A Lack of Confidence
“I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.” Psalm 77:5-6
This Psalm was written by Asaph. Who is Asaph? I had never looked up any information about Asaph until today. It turns out that he was of the tribe of Levi and a musician who was appointed by King David to lead the sacred choral services (I Chronicles 16:5). He was also a prophet and a poet whose writings were sung during the reign of King Hezekiah (II Chronicles 29:30). Either he or his sons wrote twelve of the Psalms (50, 73-83). It is helpful to know about those who author Psalms, poems, prose, etc. so that one can get an indication of their beliefs, thoughts, and ideas. Of course, there is not much that is revealed about Asaph until we read the Psalms that he wrote, and then we can see that he was a person like us with struggles of doubt and temptation, but he also was zealous for the honor of God.
In this particular Psalm, Asaph was suffering a lack of confidence in God’s ability to help him in his struggle. We are not told the specifics of his distress or whether it was a personal or national dilemma. He cried out to God to help him. He was desperate for a response, but God was silent. The Psalmist stretched out his hands toward heaven in hopes that God would take notice of him, but he just didn’t feel a connection with the LORD. His soul was in a state of anxiety. He couldn’t understand why he was seemingly being ignored. His complaint seemed to fall on deaf ears, and his soul was filled with nervous jitters. His troubled mind kept him awake at night. Sleep would not come. He got to the point that he was unable to speak.
Asaph then began to consider how it used to be, the times when joyous songs filled his mind and spirit, thinking about when things weren’t so difficult, and God seemed to bring answers quickly. But that was then, and this was now. He feared God had abandoned him and had withdrawn His mercy. Wow. What Christian has never had a similar experience with the Lord? I am pretty sure that we all can think back to a time when we felt that God was far away. There is an old saying that goes like this: “If God seems distant, it wasn’t Him who moved”. That is true. God is always where He has always been–watching over the world, hearing prayers, saving souls, and comforting the bereaved as well as all the millions of other things that He does. That saying, though, is not relevant in all cases. People say that when we ask God for something, He either says, “Yes”, “No”, or “Not now.” Just because we don’t receive an immediate answer is no sign that God is ignoring us. He doesn’t ignore His people. He does His will on His timetable, not ours. It is difficult to wait to hear from God. We are so used to instant gratification about almost everything that if we have to wait ten seconds for a website to come up, we grow impatient. Some people treat God like He is a genie in a bottle to grant our every wish.
We should all do what Asaph did. He refused to continue to wallow in his misery and began to remember God’s works in times past. He realized his attitude was one of self-pity and knew that God was with him and would not desert him. God had helped him before and would do it again. Asaph ended this Psalm by reflecting back on the time when God made a dry path through the Red Sea by His unseen power. Most of the Hebrew people on their way out of Egypt were likely aware that there was a great body of water that they would have to cross. I wonder how many of them began to worry and fret thinking that they could never get across it. And then, to their amazement, the waters rolled back like a scroll, the land was dry, and they walked across with relative ease. Later, when problems arose for them, all they had to do was think about that miracle that God performed for them and knew that He could tackle any problem that came along. Speaking of self-pity, that is one place where one can go, and no one else desires to accompany him or her. Throw a “pity party” and see how many folks show up. I will admit that sometimes it is difficult not to feel sorry for oneself when it seems as though everything is going wrong, and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. However, if we know Christ, then there’s always a Light, and it will shine forth at just the right time. He has already done the hard part in dying on the cross for us. Since He was willing to do that, surely, He will do whatever else is necessary to see us through this life. I am confident of that.