elcome And Why Psalm 77

SPEAKER_03 0:01

Hi, and welcome to our podcast, Revelation Within on the Go. I'm Heidi Wilesma Efferson, one of your hosts, and the owner and lead coach of the RevelationWithin.org ministry.

SPEAKER_00 0:14

And I'm Christina Motley, your other host, also a Revelation Within Coach, and Heidi's partner at all things Revelation Within. And we are so happy to invite you to join us for this episode of Revelation Within. We're so glad you're here. Come on in. So glad. Come put your feet up.

SPEAKER_03 0:42

Yeah, put your feet up. Sit right down. Well, today's episode is um a little different than what we often bring to you all. Um, and I hope that you enjoy it because um Psalm 77 was um brought to my attention. I think God just said here, spend some time with Psalm 77. I love it. I love it. And the more I sat with it, the more I realized something really beautiful about this psalm. It's actually a picture of mind renewal happening right there inside of Scripture.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

Oh, I love it.

SPEAKER_03 1:15

We love talking about it. Yes, we do. We've done that with Lamentations and a few others as well. Yes. But sometimes when we talk about renewing the mind, it can sound like some sort of a modern concept, something from psychology or from coaching. But really, the truth is the Bible has been showing us this pattern for thousands of years. It's so awesome. Yes, 77 is actually a really clear example of that. And you know, it's it's high time for uh psychology and whatever else coaching to add up with what God has been saying all along. All along.

onest Distress And Hard Questions

SPEAKER_00 1:51

I love it, Heidi. I'm excited. I'm excited about this. So Psalm 77 was written by ASAF. Did I say that right? ASAF. And it begins in a place that may feel kind of familiar. So the psalmist is distressed. Oh, that's not familiar at all. I mean, he's struggling. This guy is struggling. He can't sleep, he's overwhelmed, and he's questioning everything. I mean, have you ever felt that way? That's exactly what I was gonna say. Have you ever felt that way? How about this week? How about this morning? Um, listen to how honest the psalmist is as he writes this psalm. I cry out loud to God. In the day of my trouble, I seek the Lord. My soul refuses to be comforted. I mean, this is not like a polished prayer. This is not, you know, some kind of formal thing. This is the prayer of someone whose heart is heavy. Someone who's really having a hard time.

SPEAKER_03 3:07

Yeah, and then the questions begin. Yeah. And no, some people think that it's not a good thing to question God or to question the way that he has allowed life to unfold for us or the things that he has brought into our lives. But I love the psalmists because they are so real, and God has put it in his eternal word to show us this is the human experience. Um, so his questions begin, questions that many of us have asked in these difficult seasons that we all face. Yes. Catch this. This is what the psalmist says. Will the Lord reject forever? Wow. That my heart goes out to him. I know what it's like to feel rejected, but can you imagine thinking that God will reject you or has rejected you? This isn't uh a psalm where we build our theology, it's a psalm where we build the way that we approach God and how real we are with him. Yes. Um, and then another question has his love vanished forever? You know, the implication, of course, I know, I know, don't you want to just cry? Yeah. I mean, the implication is that this is how the psalmist is feeling. He's feeling rejected by God and like God's love has um vanished. And then uh the third question he asks, has God forgotten to be gracious? Oh, goodness. Well, and I don't know about you, but if I'm honest, thoughts like these sometimes cross my mind too.

SPEAKER_00 4:46

Yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_03 4:47

Just being honest, yeah, but definitely here's the beautiful thing. The psalm doesn't end there.

erse 11 And The Choice

SPEAKER_00 4:55

It doesn't end there, it doesn't end there. Okay, so there's a turning point in the psalm, it happens in verse 11. The psalm says, I will remember the deeds of the Lord. Yes, I will remember your wonders of old. So let's notice the words here. I will. And you know, we've talked about this in a lot of our podcasts. We have choices, we have agency. So the psalmist has a choice, he can't control his circumstances just as we often can't. Things just happen, they just come sometimes, but he can choose where his mind rests, and that's pretty awesome.

SPEAKER_03 5:45

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

That's pretty awesome.

SPEAKER_03 5:48

It is, you know, I was just looking over at the Bible that I have open today to kind of you know look at in case I need to in case I need to look at the Bible. And and it happens to be the new English translation, N-E-T translation. Sorry. Wow, oh my goodness, this is interesting. I I wish I'd thought of reading this earlier, but um yeah, let's see. It says, Um, I said, during the night I will remember the song I once sang. I will think very carefully. I tried to make sense of what was happening. Interesting. The way it's worded. And then verse seven says, I asked, will the Lord reject me forever? Will he never again show me his favor? And eight, verse eight says, has his loyal love disappeared forever? Has his promise failed forever? And verse nine says, has God forgotten to be merciful? Has his anger stifled his compassion? And then this is the one right before verse 11, which changes everything. 10 says, Then I said, I am sickened by the thought that the Most High might become inactive. Oh my gosh, that's so interesting. Anyway, what an interesting way to translate that. I will remember the works of the Lord. Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago. I will think about all you have done, I will reflect upon your deeds. Oh, yeah, this is a choice. Like Christina was saying, we may not be able to control our circumstances, but God has given us the ability to choose where our mind rests.

SPEAKER_00 7:37

To choose what we think about.

our Moves Of Mind Renewal

SPEAKER_03 7:40

And that's what makes Psalm 77 such a beautiful example of mind renewal right here in scripture. Four things. First, he names his distress, right? Yes. And that you know, sometimes people feel like they're being disrespectful to God when they speak out in prayer to God, but the things that they are bothered by or can't feel like they can navigate through, but God receives that, and the psalm, at least Psalm 77, gives us an example of that. You know, the psalmist doesn't pretend everything is fine. No, yeah, we don't want to do that. Um second, he questions the conclusions he has been drawing in his mind. Has God forgotten to be gracious? It's like, wait a minute, has God forgotten to be gracious? We can look at that question a couple ways. One is he's kind of wondering if in fact God has chosen to be gracious. But on the other hand, he might be saying, wait a minute, that's not the God that I know. The third thing this psalmist does is he chooses to remember truth. I will remember the deeds of the Lord. Um, and when we think through the way that God has dealt with us in the past and the things he has taught us and the things he has shown us, you know, if that's a good place to land, even in the middle of a trial right now. I will remember the deeds of the Lord. And fourth, he meditates on who God is, on his goodness and his activity throughout the years of our lives. And, you know, one of the favorite songs of modern church folks seems to be um the goodness of God. Um all my life you have been faithful, all my life you have been so, so good. Um, with every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God. And and what where does a song like that come from? From the experiences that we have had, that yes, it may be dark right now, but or or like one preacher put it, um, it's Friday, referring to Black Friday, but Sunday's coming. I can't quite say it like he did, but anyway. Um, so meditating on who God is in the midst of that can really help. Christina, I'm curious with all that you have gone through in the last since I've known you anyway, have there have there been seasons or a time, a story that you could tell us about stopping the flow of just whatever's happening and whatever thoughts are running through my head, I'm gonna choose to remember the goodness of God. Um, has that happened for you and what were the results?

SPEAKER_00 10:29

Yeah, I mean, pretty much every day it's happening.

unknown 10:33

Right.

Cancer Journey And “I Will”

rom “I” To “You” Language

SPEAKER_00 10:34

Well, I've been in the middle of this, you know, breast cancer journey now for what, 10 months, I think. Yeah. And it's gone. It feels like it's gone fast right now, but in the middle of it, in the moment, it doesn't feel fast. It feels long. So I am so grateful that um after chemo and um after the surgery, I am cancer free right now. I'm going through radiation. I know, huh? I'm going through radiation right now and continuing immunotherapy. So I won't be done for a few months. Yeah, I mean, I can think of lots of examples over the last 12 years that you and I have known each other, Heidi. Lots and lots. But this is really a big one because it really hits you at your core. It's like, wow, I am so vulnerable. Like anything can happen to me, anything. You know, we kind of go through life sometimes thinking, yeah, that's not gonna happen to me, or I can't even think about that, or you know, I'm just not even gonna go there. But then all of a sudden, it shows up in your life and it's like, what happened? How did this even get here? And so then the first thoughts that come into my mind are things like, This isn't me, this isn't my life. I can't do this. There's no way. I'm too tired, I'm weary, thoughts like that. And so at that point, of course, I have a choice. And we even have a mind renewal tool that we call I will. And also you will. So we have both of them. Um, you will is talking about what God will do um because of who he is, who he says he is, and because of who we are. But then I will is also a tool that we can use to remind ourselves that we do have choice. I will go to the Lord, I will ask him for help, I will stand on God's truth, I will walk closely with the Lord, I will trust him in this very difficult time. I will depend on him to see me through. I get to make those choices. I will be in the word every day, looking at what he says and who he is. I will be honest about how I'm feeling with the Lord. You know, like you mentioned, this psalmist is honest. He's not just saying things like, okay, Lord, I know you have other things to do. You know, I'll just take care of this. I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm good, I'm okay. You know, I have been really kind of an expert at that over the years, at telling everybody, I'm okay, I'm fine, I'm good, I'm fine. Oh, yeah, I'm good. No, you know what? I'm fine. And that's not true. And so I love that I have a choice. I can choose to walk this journey in a way that brings life to me, or I can choose the other way. I can choose to spiral into some really sad negative thoughts. So there's kind of a balance there. I want to be able to say, Lord, I am a mess. This is what I'm feeling. These are all my symptoms. Here's the heartache that I'm having, the grief. You know, I'm grieving, and here's, you know, here's my fears. Let me just tell you everything. But then, just like the psalmist at verse 11, I can turn things around and say, okay, I've told you everything, Lord. I've been totally honest with you. Now, what do I get to choose in this? What can I do that will bring life to my soul? Otherwise, you know what? My soul is gonna shrivel up and die in a journey like this. And I know you know what I mean, Heidi, because I know you and I have been through a lot together in our friendship. A lot. Apparently, a lot ahead, too. Apparently. And so we have walked with each other. We have helped each other to choose, we've helped each other to renew our minds through some really difficult things. We've encouraged each other, brought truth to the other person. Because this is what brings life in the trials. This is how we can make it through and not become horribly bitter old ladies, which is one of one of my greatest fears. In Psalm 77, something begins to change, as we mentioned, at verse 11. And this is what we're talking about this choice to renew our mind. It's a choice. So the psalm moves from I language to you language, which I think is super interesting, just that part alone. At the beginning, it sounds like this I cry, I remember, my spirit is overwhelmed. So there's a focus on kind of me, me. Yeah. And that's I'm not like gonna downplay that. That's important. We need to be able to say, This is how it is, this is how I'm doing, this is how bad it is, you know. Let's just be honest. But now the psalmist begins speaking about God. So he has turned his focus away from himself to the Lord. After being very honest, that part is so, so good. And he says, You are the God who works wonders. You redeemed your people. Yeah, so his focus is moving from his pain, his discomfort, his problems, his struggle to who God is, God's character.

SPEAKER_03 16:30

Yeah, it is, it is, and that's one reason why we place a premium on renewing our minds about God's character so much. You know, what is God like? What does he say about himself? And can I repeat those truths enough in my mind and out loud so that it's at the ready. Whenever I need it, I can remind myself wait a minute, this is not who God is. This is something he's allowed. But I mean, really, when you look at this psalm, this is where it becomes so beautiful. Yes. The psalmist begins remembering one of the greatest moments in Israel's history, the Red Sea Crossing. And he describes it this way. I think this is just beautiful. Your way, God, was through the sea, your path through the great waters, yet your footprints were unseen. Think about that for a minute. Yeah, God was leading his people, but they couldn't see his footprints.

nseen Footprints Through Deep Waters

SPEAKER_00 17:34

Yes, and isn't that so often what life feels like? Sometimes we walk through really deep waters, we're sloshing through, and there's mud, and there's like I call it the Ucky Muckies, you know. It's just the bad stuff. I mean, we're like slogging through, and we can't see what God is doing. We can't trace his steps, we just can't see it. Sometimes I'll just ask God, show me one thing, you know, just to show me that you're at work because I I need to see something. But Psalm 77 reminds us God was still leading his people, even when his path was invisible. That's who he is. That's what he does. He never stops, he never leaves us, he's always at work. We read about his character throughout his word. That's who he is. He's not gonna change. We can count on him.

SPEAKER_03 18:32

Absolutely. Uh the psalm wraps up with one of the most tender images in scripture after describing thunder and lightning and shaking seas. Ah, shaking seas. Yeah, the psalmist ends like this you led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. Yes, the God who commands storms is also the shepherd. He leads his people like a flock, he's gentle and tender, and you know, he brings comfort. That's that's something that's so important to remember. God wants to bring his comfort in the midst of the challenges sometimes, but nevertheless, he does, and his comfort is not like comfort that we can find around here on earth.

SPEAKER_00 19:20

It's not, it's not the same. His comfort goes really, really deep, and he knows what comfort we need, what kind. So, I mean, what does this mean for us? It means that renewing our minds is not pretending that we feel okay, it's not toxic positivity either.

SPEAKER_03 19:40

It's like I'm miserable, but the Lord is good all the time, all the time. The god is good, you know.

SPEAKER_00 19:46

It's not like that. No, it's not like that at all. It's not, in fact, I think those kinds of things take us kind of backwards, really. We know he was good at all pretending, yeah. Well, just that whole pretending piece. It's it's not helpful, it really makes things worse, I think. Yeah, so renewing the minds, it's something deeper. It's remembering who God is when our emotions tell us something else.

SPEAKER_03 20:15

Yeah, because just because I feel that way doesn't make it true. My feelings don't define what is true.

SPEAKER_00 20:23

Right.

ot Toxic Positivity Real Hope

SPEAKER_03 20:24

In fact, when I remind myself of what is true, I in light of my current circumstances, I'm not denying my current circumstances. I am reminding myself that God, my circumstances right now are set against the backdrop of the cross of Christ. When I remember that, I remember that God spared no expense in purchasing me, in showing me his love. Romans 5.8 tells us that God demonstrates his love for us in this, that while we were still in a mess, yeah, we were still without a Godward thought, Christ died for us. And that's a beautiful truth. That's a beautiful truth to kind of hang on to. Remembering who God is in the midst of those difficult emotions that we have can help so much as we navigate our way through. The psalmist teaches us something simple but powerful. When we feel overwhelmed, which for many of us that's quite often actually, we can remember the story of God's faithfulness. In fact, we have a mind renewal tool that kind of sets this up. I can remember his faithfulness and I call to mind. This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope, which is of course based on a mind renewal passage in Lamentations 3. This I call to mind. Think of anything that you can that demonstrated in your history or in the history that's shared in God's Word, God's faithfulness. And then begin to share with the Lord in prayer. I call this to mind about my own life, and therefore I have hope about this, what's going on right now. And it makes all the difference in the world. Remembering the story of his faithfulness, the same God who made a way through the sea is still writing stories of redemption today.

SPEAKER_01 22:22

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 22:23

Thank you, Lord. So maybe today you're feeling like the psalmist. Maybe you're feeling that way today at the beginning of Psalm 77. Maybe you're feeling restless, heavy, hopeless, full of questions. If that's where you are, know that you're not alone. But perhaps today could be a moment where you gently say, You know what? I'm gonna choose to remember the deeds of the Lord. Because sometimes the path God is making is one we can't see yet. The shepherd is still leading, He is always lovingly leading us.

SPEAKER_03 23:06

And before we wrap up today, let's go ahead and just take a moment to pray together. Psalm 77 reminds us that when our thoughts feel heavy, we can turn our hearts back toward God by remembering his faithfulness. Yes. So do you want to pray?

SPEAKER_00 23:21

Sure. Lord Jesus, thank you so much for your truth, for your words, and for your love for us. It is so beyond what we can imagine and understand. Thank you, God, that you are always at work. You are always busy behind the scenes in our lives. You are always loving us and you are always with us. Thank you, God, that you just don't change. You are our rock. We can count on you to be the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Lord, we want to remember your faithfulness when we are feeling so weary and exhausted, tired of the struggle. Lord, we want to remember your faithfulness. Will you remind us? I pray that you would help us to remember that in any moment we can turn to you and be honest about what's happening with us. Absolutely. And then to make a choice to turn our focus on to you and the hope that you give us, that you bring us. Lord, we love you so much. I pray for each person that's listening today. And I pray for Heidi and I too, that we would be able to experience the joy that comes, the hope that comes when we remember your faithfulness and your character that doesn't shift or change. We love you, and I pray in Jesus' name, amen.

SPEAKER_03 24:51

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 24:52

Thanks for joining us today. We're so glad you've been here. We are so glad that you've been here today with us and um hope that you've been encouraged by this psalmist in Psalm 77. We would love for you to join us for our next podcast episode here at Revelation Within.