“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
1993 was the most painful year of my life.
It was physically painful: My back went out. I also broke my hand playing basketball.
It was financially painful: Our checkbook was woefully malnourished.
It was spiritually painful: God seemed very distant to me. I was not sensing his presence.
It was one emotional punch after another, and it left me with a throbbing pain in my soul. It wasn’t bad enough to cripple me, but it was certainly enough to leave me walking in a dispiriting fog.
When I hurt, my focus becomes narrow. I see only what is in front of me:
My pain
My disappointment
My frustration
My trials
I can get so consumed with my present pain that I forget my past. That is dangerous!
In Psalm 77 we find the Psalmist facing his own “dark night of the soul.” He felt abandoned by God, rejected, and in a spiritual tailspin. He wondered if he would ever sense God’s compassion again.
The psalmist was not alone. One commentator writes that Psalm 77 “is a community lament, suitable to a time when the people of God are in a low condition.” Hmmm, can someone say COVID-19?
The coronavirus is wreaking havoc physically, socially, emotionally, and it is messing with our spiritual community. In the last couple of weeks I have seen more screen shots of staff Zoom meetings, preachers livestreaming Sunday messages to empty churches, and small group gatherings that resemble the Hollywood Squares.
How are you feeling these days? May be it resembles what the psalmist wrote in his journal?
Will the Lord reject us forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?
So how did he find the light to walk out of the dark? He started looking back.
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."Psalm 77:7-12 NIV
When trials come and God seems to go, the Psalmist reminds us to look back! He is telling us to take a few moments to dwell on God's great miracles of the past! God has not changed. God is able to come through again, even when all seems hopeless.
Does God seem distant? Does it feel like he’s forgotten you? Do what the Psalmist did – look back! Reflect on some of his great works in the Bible or take a moment to think of the ways he has come through for you. Perhaps it was money that God provided just in the nick of time, or an encouraging friend he brought to your side when you needed it most. Maybe it was crystal clear insight for a very cloudy problem, or strength when you were faltering.
If the pain of your trial has you wondering, “Where is God?” or “Will he ever show up again?”, do what the psalmist does: Look back! Even better, pick up the phone or jump into one of those Zoom meetings and reflect on this with a brother or sister in Christ.
His work in the past is our hope and confidence for the future.
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Notes:
“God whispers to us . . .” from C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, page 91.
Psalm 77 “is a community lament . . .” from The ESV Study Bible, note at Psalm 77.