Sermon – Psalm 77 – Turning to God

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon – Psalm 77 – Turning to God

June 30, 2013

For several weeks now we have been looking at the Book of Psalms. We have found that worship prepares us for the storms of life. It teaches us to pray to our creator God. Worship fills us with memories of that God which fills us with hope when we need it the most. But what happens when we face a crises and we have no memories of God, or the memories we do have our insufficient to give us the hope we need. Are we then without hope? Do we then fall into despair? I think not with a loving God. We will see how this works, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Psalm 77 NIV For the director of music. For Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm.

1 I cried out to Go for help; I cried out to God to hear me. 2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
at night I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted. 3 I remembered you, God, and I groaned; I meditated, and my spirit grew faint. 4 You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak. 5 I thought about the former days, the years of long ago; 6a I remembered my songs in the night.

The psalmist is having a sleepless night. He is tossing and turning, and his troubles, whatever they are, are keeping him awake. So he started to pray, cry out to God in prayer. But this didn't work. He still couldn't get to sleep. He drew on his memories of God for comfort, and he began to sing the songs of God he had learned. But these memories and songs did not take away his pain. Sleep remained elusive.

Psalm 77:6b My heart meditated and my spirit asked: 7“Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? 8Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? 9 Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”

The psalmist is experiencing a crisis. God seems so far away that the psalmist fears he has gone for good. This is what happen to people who do not know God. When disaster strikes, and it always does, they have no God to turn to. They no memories to serve as a foundation of hope. All they are left with is themselves and their own experiences there is nothing beyond them.

I am concerned about many of the children growing up today. My generation went to church when we were growing up. But many young people today have never been to church and do not know what church is. They do not know God. They only know about themselves and the things they process. This is fine so long as they have the health and money they need. But if they lose their health or their money what do they have to fall back on? For many they fall back on their parents. But eventually their parents will not be able to care for them. And then they will be truly alone without parents, church or God. When sleepless nights come they will not turn to God in prayer, and they will not be filled with hope.

Christians are not immune from this. For many of us our memories of God and of worship will be so thin that they will be useless on those inevitable sleepless night. This is what the psalmist has experienced. He has called upon his memories of his creator God, but it hasn't work. And he expresses his fear in verse 10, which I will read from the Revised Standard Version, which I think has the best translation of this verse.

Psalm 77:10 RSV And I say, “It is my grief that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”

The psalmist greatest fear is that God is no longer faithful. The God he remembered from worship and song is no longer there to save him. God can no longer be counted on. Maybe there is no

God. And so the psalmist tosses and turns throughout a sleepless night worrying about himself and his troubles convinced that God will not be there to help. What do you do at times like these when you even doubt that God exists? Where do you turn for help? What is your source of hope?

Psalm 77 NIV 11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. 12 I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” 13 Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? 14 You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. 15 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

What they psalmist has done was to change his focus. In verses 1-9 he focused on himself. “I cried out”. “I sought”. “I stretched”. “I would not be comforted.” And as long as he thought about himself God seemed to be missing. But then he changed his focus. He began thinking not about himself, but about God. “You … perform miracles”. “You display your power”. “You redeemed your people”. The psalmist chose to stop thinking about himself and start thinking about God. So too with us. When we think that God is far away, or that God is missing, or that God has changed it is because our focus is on ourselves. We are thinking about our grief, our pain, our concerns. And if that is all that we think about then it is no wonder that God seems to be somewhere else. But we can choose to focus our attention, not on our own needs but on God. And if we do that our memories of God will return and we will be filled with hope.

Psalm 77 NIV 16 The waters saw you, God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed. 17 The clouds poured down water, the heavens resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth. 18 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked.

Notice how there is not a single “I” “me” or “my” in all of this. The psalmist has chosen to focus his attention only on God. This has relieved him from thinking only about himself. He is now thinking about God and all that God is doing.

Psalm 77 NIV 19 Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen. 20 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

So the transition is complete. The psalmist had only focused on himself. When he did this the only things he could see were his own problems. But he chose to think about God instead. And this freed him to remember all that God had done which filled him with hope. This is offered to us as well. Whenever we are overwhelmed by our own problems we can choose to just think about those problems and be filled with despair. Or we can choose to think about God and be filled with hope. The choice is ours.

My hope is that the people who do not know God will find him during those sleepless nights of despair. This is why it is so important for you to share your faith with others. If people don't come to church, you may be the only way they will know about God. So look for opportunities when you can share your faith with others. Start Bible studies in your homes and businesses. Give away Bibles to friends. Invite people you know to church. And enter into sacred conversations about God with people outside of the church. Your faith, your memories of a faithful God, your prayers will make all the difference when a person of no faith needs God. They will turn to the Bibles you gave them and remember the conversations they had with you. Then they will be able to turn their focus away from their troubles toward God. This is what we call conversion. It is the first step toward becoming a Christian. The non-Christians we know desperately need our help to find their creator God. Help them by sharing your faith and leading them to the only God who can save them, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Father in heaven, we ask that you help us to focus our attention on you rather than ourselves. Help us to share our faith with others so that they will find you when they need you. Make us instruments for bringing others to the saving faith in Jesus Christ. Amen.