But... I REMEMBERED!

"I cry out to God; yes, I shout. Oh, that God would listen to me! ² When I was in deep trouble, I searched for the Lord. All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven, but my soul was not comforted. ³ I think of God, and I moan, overwhelmed with longing for his help. ⁴ You don’t let me sleep. I am too distressed even to pray! ⁵ I think of the good old days, long since ended, ⁶ when my nights were filled with joyful songs. I search my soul and ponder the difference now. ⁷ Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will he never again be kind to me? ⁸ Is his unfailing love gone forever? Have his promises permanently failed? ⁹ Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he slammed the door on his compassion? ¹⁰ And I said, “This is my fate; the Most High has turned his hand against me.” ¹¹ But then I recall all you have done, O Lord; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. ¹² They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works." ~Psalm 77:1-12 NLT

If we are honest I think anyone who is a person of faith in Jesus Christ can say at some point we have all felt like Asaph the author of this psalm! Or maybe you have never felt like the psalmist before, and I pray that you never have to, but the least I can simply say is I have.

Honestly they are very dark times, times when you feel like Asaph has here as he wrote this psalm. Times where our prayers and our cries seem to bounce off the walls and float away in to the abyss! Times where our hearts are broken, emptied of confidence, and our lives seem like they are wasting away.

Times when we echo Asaph's questioning:

Has the Lord rejected me forever?
Will He never again be kind to me? 
Is His unfailing love gone forever?
Have His promises permanently failed? 
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he slammed the door on his compassion?
Is this my fate; that God has turned his hand against me.”

BUT just as the QUESTIONS seem to fall away Asaph reveals one of the KEYS to making it through these dark days of our lives. And it comes in the simple word... BUT!

"But then I recall all you have done, O Lord; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. ¹² They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works."

You see, when times are tough, rough, and downright dark, the KEY to moving beyond those moments in life is to remove our sight from our circumstances and situations and TURN our eyes upon the TRUTH of who God is!

The reality is, the enemy of our faith would love for us to continually wallow in the false lies that God abandons His people. God never abandons those who earnestly and honestly seek Him even if they have been walking in downright defiance of His plans and purposes for their lives.

In the very next psalm, in Psalm 78, Asaph records these incredible words of truth concerning the God of the Christian faith:

"But all they gave Him was lip service; they lied to Him with their tongues. ³⁷ Their hearts were not loyal to Him. They did not keep His covenant. ³⁸ Yet he was MERCIFUL and FORGAVE their sins." ~Psalm 78:36-38a NLT

The REALITY is this:

Has the Lord rejected me forever? NO... see Lamentation 3:31

Will He never again be kind to me?  NO... see Ephesians 1:7-8

Is His unfailing love gone forever? NO...  see Psalm 118:1

Have His promises permanently failed? NO... see 2 Samuel 22:31

Has God forgotten to be gracious? NO... see Ephesians 6:24

Has he slammed the door on his compassion? NO... see Psalm 145:9

Is this my fate; that God has turned his hand against me.” NO... see Hebrews 13:5

NOW... I love the last verse in the section above because it is one I have preached on and reminded myself and those God has placed under my care of as often as I can. In Hebrews 13:5 the author speaks into Asaph's life and ours when he reminds us all that God's will never leave us or abandon us no matter how dark things may seem to us.

In fact in the original language, Hebrews 13:5 actually is better translated this way:

"For I will NEVER NEVER fail you. I will NEVER NEVER NEVER abandon you."

NEXT time you find yourself in tough situations, circumstances, and trials. NEXT time you find yourself crying out to God and not feeling like He is there or hears you when you cry. REMEMBER to STOP and turn your gaze back to the TRUTH... to His TRUTHS and to the words recorded for us in scripture that REMIND us always that He is FOR us and NOT against us!

God bless you richly in whatever place you find yourself today...

Rev Trev