There are many occasions that cause times of sorrow. Different areas of loss that lead to sadness. It could be through loss of a good relationship, death, financial loss, a decline in emotional, mental, physical health, or even spiritual decline. During these times we are called to cry out to God. 

In Psalm 77 the Psalmist helps us do just that. But he says there are times where he calls out to God and it doesn’t seem to help his soul (verse 2). He talks about times where our sorrow is so great that you can’t sleep or speak about the situation (verse 4).

Then we seem to get into a funk. We start thinking, is God done with miracles? Is he done with love, compassion, graciousness, and fulfilling His promises. These are real feelings the psalmist had and emotions we can go through as well (see 7-9). 

So how do we get out of this sadness? How can we start to flourish again? How can we know that God is not done with blessing His people? The psalmist is going to make an appeal. He’s going to say in verse 10, this is how I have proof God is not done blessing His people.

The way is to remember. Remember that God is great. Meditate on how He worked in the past. Think about how he has worked in the lives of His people. This is what the psalmist does in verses 11-20 for the people of Israel. 

There are two ways to do this. The most concrete way is to do this through reading and studying the Old Testament. The psalmist does that here by reminding the people what God did to help them flee from Egypt. 

The way is to remember. Remember that God is great.

The other way is to think about how God has been good and gracious in your life in the past. While the passage doesn’t say to do this, I personally would suggest writing these things down. It’s easier to remember things once you have written them out. This will give a list of God’s goodness and grace in your life and the lives of others in the past. It will give you something to grab quickly when you don’t have time to meditate on these things.

Think About It

When you are going through times of sorrow, this is how you feel?

What are your emotions like?

How do you work through your times of sorrow?

What has God done in the past to show Himself faithful to His people?

What has God done in your life to show Himself faithful to you?

When you meditate on these things, does this give you comfort?