“Is his unfailing love gone forever? Have his promises permanently failed?” (Psalm 77:8, NLT)
In the scripture for today, the author of Psalm 77 questions if God keeps His promises. After going through a difficult period of his life weighed down with a few big failures, author Asaph had some serious introspection. He wanted to figure God out. He wanted to understand why God had not come quickly when help was needed. Asaph remembered back to when God came through. He remembered God’s kindness in the past. But as of late, Asaph felt rejected. When this psalm was written, Asaph was down and depressed. He wondered if God’s “unfailing love would be gone forever” (Psalm 77:8). Would God’s promises “permanently fail”? Had his sins and failures permanently damaged his relationship with God Almighty?
Have you gone through a period like this in your life? Did you ever wonder if God had turned His back on you after you strayed? Did you ever feel caught in a cycle of bad luck when you cried to God but saw no comfort? Asaph felt this same way. His troubles caused him to “moan” (Psalm 77:3). His soul “refused to be comforted” (Psalm 77:2). He remembered when God came through in the past (Psalm 77:5). Would God’s loving kindness and tender mercies return soon?
Upon reading Psalm 77, the renowned Pastor Charles H. Spurgeon penned some insightful thoughts. He included them in his book, Beside Still Waters. When considering the situation of Asaph questioning if God’s mercies would return, Spurgeon suggested a challenge to all those in this situation. They should look to God to prove that His mercies had returned. Spurgeon worded it this way….
“When you are in distress, take a promise and see if it is true. If you have nothing to eat, take this promise: “Bread will be given him, his water will be sure” (Is. 33:16). When there is nothing in the kitchen, say, “I will see if God will keep this promise.” If He does, do not forget it. Set it down in your diary or mark it in your Bible. Be like the old saint who put T and P beside the promises. She told her pastor that it meant tried and proven. When she was again in distress, she believed that God would help.
There is a promise that says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Take that and prove it! When you have, make a mark and say, “This I know is true, for I have proven it.”
We want facts that make us believe. The older you grow, the stronger your faith should be. Then you will have many more facts to buttress your faith and compel your belief in God. When you reach seventy years, what a pile of evidence you will have accumulated if you have kept a record of all of God’s providential goodness and lovingkindness.
I can bear willing testimony to His faithfulness. Not one good thing has failed of all that the Lord has promised! Every example of God’s love should make us believe Him more. As we see the fulfillment of each promise, it compels us to say, “God has kept His promises and will keep them to the end.”
The worst is that we forget. Then we will have no more faith than when we started, for we will have forgotten God’s repeated answers. Though He has fulfilled the promises, we have buried them in forgetfulness.
There is nothing in the world that can confirm faith like proof.”
(Charles H. Spurgeon, Beside Still Waters, p. 92)
I like Spurgeon’s idea. When you have a need, ask God for help or comfort or guidance. Write down what it is you need. Then, over time, read through this list of needs and jot down whether God has answered this prayer. Consider it “proven” if you can see definite help coming your way. God may help you in a variety of ways, so don’t overlook the help you receive in response. It may come from places you never thought it would!
Last week while spring cleaning, I found an old diary I began when looking for my first church following seminary in 1987. I only wrote in that diary for a few months, but the words contained in that diary reflected that difficult period in my life. I had a wife and children. I needed a job. I needed to care for them. We needed health insurance. We were just about out of money. My old van was falling apart. At the same time, I wondered where God wanted me to serve. What church needed a good pastor who was ready to do his best to serve Christ? In that diary were question after question, a list of worries and fears, and obstacles that just kept coming.
Now, I look back at that period of my life and I’m struck at how many of those questions and obstacles melted away over the following months. I found a church that wanted desperately to find a pastor to lead them. There were several family members and friends who helped us move. A member of that first congregation made sure the parsonage was perfectly set up for our family of four. Another member of that church fixed my van! Within two months, I had a job, health insurance for my family, and a place to live. One by one, all the unknowns and fears and worries that I had placed at the foot of the cross were taken care of and many more wonderful things fell into place. There were so many ways God “PROVED” His presence and provision.
I dare you to take Spurgeon’s challenge. Write down some of your needs and hurts and obstacles and hopes and fears. Keep praying about them over the next months and years. See for yourself how God proves His power to care for you. Then, don’t forget it! Let those proofs pile up. Keep track of them! It will be God’s way of showing that HE is a “tried and proven” joy in your life; a loving God who keeps His promises!
Have you gone through a period like this in your life? Did you ever wonder if God had turned His back on you after you strayed? Did you ever feel caught in a cycle of bad luck when you cried to God but saw no comfort? Asaph felt this same way. His troubles caused him to “moan” (Psalm 77:3). His soul “refused to be comforted” (Psalm 77:2). He remembered when God came through in the past (Psalm 77:5). Would God’s loving kindness and tender mercies return soon?
Upon reading Psalm 77, the renowned Pastor Charles H. Spurgeon penned some insightful thoughts. He included them in his book, Beside Still Waters. When considering the situation of Asaph questioning if God’s mercies would return, Spurgeon suggested a challenge to all those in this situation. They should look to God to prove that His mercies had returned. Spurgeon worded it this way….
“When you are in distress, take a promise and see if it is true. If you have nothing to eat, take this promise: “Bread will be given him, his water will be sure” (Is. 33:16). When there is nothing in the kitchen, say, “I will see if God will keep this promise.” If He does, do not forget it. Set it down in your diary or mark it in your Bible. Be like the old saint who put T and P beside the promises. She told her pastor that it meant tried and proven. When she was again in distress, she believed that God would help.
There is a promise that says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Take that and prove it! When you have, make a mark and say, “This I know is true, for I have proven it.”
We want facts that make us believe. The older you grow, the stronger your faith should be. Then you will have many more facts to buttress your faith and compel your belief in God. When you reach seventy years, what a pile of evidence you will have accumulated if you have kept a record of all of God’s providential goodness and lovingkindness.
I can bear willing testimony to His faithfulness. Not one good thing has failed of all that the Lord has promised! Every example of God’s love should make us believe Him more. As we see the fulfillment of each promise, it compels us to say, “God has kept His promises and will keep them to the end.”
The worst is that we forget. Then we will have no more faith than when we started, for we will have forgotten God’s repeated answers. Though He has fulfilled the promises, we have buried them in forgetfulness.
There is nothing in the world that can confirm faith like proof.”
(Charles H. Spurgeon, Beside Still Waters, p. 92)
I like Spurgeon’s idea. When you have a need, ask God for help or comfort or guidance. Write down what it is you need. Then, over time, read through this list of needs and jot down whether God has answered this prayer. Consider it “proven” if you can see definite help coming your way. God may help you in a variety of ways, so don’t overlook the help you receive in response. It may come from places you never thought it would!
Last week while spring cleaning, I found an old diary I began when looking for my first church following seminary in 1987. I only wrote in that diary for a few months, but the words contained in that diary reflected that difficult period in my life. I had a wife and children. I needed a job. I needed to care for them. We needed health insurance. We were just about out of money. My old van was falling apart. At the same time, I wondered where God wanted me to serve. What church needed a good pastor who was ready to do his best to serve Christ? In that diary were question after question, a list of worries and fears, and obstacles that just kept coming.
Now, I look back at that period of my life and I’m struck at how many of those questions and obstacles melted away over the following months. I found a church that wanted desperately to find a pastor to lead them. There were several family members and friends who helped us move. A member of that first congregation made sure the parsonage was perfectly set up for our family of four. Another member of that church fixed my van! Within two months, I had a job, health insurance for my family, and a place to live. One by one, all the unknowns and fears and worries that I had placed at the foot of the cross were taken care of and many more wonderful things fell into place. There were so many ways God “PROVED” His presence and provision.
I dare you to take Spurgeon’s challenge. Write down some of your needs and hurts and obstacles and hopes and fears. Keep praying about them over the next months and years. See for yourself how God proves His power to care for you. Then, don’t forget it! Let those proofs pile up. Keep track of them! It will be God’s way of showing that HE is a “tried and proven” joy in your life; a loving God who keeps His promises!