Psalm 77 is a Psalm of Asaph. He is crying out to God and wondering why it seemed that God wasn't answering. He does the right things by crying out to God in verses 1-2:
1 I WILL cry to God with my voice, even to God with my voice, and He will give ear and hearken to me. 2 In the day of my trouble I seek (inquire of and desperately require) the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out [in prayer] without slacking up; I refuse to be comforted.
Asaph was refusing to be comforted. This is the Hebrew word "nacham". One of the meanings of this word is to have a change of purpose! Asaph was refusing to be moved from his purpose of hearing from God! I like this in the Bible Exposition Commentary:
Asaph asked six questions, all of which dealt with the very character and attributes of God.
Will He ever again show favor to Israel? Yes! (Ps 30:5. Isa 60:10).
Has His unfailing love vanished forever? No! (Jer 31:3).
Have His promises failed? No! (1 Kings 8:56).
Has He forgotten to be gracious? No! (Isa 49:14-18).
Is He so angry, He has shut up His compassions? No! (Lam 3:22-24).
It has well been said that we should never doubt in the darkness what God had told us in the light. God's heart has not changed. He still loves us and always will.
Amen! Then Asaph said this in verses 11-15:
11 I will [earnestly] recall the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will [earnestly] remember the wonders [You performed for our fathers] of old. 12 I will meditate also upon all Your works and consider all Your [mighty] deeds. 13 Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary [in holiness, away from sin and guilt]. Who is a great God like our God? 14 You are the God Who does wonders; You have demonstrated Your power among the peoples. 15 You have with Your [mighty] are redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
Continually remind YOURSELF of all of the good that God has done in YOUR life. When you do this, the enemy will never be able to really discourage you again! His thoughts will still come, but you will know immediately what to do with them! AMEN!
Hebrews 11:6 says this:
6 But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that god exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him out.
We MUST have and operate in faith in order to be pleasing to God! What is faith? Faith is first of all trust and confidence in God and His Word! Faith is ALSO this from verse 1:
1 NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses.
Where do we get this faith? Romans 10:17 tells us this:
17 So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
We get faith to be saved by hearing the Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth. We get faith for healing by hearing and hearing and hearing the Word of God concerning health and healing. We get faith for any and every area of life by hearing and hearing and hearing what God has to say about it! Get into the Word of God DILIGENTLY! You will be SO glad you did! To encourage you, here is Hillsong with "Faith". Click through to You Tube and hit the drop down menu to get the lyrics:
2 Kings 17 reveals the reason for every trouble that ever came against the nation of Israel and other nations. Verses 36-41:
36 But you shall [reverently] fear, bow yourselves to, and sacrifice to the LORD, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm. 37 And the statutes, ordinances, law, and commandment which He wrote for you, you shall observe and do forevermore; you shall not fear other gods. 38 And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget; you shall not fear other gods. 39 But the LORD your God you shall [reverently[ fear; then he will deliver you out of the hands of all your enemies. 40 However, they did not listen, but they did as they had done formerly. 41 So these nations [vainly] feared the LORD and also served their graven images, as did their children and their children's children. As their fathers did, so do they to this day.
It was so important that the LORD repeated "You shall not fear other gods"! But, they did! People still try that today! Some people think that there are many ways to reach the Heaven that the Bible speaks of. If we really want to go to the God of the Bible's Heaven, then we had better find out HIS Way to get there! He has only ONE Way, and HIS Name is Jesus of Nazareth! John 14:6:
6 Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the LIFE; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me.
Check out our website at the left to find out how to make Jesus of Nazareth YOUR Lord and personal Savior! HE is the ONLY Way to get to Heaven! Hallelujah!
Shalom in Him!
