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Scripture:
Psalm 77Reflections:
By reading the whole Psalm 77, we will see that the psalmist is in a battle; a fight inside probably brought by fear from the outside warfare.What the psalmist said in the first verse is something that we all should be doing when we are in our struggling situation; cry out loud to God for surely He would listen.
However, in the preceding verses (Psalm 77:2-9), we can assume that the psalmist is somehow in a state of dejection – lowness of spirits. He searched for God, prayed unto Him with hands ceaselessly raised, remembered God and all His miraculous deeds, but because his spirit was overwhelmed, his soul refused to be comforted. He was in a sleepless night not even knowing what to say due to his disordered thoughts. Now, he started questioning God. (Psalm 77:7-9) Questions, that we too may ask Him, but are clearly answered in His Word.
1. Will the Lord cast off forever?
"For the Lord will not cast off forever." (Lamentations 3:31)2. And will He be favorable no more?
"For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning." (Psalm 30:5)3. Has His mercy ceased forever?
"For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations." (Psalm 100:5)4. Has His promise failed forevermore?
"Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass" (Joshua 21:45)5. Has God forgotten to be gracious?
"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men" (Titus 2:11)6. Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies?
"Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy." (Micah 7:18)Psalm 77:10 marks the turning point of the psalmist when he realized that it his infirmities that caused his crooked and distorted thinking. Again, he remembered God and His glorious works that stirred his spirit and gain back his confidence in God (Psalm 77:11-20). He realized that he had to stop raising foolish questions, instead ask “Who is so great a God as our God?”
Verse 19 indeed is a very precise comparison of God’s ways. Like a ship navigating and gliding in the high seas, He leaves no trace.
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:9)
So let us stop questioning God before He starts asking us the same questions He asks Job.
"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding." (Job 38:4)
In fighting our battles, we have to strategize. And in order to strategize, there are certain things that we have to know.
Know Your Enemy
In John 10:10, Christ said that the thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy, but sometimes we act like Jesus is the adversary where in fact He came that we may have life, and that we may have it more abundantly.Like what the devil did to David, it used his troubles to deceive him; to steal, kill, and destroy his joy, his peace, and his hope. The enemy will use our pain in making us feel like we’d lost, but in fact the victory has already been won when Christ overcame the cross.
"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:57)
"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
Know Your Battle
“The nature of the battle determines the nature of the strategy.” – Pastor Steven Furtick"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12)
The battle that we have to focus on is within; it is in the spiritual realm. And if we will keep on worrying about the external battle we will start losing the real one.
Know Yourself
Humbly accept our nothingness without God. In John 15:5 Christ said that apart from Him, we can do nothing. Therefore, it would be absolutely impossible to win our battles by ourselves."You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)
Stop battling on your own. Battles are not meant to be fought alone. You have your brothers and sisters in Christ willing to share with your burden. Most importantly, you have a God bigger than that struggle you are facing right now. Knowing that you can’t, turn to someone who can.
Know Your God
David knew who his God was. He recalled some of His marvelous works and cited them. He knew that he can call to Him so he did."For God is my King from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth." (Psalm 74:12)
Our God saves. If not, He wouldn’t have given His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, and the salvation of our souls. Not only is He present in our battles, He even fights for us.
"The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace." (Exodus 14:14)
Know How To Fight
"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:13-18)Knowing that the battle is in the spiritual realm, fight not with weapons that are carnal but those that are mighty in God as said in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, living a Christian life includes hurdling life battles. As said in 1 Timothy 6:12, let us keep fighting the good fight of faith and take hold of the eternal life to which we were called.
"And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." (1 Peter 5:10)
Photo by: Wilmalyn Claire Almeria
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