Psalm 73, 77-78

In much of his late 1800s writings Nietzsche claimed that "God is dead" this pronounced lack of belief in the God of the Bible is the reason for apostate abandonment and outright rejection of YAHWEH and adherence to postmodern secularism. As Solomon bemoans in Ecclesiastes this theology is nothing new, psalm 77 of Asaph demonstrates this through a skepticism and doubt of God's character. 

Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NIV) "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."

In verse 2 the psalmist declares after asserting that after seeking the LORD and the LORD hearing his voice that his soul refused to be comforted and that after remembering God his spirit was troubled and overwhelmed. A spirit of doubting skepticism is cured by truth, though in the midst of the doubting the many questions fill ones heart and mind: 

Psalm 77:7-9 (NET) "Will the LORD reject me forever? Will he never again show me his favor? Has his loyal love disappeared forever? Has his promise failed forever? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has his anger stifled his compassion?"

Honestly these are all great questions, though the truth is that God's faithfulness and love is abounding throughout history. Those who settle in a disbelief of God reject any and all evidence of His great goodness, the evidence of the unchanging nature of YAHWEH is found throughout the Bible and continues through the present day. How does one combat a lack of belief in God? The psalmist flips the narrative quickly, he begins to remember. If you find yourself in a place of skepticism of God or sickened by the thought that God is somehow inactive, silent or indifferent: THIS CANNOT BE TRUE. Remember it is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18) and God is unchanging, He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Combat doubt by remembering the faithfulness of God, this is what the psalmist does, this is an active practice. 

Psalm 77:11-12 (NET) "I will remember the works of the LORD. Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago. I will think about all you have done; I will reflect upon your deeds... You delivered your people by your strength."

How has the LORD blessed you in the past, kept you from death, provided needs, healed sickness, yielded His favor? What god can compare to our great God, YAHWEH? Be encouraged as you remember the consistent nature of God's mighty hand on those who fear Him and keep His commands. Don't forget the LORD's great works lest your heart slip into deception and doubt, remember the LORD and praise His great name for He is eternally good and endlessly full of love, He said so about Himself, this is why we can trust in the LORD with all our heart, mind, soul and strength because it is impossible for God to lie and his unconditional love is unchanging. 

Exodus 34:6-7 (NIV) "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished..."

"THE INDIFFERENCE OF GOD TO HIS PEOPLE AT ANYTIME MUST BE APPARENT, IT CANNOT BE REAL." ~Charles Spurgeon, from Christ Asleep In the Vessel 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Deuteronomy 1-2 (Psalm 69)

In these first few chapters of Deuteronomy after Israel's exodus from Egypt and 40 desert years Moses reviews their history of God's hand of power, provision, protection and purpose. Consistently the Israelites are faced with the decision of operating in faith and courage in the way God has for them though they continually with stubborn hearted rebellion walk in fear and discouragement. The theme of presumption continues to resurface in the story of the Israelites and I am greatly convicted of this even in my own life. Deuteronomy 1:42-43 (NKJV) "And the LORD said to me, 'Tell them, "Do not go up nor fight, for I am not among you; lest you be defeated before your enemies."' So I spoke to you; yet you would not listen, but rebelled against the command of the LORD, and presumptuously went up into the mountain." This presumption is referring to when the Israelites invaded the Amorites on a mountain after the 12 spies came back with a bad report from Can...
Read more

Genesis 16-18

 Today's reflection in Genesis 17 and 18 is on how God said he wants Abram to walk faithfully and blameless, similar to Job in his blameless and upright life, I align my life in a way that pleases and honors God by being faithful (consistent, demonstrative of unwavering trust in action). Additionally, I found the comparison of God's will for the destruction of Sodom and Nineveh (in Jonah) to be interesting. In Abraham's case he pled for God to be merciful and spare Sodom, while for the Ninevites God intended to display the liberality of his grace all while Jonah wanted God to destroy the people.  Psalm 86:15 "But you LORD are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness." As an image bearer of God, we must aim to be faithful like God is. The mighty God we serve is unendingly faithful and full of unfailing love - I want to be more loving and faithful the older I get! 
Read more

Exodus 22-24

 Exodus 23:2 (NIV) "Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong." I was watching NHL hockey with my wife the other night and the teams that were playing began getting frustrated and consequently began playing unfairly and fighting. When penalties are given it's not indicative of cheating per se, though you would be hard pressed to find a definition making the distinction between a cheating scandal and a game misconduct or penalty. Often penalties can be properly called by the official referees, though at times it seems the calls are made incorrectly - it's ultimately the best judgment of the ref on the ice at the time and sometimes after the time the rule infraction was witnessed, many times to the great dismay of those in attendance of the hockey game even when the hockey players admit guilt in some instances. Fighting is an entirely different scenario. In just the past 3 years I have noticed a marked increase of violence in the NHL though I'm told that "original...
Read more