PSALM 77:1-12 – “I cried out to God with my voice—To God with my voice; And He gave ear to me. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; My soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, The years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, And my spirit makes diligent search. Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more? Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah. And I said, “This is my anguish; But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.” I will remember the works of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds.”
THEME OF THE DAY: AN OFT-FORGOTTEN ASPECT OF SPIRITUAL WARFARE. As we read the Psalm of Asaph in today’s scripture, feel his deep emotional upheaval in his heart. Enter into the wave after wave of his inner turmoil. And this is a believer, and a believer not being chastised for sin! What is he experiencing? The sense of abandonment by God; a feeling of His anger upon Him; the loss of God’s favor, and though none of these spiritual impressions are true, they are gripping him with conviction they are true. Is this not the most painful and difficult area of spiritual warfare for the believer who loves God?
The 19th century preacher and prolific writer Octavius Winslow wrote of this real inner conflict. He penned . . .
“Is the believer’s faith not tried when the foundation of which it rests is assailed? Is it not tried when distorted representations of God are presented to the eye, dishonoring thoughts of God are suggested to the mind, or unbelieving apprehensions of Jesus, His love, His grace, and His works are foisted on the heart? Is our faith not tried when we entertain for one moment the idea that God is unfaithful to His Word or that He is arbitrary and unkind in His dealings; that Jesus is not what He presents Himself to be an all-sufficient Savior of the lost, the healer of the broken heart, the tender, gentle Savior who does not break the bruised reed, but supports it, and does not quench the smoking flax, but fans it? Yes, to a holy mind these are painful trials of faith. The tender conscience shrinks from them, and the sensitive heart recoils.”
How does Asaph go from this dark dungeon of spiritual doubt and unbelief to the confident peace and rest in his walk with the Lord? His mind. His thinking. He will not be enslaved by his emotions but will direct his mind to stay on the Lord and what He has done and been through Asaph’s life – faithful . . .
“But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. I will remember the works of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds” (Psalm 77:10-12).
May the Lord help us to realize this aspect of spiritual warfare. It is an inward turmoil that is to be fought in the mind; right thinking will lead to control of wrong feelings.
PRAYER: Father, I praise You for Your unchanging love and grace sustaining me in my emotional highs and lows in life.
REFLECTION: As ever-changing beings, cling to the unchanging character of God. It is our anchor in life’s storms.