When Storm Clouds Seem to Linger

Let me begin by clearly stating that I know there is a huge difference between discouragement and depression. The observations of behavioral scientists and neurobiologists have led to conclusions that are way too complex for me to understand, much less to proclaim to you as truth. So, do not substitute this message for any advice or treatment you are receiving from a properly trained mental health professional.

As I will talk about subjects of hope during discouragement and disappointment, I understand that there is common practice of individuals with chemical or hormonal imbalances to begin to feel better and stop taking prescribed medications.

Do not take my general observations on truth and the human condition to be specific advice. At the same time, I realize that the wisdom of Scripture may not coincide perfectly with those who hold humanistic understandings of human psyche and behavior. If anything I say runs contrary to something you’ve heard from a personal therapist, it may be time for further evaluation and discussion.

Life has a way of overwhelming everyone at one time or another. We all have ups and downs. For most of us it’s periodic, a little bit down this day or that day, maybe a week or two. Sometimes we even go through a season of grieving deeply or being disheartened after some traumatic loss or stressful life experience. We struggle. We get mad at people and can’t seem to resolve it. We have to juggle demanding schedules, issues of guilt, dependency, problems, and conflicts that leave us feeling emotionally limp. It’s no wonder life gets us down. After all, we live in a fallen world.[i]

Some overzealous preachers have left the impression that if one comes to Jesus then everything will be made pleasant. These preachers selectively skip some significant passages of Scripture.

The Bible has many examples of people struggling with despondency and despair. In his depression and fatigue, Elijah asked for his life to be taken. Jonah felt deeply despondent after God did not destroy Nineveh. Jeremiah regretted the day he was born. Job’s wife advised him to curse God and die in the midst of the suffering and pain.[ii]

Add to these explicit examples the implicit trials of those grieving death or those who were socially ostracized by their occupation or those who were ceremonially unclean due to disease, as well as those oppressed with demons and we have scores of Biblical examples of those who likely struggled with seasons of despair.

Transition: While we may not have said it aloud, I wonder how many of us have felt…

Psalm 77:1–3 ESV:2016

1 I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. 2 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. 3 When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah

Transition: These are times when our trust in God may best be described as…

From Hopelessness… (vv.1-9)

The Cry of the Desperate (vv.1-3)

1. This is the person in despair who does not see the way out of his or her misery.

2. The hand stretched out is the posture of a beggar hoping to receive some morsel.

3. These are times when the attempts by friends to encourage us all come across as hollow. (refuses to be comforted)

4. The times when worship does not bring joy, but moaning. Or when meditating on Scripture causes fatigue.

Transition: There are times when physical or emotional distress also leads to a dry, desert condition for the soul. The times when your head knows one thing, but your heart feels another.

The Suffering of Silence (vv.4-9)

1. V.4 speaks about insomnia

2. Vv.5-6 I try to do the things that will bring peace.

3. But v.7 says there seems to be a buffer between me and God.

4. V.8 asks if He will ever be merciful again.

5. V.9 questions if God has just forgotten about me, or become angry for some reason.

The Use of this Psalm

1. Psalms were written for different purposes—teaching, celebration, traveling, personal reflection, and so forth.

2. This psalm was directed to the Choirmaster so we know it was used in public worship for group singing.

3. Jeduthun may have been a style of music or even a particular tune.

4. Asaph was a famous musician from David’s time. Perhaps he wrote it, perhaps it was one that his arrangement brought certain memories like the Beatles, or Elvis, or Lawrence Welk.

5. I think the choirmaster, music style and attribution to Asaph all combine to indicate this was a common group song that communicates a common thought among worshippers.

Life can get so confusing; you don’t know whether it’s anger or depression; it’s all mixed up so you can’t even speak. You can’t figure it out. At those times, just cry out to God, even if all you can do is groan.

God is not put off by your expression of honest, heartfelt emotion. There is something therapeutic and powerful in simply verbalizing out loud to God what you’re feeling. You want to see God show up? You want to have God come close to you? When you feel brokenhearted and crushed in spirit, go ahead and pour out your heartfelt cries to God.[iii]

Transition: Too often around church we tell each other we’re doing “fine”, when really times of the hopelessness of this psalm are more frequent than we admit. But even if we frequently encounter hopelessness, and we honestly tell it to God, it is not good to stay there so the psalmist moves us…

From Hopeless toward Hopeful (vv.10-20)

A Choice (vv.10-12)

1. V.10 begins with a decisive action. “Here is how I plan to handle this.”

2. “I will frame my current discomfort within the framework of all that God has done over all the years up til now.” – he expands his perspective.

3. V.11 - I will remember how long God has been helping people.

4. V.12 – I will remember all the various ways God has been helping people.

I’m sure you’ve heard it said that when you begin to feel sorry for yourself then if you find someone else to help it will give you purpose. Perhaps, this is why some people have so many cats. Or I’ve heard of many homeless who adopt a dog so that they have something to care for that gets them off of their own misery.

Dealing with depression on any level requires an act of the will. You may not be able to control your feelings, but you can choose not to give in to them entirely. You may not be able to block out depressing thoughts, but you can choose to redirect them to that which is true and uplifting. You can choose to start reading what God has to say to you and applying the lessons he lays out. These positive choices start the process of entering into God’s peace, discovering his power, and gaining his perspective in the present circumstance.[iv]

Transition: From the despair of the first half of this psalm, the first step toward hope is to enlarge the frame. Secondly I notice a…

A Change from “I” to “You” (vv.13ff.)

1. In the first 9 verses of the psalm I it almost sounds like a Toby Keith song. I count 19 times when I, me, or my is used.

For the benefit of those graduating today, let me clue you in about what I’m saying. Before many of you were born, way back in 2001 a song debuted in August that would climb to #1 on the Country charts. Ann can tell you that I am not a country music fan and that I can’t name a single other song by Toby Keith. And many of you fans of real Country music may disagree that what Toby does should even be called country music. But this song got so much airplay at the mall and restaurants that it kind of stuck in my head.

Keith sings, I wanna talk about me, wanna talk about I, wanna talk about number 1, o my me my. What I think, what I like, what I know, what I want what I see.

2. After counting 19 I, me, my’s in 9 verses you can see why it reminds me of this song.

3. After v.12 there is not another first-person pronoun in the rest of the psalm.

4. If the first half of the psalm is focused on self and describes sadness and despair, but the 2nd half is filled with 2nd-person pronouns and inspires hope. What conclusion should we make?

Transition: The rest of the psalm focuses on the God who provides hope.

God Acts for His Purpose (vv.14-18)

1. Before you can have hope you have to rediscover that God is a big God and any problem is small in comparison. That renews your hope and lifts your spirits[v]

2. During the Old Testament there were lots of gods that people prayed to and there were several names attributed to the one God of the Hebrews. Sometime he is called El – God. Sometimes they wrote YHWH – to relational covenant God. He is called God who provides, God who gives rest, God who covers us, God who heals, and many others. But back in v.10 Asaph uses the name עֶלְיוֹן Elyon - something that is higher, upper[vi]

3. When we are discouraged, we do not look for the God who can give me what I want (that is the Santa Clause god or Genie in a lamp god).

4. Asaph says, “I will turn my attention to the Ultimate God who is working an ultimate purpose.

This weekend a great theologian, James I. Packer, died at the age of 93. Packer is known for authoring over 300 titles including 2 titles that I have in my library, Knowing God, and Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God.

About 4 years ago it came out that Packer had developed macular degeneration leading to blindness which prevented him from writing or lecturing.

He told an interviewer, “God knows what he’s doing, this comes as a clear indication from headquarters. And I take it from him. God is sovereign and good in all things. God knows what he’s up to. And I’ve had enough experiences of his goodness in all sorts of ways not to have any doubt about the present circumstances, Some good, something for his glory, is going to come out of it.”

5. The type of faith that Packer had during his blindness, was the same type of faith Asaph commended to sufferers.

Transition: The Great God has revealed Himself to be a…

God Leads His People (vv.19-20)

1. Asaph refers back to the whole 40-year Exodus experience with 1 specific event: The dry path through the Red Sea.

2. He also clarifies that God did this through Human instruments – we also can expect that God will use people in our distress.

3. It may be a physician, a therapist, a friend, a neighbor, or maybe somebody in this room whom God will use to lead you out of that situation that seems hopeless.

Conclusion:

Many times in the psalm we can identify the problem, the solution and then the praise. This psalm is a little different. It is open-ended, as if it is yet to be done.

We don’t know what prompted the trouble in v.2, but by verse 20, Asaph admits that God is able to lead him out of his trouble. And God’s ability is all that is necessary to instill hope.

Let me conclude with 2 points of application.

1. When we feel overwhelmed, we should cry out to God honestly, then choose to look for Him.

2. Just as God chose to use Moses and Aaron as His instruments to guide the Israelites out of captivity, He may choose to use you to help a friend or neighbor out of their dark night of the soul. We should ask Him who is the sufferer He wants us to aid.

[i] Chip Ingram, Finding God When You Need Him Most (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2007).

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] Ibid.

[v] Ibid.

[vi] Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 832.