When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77

7/28/2019 When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77

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WHEN GOD

ISN’T ANSWYOUR PRAY(Psalm 77)

Is it possible that w

been misled into we can solve ou

with prayer? What co

important than knocon the door of heaveseems to go silent in our requests?

In this excerpt froFolk Songs Of Faith,suggests that prayer mthe first thing to do win trouble. This exper

even admits that mornot give us the peaceanswers we are looki

So what should w

c

In imes f Doubt(Psalm 77:1-13) 2

hroughhe Deep Waters(Psalm 77:13-20) 15



IN TIMES

OF DOUBT(Psalm 77:1-13)

Someone once said,

“You know you

have a problem withdoubting when your prayer goes like this: ‘O God (if there is a God), save my soul

(if I have a soul) so I can goto heaven when I die (if thereis a heaven).’” We chuckleat this prayer, but when it’s3 a.m. and we are unableto sleep, doubt is nothing tolaugh about. Doubt is painfuland disturbing. It robs us of our joy and peace. It creates

distance in our relationship with God.

Sometimes doubt comesfrom our emotions When

how could You happen?” At suc

may feel disappGod. Our painfu will trigger an atdoubt.

At other timecomes from intequestioning. BibG. Campbell Mo

(1863–1945) prefirst sermon wh13 years old. Thhad no formal t was deeply devostudy. While stihe was greatly sas a Bible teach19, he experien

doubt that nearfrom the ministr

Morgan had reading the work



engagements and shut himself in a room with his Bible. For

days he did nothing but readthe Bible from cover to cover.He told himself, “If the Bibleis the Word of God, and if I

come to it with an open mind,it will be all I need to bringassurance to my soul.”

Days later, Morgan left his

room and announced, “TheBible has found me!” He went back to his preachingministry convinced of thereality of God in his lifeand the reliability of God’s Word. Those who heard himpreach said he spoke witha new sense of power and

conviction.Psalm 77 was written to

help people who strugglewith doubt It is the story of a

DistressinProblems

PerPlexinDoubtsPsalm 77 opensof pain. The psa

writes:I cried out tohelp; I cried to hear me. W

in distress, I Lord; at nighout untiring my soul refuscomforted. I You, O God, groaned; I mmy spirit greSelah (vv.1-3

Asaph doesn what his afflictiohave been a terrhis life extreme



sorrow and disappointment.Though he tries to focus

on the Lord’s goodness, thepsalmist’s soul refuses to becomforted. He can’t take hismind off his pain.

The writer continues: “Youkept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak”(v.4). He tries to sleep, but

his eyelids won’t close. Hisemotions are so disturbedthat he cannot even describehis problem to others. Thepsalmist Asaph speaksauthentically to humanaffliction. He holds nothingback but describes exactlyhow he feels.

Sometimes we churchpeople don’t like to admit thatsuch intense affliction anddoubting are a normal part of

Many Christi“Now that I’m a

my faith will ansproblem, every dBut the book of testimony to the

is full of problemand no one undbetter than Jesus

Think of His

garden in Geths we see Him perptroubled by whaof Him. He criesFather, saying, indon’t understandhappening. If at let this horror, thpass from Me. Y

as I will, but let done” (see Lk. 2on the cross, Heto wonder “My



hard pressed and perplexed,so we should not feel that

we are unspiritual if we facesimilar struggles in our lives.In fact, it is superficial andunrealistic to imagine that

the Christian life can be lived without trials of pain anddoubt. The history of God’speople is a lengthy record

of tragedies, catastrophes,problems, pain, and, yes,doubt.

But thank God that’s notthe end of the story! Thepsalmist cites two things hedoes in response to trials of pain and doubt: He prays,and he meditates on God. It’s

clear that the psalmist is nota mere beginner in the faith.He knows how to approachGod in times of affliction and

affliction, but whtroubles us is th

that our faith maunder the pressuhappens, we notbattle but we los

battles because all that makes li Whenever we arare tempted to d

That’s the tempsalmist faces. Hprayer, but prayeseem to work. Hmeditating on Gbut that too leavempty. Why? Beis relying on prameditation as te

and his problemsolved by techni

A Disturb



response? “Pray about it,” we say, “and meditate on the

Word.”I’m not saying that such

advice is wrong. I’m sayingit’s useless advice as far as it

goes. Prayer (as we will seelater in the psalm) is not thefirst thing to do when you arein trouble. Does that surprise

you? Does it seem almostblasphemous? Yet Psalm77 assures us that it is so. When we are afflicted, there’ssomething we should dobefore we pray—but what?

The problem that the writerof this psalm expresses is acommon one: He thought

that prayer would solve hisproblems. He used prayer asa problem-solving technique.Prayer was never designed for

about it” and thahas prayed and

no answer from we have not hel way. That personeven more disco

defeated and wimore tempted tothe Christian fai“Faith doesn’t w

doesn’t respond It’s not good simply to “mudda time of doubt. times that God chelp us grow stroHim. He allows experiences in obecause they are

teach us somethnot find God’s sotrial of doubt, thmay not survive



counselor. He reflects on thepast:

I thought about the former days, the years of long ago;I remembered my songs inthe night. My heart mused

and my spirit inquired(vv.5-6).In other words, “I’m

looking for answers so I go

back over the past. I recallthe times when I’ve beentroubled at night and unableto sleep, but God put a songin my heart. I meditate, and

my spirit asks questionsand ponders the past.” Thepsalmist remembers pastblessings and God’s goodness.

He remembers the songs andpsalms that God has givenhim to sing in previous nightsof pain and affliction

every direction. or another, these

all about the sam“Why doesn’t Gme?” This questhim to the depth

in the next few vWill the LordWill He nevefavor again?

unfailing loveforever? Has failed for all tforgotten to bHas He in an

His compass(vv.7-9).These are log

“If God has bles

the past, then wHe bless me nowI seem to be forgabandoned? Ha



offers a clearer renderingof verse 10 than the New

International Version: “ThenI said, ‘It is my grief, that theright hand of the Most Highhas changed.’ ”

In other words, “I’veanalyzed my situation.I’ve prayed all night long.In the past, God answered

my prayers, but this timeHe’s given me no help. I’vesearched my heart, and I can’tanswer these questions. Thereis only one conclusion I can

draw: I was mistaken aboutGod in the past. I thoughtthat He was changeless, thatHe would always respond

every time I came to Him,but He hasn’t. So I’m forcedto conclude that God haschanged You can’t count

feet. What can hcan he be delive

crisis of doubt?

the unththought

Psalm 77 takes aat verse 11. Asap

I will remembof the Lord; y

remember Yolong ago. I won all Your wconsider all Ydeeds (vv.11-

The psalmist undergone a radrethinking of hisdoubt. He voice

of confidence an which he expresprayer. What chhappened betwe



in his thinking would be tobelieve something horrible,

something unthinkable: Godis not really God.

After all, if God canchange, then He is nothing

more than a manlikebeing with godlike powers.The steadfastness andunchanging character of God

is essential to the psalmist’sunderstanding of who God is.If God can change, if He canbe unloving and unjust, thenGod is not really God.

That is the brink where thepsalmist stands in verse 10.One more step, and he will goover the brink and tumble into

the abyss of unbelief. Seeing where his thinking is leading,the psalmist draws back fromthe brink At verse 11 we see

Testament letter“Father of the he

who does not chshifting shadowsis absolutely relidependable. His

never changes. Htoward us neverThese truths areto the biblical co

It’s importantunderstand that doubts were notat this point. Histo believe God w

emotional decisiintellectual decisa determination purely in his wil

volitional choicefrom the brink othat choice save

This is a good



proceed with care. What’s atstake here is nothing less than

your fundamental philosophyof God and meaning. Theconclusion you reach willaffect every aspect of your life.

So take a good, hard, honestlook. Don’t be afraid to face your doubts squarely. TheBible is true, God is alive, and

the Christian faith is strongenough to withstand yourhonest inquiry.

If you examine Scriptures,I believe you’ll come to the

same conclusion the apostlePeter reached. In John 6,Jesus made some demandingstatements to His disciples.

At that point many of themturned away and left Him. When Jesus saw the crowdsleaving Him He turned to the

are disturbing, aa hard time und

it all. Just when have You figuredmake a statemenand baffles us. B

examined the al we’ve asked ourelse speaks the tdo? Where else

We’ve decided tbecause You havthat lead to etern

So it is with tHis doubts drov

unthinkable thostood at the brinand stared into tthen he resolved

and will to contithat God is God

the PlACe



need to take action to resolveour doubts. If we fail to settle

the questions of our faith,if we try to live in a state of unresolved doubt, then thosedoubts will pull on us until

we finally tumble into theabyss of unbelief and becomeenemies of faith.

How did the psalmist

avoid this fate? He began bythinking about God. Let’s lookagain at these two verses:

I will remember the deedsof the Lord; yes, I will

remember Your miracles of long ago. I will meditateon all Your works andconsider all Your mighty

deeds (vv.11-12).Notice that the psalmist

begins by saying, “I will.”Those two words show us that

stops focusing ohis circumstance

starts focusing o You’ll recall t

(on page 6) I saiis not the first th

when you are in you find that sursure you’re won we should do be

Here is the answpray, meditate o you pray, make understand whoon God Himself

focus on your pehurts, your needfeelings through

Our tendency

first, then meditameditate at all). pray before we mpray about our p



We need to learn to putGod at the center of our

prayers. We need to meditateon the Scriptures that speakto us about God. We needto meditate on the nature of

God, the person of God, the wonder of God, the activity of God in human history and inour own lives. Then when we

pray, we can put God in thecenter of our prayers insteadof ourselves. “God, You arethe Lord of my life and myproblems. You are holy and

merciful. You are unchangingand dependable. You are allI want and all I ever need inlife.”

Do you see how meditatingon God completely changesthe way we pray? Do you seehow it shifts our focus away

spiritual way of Now perhaps

to see what Psalabout. The psalmdescribing a nathis problems. H

a natural and semindset. He begthought, “See hoI am! See how I

nothing happenis at the center, tover and the minby feelings.

But when the

perspective chan11, his prayer chInstead of beinghis own pain an

focuses entirely is profound psycinsight containedaccount Psalm



takes himself out of the centerof his prayers and puts God

there instead, his perspectiveis changed.

You and I are limitedbeings. If we begin by

praying about ourselves, ourproblems, and our feelings, we are starting out withlimited thinking. When we

start with God, we start withthe fact that God knows nolimits. He is the Creator of the universe, the Author of life. All knowledge and all

truth are His. By focusing onHim instead of ourselves, weremove all limitations fromour thinking and our prayers.

All things become possible when you begin with God.

exPlAining the

often ask ourselvsense the answe

and perhaps shosilent because Hbe. His silence is

We don’t like

God would delibour pleas for helin our times of pemotional, or sp

suffering. We knis loving and meit seems a violatnature for Him tsilence just when

Him most.Why then wo

deliberately allowto go through su

of trial, doubt, aThere is only on wants the psalmto a deeper leve



remain spiritually immatureforever. We would always

be mastered by feelings andmoods. Our prayers wouldalways be self-centered ratherthan God-centered. Our

outlook would remain natural,not spiritual.

One sure mark of maturityin a Christian’s life is that he

or she is no longer controlledby circumstances, emotions,and moods. Yes, matureChristians still have feelings,but their feelings no longer

rule their lives and governtheir relationship with God.Their lives are no longer aroller-coaster ride of mood

swings, of soaring highs anddepressing lows. They arestable and strong in their faith,regardless of circumstances

is subject to our emotions, and c

So God deliberaHimself at times will grow to becoChrist.

If you are goitrial and God se want you to knothere with you, h

weeping with yois also helping yin your charactefaith. Through thexperience, you

lessons that youlearn any other w

God may seenow, but He is a

in a deeper way have ever knownis leading you inmore rewarding



rejoice with the psalmist andsay, “I will remember the

deeds of the Lord!” You haveGod’s Word on that.

THROUGH THEDEEP WATERS(Psalm 77:13-20)

If there is one moment

that defined Israel as anation blessed by God,

it was the time God led thepeople of Israel out of theirbondage in Egypt. This Old

Testament event establishedIsrael’s national identity forall time. The book of Psalmscontinually refers to this

event when God brought theplagues upon Egypt thenmiraculously opened theRed Sea and led the people

nations. The detevents were well

throughout the a When the peoplcame to the edgRiver and were a

the Promised Lafound that wordbefore them. Isra were already frigthem, and that p way for Israel’s cthe land. The Gehad heard the stplagues in Egypt

parting of the Rethese nations cothat Israel serve

These are the

the psalmist Asa when he wrote:

I will remembof the Lord; y



to reflect. We can rememberthe mighty deeds of the Lord

Jesus and His miracles of long ago. We can meditateon His works of teaching,healing, and raising the dead,

as well as His work of dyingon the cross and rising fromthe tomb. These events arehistorical facts.

The apostle Paul testifiedto this same historical heritagebefore King Agrippa whenhe said of the death andresurrection of Jesus, “None

of this has escaped [theking’s] notice, because it wasnot done in a corner” (Acts26:26). In other words, the

historic fact of the death andresurrection of Jesus was a well-attested event that tookplace before many witnesses

of the psalmist, remember the de

Lord,” we can sa Amen! God has things! He has leof Egypt through

of the Red Sea, ataken our Lord Jthe darkness of dand has raised Hand reign foreve

It is a fact thaacted in history.Jesus is not a mybecame flesh an

us, was crucifiedagain. The Biblein history. The cnever have surv

early years of peif so many peop witnessed the reJesus The early



the greAtnessof goD

The psalmist has shownus the present-day value of remembering what God hasdone in the past. He goes on

to tell us what will result when we meditate upon who God isand what He has done:

Your ways, O God, areholy. What god is so great as our God? Youare the God who performsmiracles; You display Your power among the peoples.

With Your mighty arm Youredeemed Your people, thedescendants of Jacob and Joseph. Selah (vv.13-15).

As we saw in the first half of Psalm 77, the psalmisthad experienced a periodof doubting that brought

of the two towerpsalmist express

is holy, and Godpsalmist is filledof awe regardingperfection and u

of God.We human blike to applaud o greatness. We thpowerful beings technological teras the hydrogenThis device, whienergy by fusing

hydrogen atomsof destroying a cmillion people inflash. But how d

power of an entiof hydrogen bom with the power o

Our sun work



which is more than 300,000times the size of planet Earth,

is just one of 100 billion starsin the Milky Way Galaxy, which is just one of 100billion galaxies in the known

universe! In other words, atany given split-instant of time,God’s universe is unleashingtrillions and trillions of timesthe energy of humans’ mostpowerful invention!

The next time you hearsomeone boasting of human greatness, remind that person

of the greatness of a God whocould create such a universeas ours! It helps to keepthings in perspective.

the reAlityof mirAClesThe psalmist writes: “You

The miracles reveal a power b

human comprehknow many peo would consider miracles to be su

Yet these eventsmiracles have comen and womencenturies that GIt is precisely beevents are superpeople find themevidence of the r

Take, for exa

crossing of the Ris an amazing evshaped the courNations exist tod

result of that supoccurrence. The were rolled backIsraelites could w



only belittle it. As one agnosticput it, “Miracles cannot

happen; therefore miracleshave not happened.” Someskeptics manage to argue ina complete circle: “There is

no God, so there can be nomiracles. Since there are nomiracles, there is no God.”

Such arguments provenothing. Logicians callsuch thinking “begging thequestion.” It’s the fallacy of basing a conclusion on anunproven assumption. You

can’t logically say, “Miraclescan’t happen; thereforemiracles have not happened.” You first have to prove that

miracles can’t happen. If youcan’t prove your assumption,then any conclusion youbase on that assumption is

accounts made bsincere men and

then the Bible bcompilation of sconvincing evidemiracles.

Another fooliotherwise intelligdo is that they retheir skepticism for the Bible aloaccept as trustwaccounts of SueJustin Martyr, TeTacitus, Eusebiu

Xenophon, PolyFlavius Josephuregard the accouand New Testam

suspect, if not ddishonest. On wthey draw this dPurely on the ba



and the miracles of Jesus. Yet in the days when these

events occurred, even hostile witnesses had to admit thatthey were real.

We see an example of

this in Matthew 28. Afterthe resurrection of Jesus, the guards from the tomb ran tothe chief priests and told themthat the stone had been rolledaway from the opening andthe body of Jesus was gone.The chief priests bribed the guards and told them to say,

“His disciples came duringthe night and stole Him away while we were asleep” (v.13).So the guards went out and

circulated the false story. Why did the priests and

the guards have to fabricatesuch a story? Because the

that. There was that the tomb of

empty. The only why it was emptdid the empty toTo an unbiased

most reasonable was that Jesus tragain.

The God of tha God who creaout of nothing, aleads a nation oby taking them tdepths of a parte

same God openetomb and breathinto the dead bocrucified Lord. H

who displays Hipower among th

the goD o



them to a central place in Hiseternal plan. The psalmist

writes, “With Your mighty arm You redeemed Your people,the descendants of Jacob andJoseph” (v.15).

The psalmist alwaysplaced the word Selah at acrucial point in the psalm. The word means, “Stop and think.Pause and reflect on what thismeans.”

So what does the psalmistmean by “You redeemed Yourpeople”? The word redeem

means to restore to usefulnesssomething that has beenrendered useless. Let me give you a practical example.

When I was a seminarystudent, I spent 3 years as asummer intern in two differentchurches in Pasadena

The money the plent me was just

carry me through weeks. When marrived, I’d hurrypawnshop and r

typewriter. While my typ was in the pawnabsolutely idle. Iit. The pawnbrokuse it. The typewuseless to anyboreturned to the ppaid the price of

Once the typewrredeemed, I put service.

That’s what r

does. Redemptio work that only Gcan’t redeem yosins I can’t even



miracles that God did in Egyptredeemed the people of Israel

from bondage and movedthem to a place of usefulnessfor God in the Land of Promise. The miracles that

Jesus did in the Gospels—thetransformation of water into wine, the healings, and thefeedings—were all designedto impress people with truthsthat would transform theirhearts and redeem their lives.

The miracle of theresurrection was, of course,

the most redemptivemiracle of all, for it was thesupernatural event that madeit possible for us to be saved

from sin and death. In thecrucifixion and resurrection,God paid the price of ourredemption He bought us

The apostle Pau you know the gr

Lord Jesus ChrisHe was rich, yetHe became poorthrough His pov

become rich” (2 Note that phrasesakes.” That is aof our Lord’s redFor our sakes Hand became poosakes He was becrucified.

“God made H

had no sin to bethat in Him we mthe righteousnes(2 Cor. 5:21). Go

made the Sinlesbecome sin in outhat we could beto live for Him J



who come to God throughHim, because He always lives

to intercede for them” (7:25).Notice that the psalmist

writes, “With Your mighty arm You redeemed Your people”

(v.15). He didn’t say that Godredeemed the entire humanrace. Those who are God’speople are redeemed; those who are not God’s people arenot redeemed. Redemption isnot just for anyone. No peopleare ever redeemed withouttheir knowledge or against

their will. Redemption is forGod’s people, for those whorespond to His invitation andact upon His Word.

The proclamation of God’sredemptive love demandsa response. The book of Hebrews tells us “Without

can I believe in know if He is rea

Answer: Draw nand He will drawThat is always thof Scripture. If y

and earnestly se will find Him. Th want to find HimHim.

Are you respoGod’s redemptiv your life? Or arein sullenness, wto do something

spite of yourself?mighty arm, He His people, and redeeming His p

I urge you to seenear to Him, andHis invitation sosay with the psa



to faith and triumph. Now inthe closing lines of Psalm 77

he writes:The waters saw You, OGod, the waters saw Youand writhed; the very

depths were convulsed.The clouds poured downwater, the skies resoundedwith thunder; Your arrowsflashed back and forth.Your thunder was heardin the whirlwind, Your lightning lit up the world;the earth trembled and

quaked. Your path ledthrough the sea, Your way through the mighty waters,though Your footprints

were not seen. You ledYour people like a flockby the hand of Moses andAaron (vv 16 20)

sovereign controhuman events a

nature itself. Hethe waters of thesaw God and trebefore His migh

powerful poetic the waters respomighty power of

You can imagof the Israelites wreached the edgeThe Egyptians wthem, and the imsea was before t

plight seemed hothe very thing thIsraelites—the wsea—was afraid

psalmist’s poetic water saw God, and convulsed in

God comman



waters, but the waters wereafraid of God. The sea didn’t

dare touch those whom Godprotected with His hand.

There is a parallel incidentin the New Testament. On

one occasion, Jesus was in aboat with His disciples on theSea of Galilee. A storm aroseand the waves beat againstthe boat so that it began to fill with water. Yet Jesus was socalm in the midst of the stormthat He slept on a pillow inthe back of the boat. The

disciples, afraid that they wereabout to perish in the storm, woke Him and said, “Don’t You care if we drown?” (Mk.

4:38).Jesus arose and spoke tothe wind and sea, saying,“Quiet! Be still!” (v 39) And

peril and fear in The very powers

that frighten us aunder the commThe thing you fe

through DePths ofNext the psalmithat the forces onothing but instrGod’s hands. He

The clouds pwater, the skiwith thunder;

flashed back Your thunderin the whirlwlightning lit u

the earth tremquaked (vv.1If you have e

through an elect



or human, can operate exceptby permission of the Almighty.

That’s the great truth thepsalmist reflects on as hethinks back to the crossingof the Red Sea.

We see this truth illustratedin the last hours before Jesus went to the cross. Forsaken byHis friends, betrayed by Judas,and denied by Peter, Jesusstood alone and seeminglypowerless before PontiusPilate, the Roman governor. When Pilate tried to question

Jesus, the Lord gave him noanswer. Exasperated, Pilateasked Him, “Do you refuseto speak to me? . . . Don’t you

realize I have power either tofree you or to crucify you?”Jesus answered, “You wouldhave no power over me if it

to God. Nothingus without the e

permission of GoThe psalmist

say:Your path led

sea, Your waythe mighty wYour footprin seen (v.19).God led the s

Israelites througof the sea. The pIsrael didn’t kno was leading them

had prepared thknew what He w As the psalmist miraculous even

a second great trthat we can’t unGod is doing doHe isn’t at work



the Israelites did when theyreached the edge of the Red

Sea.In Exodus 14 we read that

the Israelites were camped inthe desert near the sea when

they saw a cloud of dust andheard the thunder of horses’hooves and chariot wheels.Pharaoh’s army was comingafter them. The people criedout to the Lord; then theypanicked and blamed Mosesfor their peril. “Was it becausethere were no graves in Egypt

that you brought us to thedesert to die? What have youdone to us by bringing us outof Egypt? Didn’t we say to

you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone;let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for usto serve the Egyptians than to

It’s hard for mthe Israelites ver

we had been in would we have rdifferently? Whe go wrong and w

the solution to oaren’t we just asthe panic buttonsituations havenprayed, “Lord, thout! I’m trapped You do somethinthat I have praymany times, and

prayer of faith. Tof panic.

What the peoIsrael didn’t und

couldn’t imaginehad planned all lead them throuSea His path le



what He was doing. Hisplan, though inscrutable, was

perfect.This is a principle we

all need to rely on in thosetimes when our back is

against the wall, when ourenemies are closing in or theobstacles in our lives seeminsurmountable, when hopeis fading fast and there is no way out of total disaster. Weneed to place our confidencein Him, trusting that Hehas a plan that, though

inscrutable, is perfect. Wecan’t imagine what God willdo, but we can trust that whatever He does will be the

best thing for us, and it willbe amazing!

A reD seA

and my spiritSelah. You ke

from closing;troubled to spHe groaned,

failed, he was to

and anxious to sspeak. He was hquestions aboutcouldn’t answer:

Will the LordWill He nevefavor again? unfailing loveforever? Has

failed for all tforgotten to bHas He in anHis compassi

The psalmist his desperate cirtook stock of hisand depressed e



Why? Because he remembersa parallel experience in the

history of Israel, a time whenGod seemed for a while to bedoing nothing. The Israelitesfound themselves trapped

between Pharaoh’s armyand the waters of the RedSea. There was no way outof their deadly predicament,and God seemed to be silent.His footprints were unseen. Yet God had a plan that ledthrough the sea, an unseenpath through the great waters.

He led them out of certaindeath and brought them tosafety on the far shore.

Can you identify with

the psalmist and the ancientIsraelites? Have you everbeen in a situation sodesperate you could see no

Annie Johnsoborn in 1866. Sh

sister were orphaan early age andChristian foster pled them to know

as Lord and Sav Annie was a teeher foster parent Annie and her sonce again. Onlyshe completed h Annie was diagnpainful, cripplingher early twentie

was so advancedcould no longer

Annie suppor writing inspiratio

Her meager earncovered her livinmuch less her mSome friends tol



the Christian. Sometimes wepray and God lifts us out of

our afflictions. Other timesGod leads us through ourafflictions.

One of the Bible stories

that comforted her in hersuffering was the story of howGod led Israel out of Egypt.She saw the way God ledthe people through the deep waters of the Red Sea as ametaphor of her own life.

God’s path leads throughthe sea, through trouble and

trial. His plan does not takeus around trouble but throughthe depths of it. You may notbe able to see His answer

before it comes, but whenit arrives you’ll rejoice andpraise Him for the marvelousway He has delivered you

hand of Moses a(v.20).

I don’t thinkany figure of spbeautifully descthe relationship

His people thanShepherd with Hclosing verse of reminds us of th verse of Psalm 2is my shepherd,in want.” Becauis our Shepherdnothing. He lea

own flock, and everything that ourselves.

What does th

supply to His shHe supplies a smeaning and puour lives A shep



sheep out in the midst of wolves, it’s because he wants

them there. It’s the shepherd who supplies the purpose.

Meaning is an essentialingredient of life. Why are

so many people depressedand suicidal today? Theirlives lack meaning andpurpose. Why are alcoholabuse and drug abuse ratesskyrocketing, even amongpeople who are wealthyand successful? They haveno reason for living. They

use chemicals to numb thepain of their meaninglessexistence.

A man once came to

me for counseling. He said,“I have everything I want,but I don’t want anythingI have ” He was suffering

purpose, and a for living. He m

worthwhile.Second, the

supplies love, adesperate need

Our Lord loves gives us everythentails: caring, pand provision. APeter writes, “Canxiety on Himcares for you” ( We matter to Habout our needs

heart of a shephJesus called

Good Shepherdthat what define

role was His sellove for the sheI am the goodThe good she



man runs away because heis a hired hand and cares

nothing for the sheep. Iam the good shepherd; Iknow My sheep and My sheep know Me—just as

the Father knows Me andI know the Father—andI lay down My life for the sheep (Jn. 10:11-15).Our Lord portrayed

Himself as a loving Shepherd who gathers His lambs to Hisbosom and leads straying andfaltering sheep back to the

right path—always gently andtenderly—because of His lovefor them. This is the essenceof God’s relationship to His

people.Whenever we feelabandoned or neglected byGod we need to remember

conclusion? Are trust God, even

of doubt and preand temptation?God! He will leathe deep waters

safely to the oththere you’ll be athe psalmist, “YoGod, are holy. W great as our God

jhis booklet is exePsalms: Folk Songs Of

M th 200 diff t



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When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77