He makes a choice to remember who God is. He makes a choice to humble himself, because God is holy and good and sovereign and we are not. He is the one who works mighty deeds and redeems people and nations, not us.
Yet, he does not start to list out all the ways God has been faithful in his own life. He begins to speak of the waters, clouds, sky, thunder and lightning. He remembers that God chose a hard path - through the sea, for the great moment of redemption that the Hebrew people had clung to in their collective history.
He remembers the Exodus (v.16-20). The very story that was given to the Israelites to be passed from generation to generation as a testimony to who God is. Salvation for a nation, but also for people, to know and experience the love of God. A promise that God will not abandon those he loves, no matter the trouble.
Asaph shows us that his day of trouble, his despair, his confusion, is so great that he can not even list God’s faithful moments in his own life. So often we are told to remember times when God has been faithful to us as individuals. Perhaps he brought you through a hard financial moment or provided victory over a particular sin. Maybe God faithfully walked along you as you experienced mournful grief and now you experience joy and thankfulness as you recall memories of a particular person. All of these are perfectly fine to remember when we are struggling to connect with God, but there is still something greater.
The Cross
The Old Testament’s greatest redemption arc is told through the Exodus story. However, we are people of the New Covenant. Our great redemption promise is read in the gospel narratives of the New Testament. Jesus, God in the flesh, walked a similarly hard path. Moses led his people down, even below sea level. Jesus ascended a hill, and then went even further upward by being lifted up for all to see.. He suffered and died the death that was meant for us. He engaged in the greatest act of love and redemption toward you and me on the cross. Jesus on the cross not only gives us salvation, but makes us heirs with Christ, and the Holy Spirit which allows access to the Father! We have been given eternity to look forward to, which is hope to those who suffer. This doesn’t mean that we have to wait for any tangible hope. Eternity has already begun for the Christian. It is peace in the chaos of life. Jesus said in John 14 that he gives us peace, not like the world gives us, meaning the freedom and redemption from sins is already ours. Peace is a state of our soul, not a feeling we get when life is calm. It is a promise of good when everything else feels bad (Romans 8). We do not grit our teeth as we suffer, knowing the promises of Revelation when every tear will be wiped from our face. We praise God for the suffering and grief of this life, knowing that it is a gift of grace to engage in a relationship with him now, before we enter heaven. We let him minister to our hearts and we grow in knowledge and love for him. We cling to the cross, and we magnify the work of Jesus, as we realize more and more the depths of our need for salvation that comes from outside of us. So, remember the peace of Jesus in the chaos and pain and confusion of this world. It is redemption in your suffering!
