Psalm 77 - "Into The Sea"

The Lord took me to Psalm 77 this morning. This Scripture has many great reminders. Matthew Henry wrote of this Psalm, Days of trouble must be days of prayer. When we are going through 'tough' days, we will find great comfort in living in God's presence where we can not only talk to Him but more importantly listen to Him. He will direct us through the 'good' days and the 'tough' days as we allow Him. Another reminder in this Psalm is as we remember what God has done for us in the past we will be encouraged to continue on into the future. Last night in Bible study Carol made the statement, "God does miracles every day." This is so true but a lot of times we do not acknowledge them. It is a miracle we woke up this morning. He takes care of us, encourages us, directs us, etc. He provides exactly what we need when we need it. I think back to the sermon Sunday with the parting of the Red Sea. Moses did not know God's plan but he trusted Him to take care of them. That is exactly what we need to do. We need to trust God no matter what is happening in life. When things do not make sense, we must trust Him. When life becomes overwhelming, we must trust Him. When people are against us, we must trust Him. Plain and simple. We must trust Him. Woo hoo! Trusting Him is the best place to dwell. It is where there is peace in the midst of the storms of life. I am reminded this morning of a song Paul pointed out to me right after Doc died. The words are simple yet powerful.

From beginning to the end
You're so close
You have never let me down
And you won't
In the valley, in the shadow, I know
You're so close
You're so close

Though the mountains may be moved into the sea
Though the ground beneath might crumble and give way
I can hear my Father singing over me
"It's gonna be OK, it's gonna be OK"
It's gonna be OK, it's gonna be OK

I'm gonna be OK, I'm gonna be OK

The day Paul brought this song to me was one of the 'tough' days of my journey. I was feeling overwhelmed with all the business stuff after a death, the unknowns with the church building, and feeling very lonely. This song calmed my spirit in a mighty way. It gave me hope and encouraged me to keep on pushing through. Instead of questioning whether I could 'do life' in my new situation I went deeper in my faith knowing God is with me. Matthew Henry wrote of this Scripture:

God's own people, in a cloudy and dark day, may be tempted to make wrong conclusions about their spiritual state, and that of God's kingdom in the world. But we must not give way to such fears. Let faith answer them from the Scripture. The troubled fountain will work itself clear again; and the recollection of former times of joyful experience often raises a hope, tending to relief. Doubts and fears proceed from the want and weakness of faith. Despondency and distrust under affliction, are too often the infirmities of believers, and, as such, are to be thought upon by us with sorrow and shame. When, unbelief is working in us, we must thus suppress its risings.

Faith over fear. I do not have to fear the 'hows' or the 'whys' but instead can stand in the knowledge God is in control. I am reminded of my words in Sunday's sermon. God does not want us to have just great faith. He desires us to have greater faith. We all have a choice to make when the 'tough' days come. We can choose to give the enemy an open door and wallow around in pity and unbelief or we can stand in a greater faith knowing God is in control. I choose to stand in a greater faith.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for the reminders of Psalm 77 and the song Into The Sea! Thank You for the day Mom and I had yesterday! Thank You for calming my spirit when life gets messy! Thank You for being in control even when life seems to be out of control! Thank You for friends like Pam who picked up groceries for my Momma! Thank You for another day of life ahead! Cleanse me so You can fill me to overflowing with more of You. May You ooze out of my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts today in a mighty way. Lord, I am living in expectation. I am expecting You to do great things through me. I pray people will come into relationship with You and those already in relationship with You go deeper in their faith through me. Lord, use me to be Your servant in the manner You so desire. Thank You for being My Faith Builder! Amen.