Are you ever distressed in the midst of your circumstances and feel that God is nowhere near? Do you feel afflicted and alone, seemingly cut off from heaven in the midst of your trials? We ought never be surprised that trouble comes. The patriarch, Job, tells us that “man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7). Trouble is man’s lot in life. Yet we are often taken by surprise when it does come. Furthermore, our efforts to extricate us from our difficulties fall short and leave us overwhelmed. We find ourselves questioning whether God takes note of our dilemma. In fact, we even go as far as to blame him for our woes. How foolish we become in our darkness!
Asaph, an author of a number of the Psalms, suffered from great difficulties as well. Listen to his lamentation. “In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night, my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak” (Psalm 77:2-4). His burden robbed him of his sleep and left him speechless.
He found himself questioning the goodness and faithfulness of God. “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” (Psalm 77:7-9). How quickly we find fault with God in the midst of our sorrows.
Fortunately, Asaph found something in his questioning that compelled him to respond differently. “Then I said, I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High. I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work and meditate on your mighty deeds” (Psalm 77:10-12). Instead of letting his sorrow overwhelm him and cast a shadow on the presence of the Lord, he chose to recount and meditate on all the works of God.
Nothing speaks to the present distress like the faithfulness of God reflected in his mighty deeds of the past. This same Asaph spoke to the value of this exercise in a previous Psalm. “We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds” (Psalm 75:1). Meditating on the great works of God bears testimony in our heart to his faithfulness and his nearness to us. We cannot but give thanks to him as we reflect on his uninterrupted providence in all his dealings with his people.
Does God know our troubles? Yes, he knows. David testified “I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul” (Psalm 31:7). Does God hear our cry for relief? Yes, he hears. Four hundred years before Asaph, the LORD told Moses, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings” (Exodus 3:7). Does God care? Yes, he cares. We are invited to cast all our care upon him “because he cares for you” (I Peter 5:7). God knows; God hears; God cares. Believe it, child of God! Think on all his wonderful works and give thanks for his mighty deeds!
From the Chaplain 