Not surprisingly, as I read Psalm 77, a couple of the VBS songs popped into my head:
I yell out to my God, I yell with all my might, I yell at the top of my lungs. He listens. (77:1)
Song: He knows us, He hears us, God is listening, He's listening. He hears every word before you even say it. He hears every prayer before you even pray it. (Or as my 23-month-old sings it, "God is wistening!" haha)
Has God forgotten his manners? Has he angrily stalked off and left us? "Just my luck," I said. "The High God goes out of business just the moment I need him." (77:9-10)
Song: I am not forgotten, I am not forgotten, I am not forgotten, God knows my name, He knows my name!Truthfully, with all of the challenges that I've been experiencing lately, it's been good to have the Psalms and these songs on my mind. As my mood has been all over the place, the Psalms have been right there with me, giving voice to my fluctuating emotions, and the childish songs have simply reminded me of God's truth.
I could totally relate to Psalm 77 today. Early in the psalm, the writer has so many complaints and questions, feeling like God has abandoned him. But his mood radically changes later in the psalm. What happened to cause the change of heart? Verses 11 and 12 seem to be the pivot.
Once again, I'll go over what God has done, lay out on the table the ancient wonders; I'll ponder all the things you've accomplished, and give a long, loving look at your acts. (77:11-12)Once the writer reminds himself of who God is and all that God has done, he begins to exuberantly praise the Lord. The pity party is over.
O God! Your way is holy! No god is great like God! You're the God who makes things happen; you showed everyone what you can do (77:13-14)I liked what Eugene Peterson has to say about self-pity in relation to our prayers:
"The antidote [to self-pity] is well known, if not well practiced. It's prayer. Prayer is an act that is sensitive enough to be in touch with self-pity but strong enough not to become absorbed by it. The initial impulse to pray often comes from self-pity. But in prayer, our self-pity meets up with a stronger, healthier energy, and in the process, gets transformed...Dead-ended as self-pity is, prayer doesn't forbid it. Any place is the right place to begin to pray." Conversations, pg. 856This is just another reminder to fix my eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith, and not on my changing circumstances or fluctuating emotions.
God is listening and acting on my behalf, and He changes my perspective and attitude along the way, if I will trust Him and come humbly to Him in prayer. No more pity party for me. This life is about Him.
On Christ the Solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
1 comment:
Psa 77:19 God's path was smack dab through a sea. No footprints left there. Only Signposts now that tell us when we walk with Him what is amiss in our hearts---rest that evades us, no peace that passes understanding...what's cause to look? May we awaken in Him!
Amanda - Congratulations on your Baby Ellie. What a precious name. May her footprints be left on many hearts! May she grow up to be like her mama.
Cici - Barrett raced yesterday in the ITU Pan American Cup in Monroe WA. Placed 8th out of 70 tri-athletes from all over the world. Not a perfect race for him---no such thing really. Real joy for us to get to see the race framed with the backdrop of Mount Rainier. Bittersweet as we also came to visit Bob's 95-year-old dad & had to put him in the hospital after only 8 hours with him. He lives alone but had taken a spiral downward. Thanks for asking. We fly back to Dallas tonight.
Staci - You are so alive in Him and may you see the signposts of your own heart and theirs. That because of your life and words, your new friends will turn to the only Cistern of Life and awake to a Love they can never lose.
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