You Don’t Have To Hide Your Struggles From God, But There’s One Thing He Wants From You

Recently, I came across Psalm 77. WOW! 

First of all, thank You, God. 

Secondly, WOW! (I know I covered that already, but it’s worth repeating.) 

The first 9 verses are a big complaint-fest, and oddly, I’m grateful for that. 

We would never tolerate this in our current church culture. We’d tell the person whatever the Christian equivalent is of “shut up” and then begin to pepper them with self-righteousness masking as encouragement. Honestly, as believers, I think we can be uncomfortable with each other’s pain, so we like to rush it along. 

I’m so grateful God is NOT uncomfortable with my issues. I’ve had quite a few recently: busyness, family issues, hormones (ladies, you get it). It can feel like a rollercoaster. And (even more) frankly, I’ve wondered if God is sitting on the rollercoaster next to me or if He’s at the station waiting for the train to get back so He can scold me for screaming my head off on the unpredictable ride. 

If that last sentence made you want to say, “…but Sherri, remember…,” I totally understand. That’s my evangelical inclination, too. I’m just grateful that here in Psalm 77, God shows me that He’s comfortable with our heartfelt issues. We don’t have to downplay them. We don’t have to sanitize them with Him. We may have to with each other, but not with Him. In just 9 verses, the psalmist goes through: 

• Anxiety 

• Fear 

• Doubt 

• Despair 

• Depression 

• Distress 

• Sleeplessness 

• Groaning 

• Weariness 

That’s a lot, and he doesn’t sugarcoat any of it. It’s visceral. You can feel the sweat dripping from his brow. 

Then in verse 10, he does the one thing I believe God asks of us: 

Think about HIM. 

Think about His history with us. His way with us. His past kindness with us. All God asks from us is to remember. 

He’s okay with us feeling all the things because all the things are happening. It’s true. It’s real. But His faithfulness is real, too. I would dare say it’s even more real. It’s been proven. So after all of that, the psalmist creates, as it were, another comprehensive list—a list of God’s history of faithfulness: 

• Miracles 

• Mighty deeds 

• Power 

• Greatness 

• Redemption 

• Salvation 

• Deliverance 

• Leading 

A lot of the first list is based on the emotion of what is happening and also what could happen. The second list is what is for sure and what has never changed. 

I’m no theologian. What I can tell you is, in my own life, the key to joy and peace is allowing yourself to honestly recite and acknowledge the first list while only MEDITATING on the second. Soon—not necessarily immediately, but soon—the second list will eclipse the first… or, as a more modern psalmist put it: 

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace 

I don’t think we do ourselves any favors pretending like the hard things aren’t hard. They are. I just believe God wants us also not to pretend like He isn’t reliable. 

Because, friends, He just is. 

Sherri Lynn
Midday Show Host, STAR 99.1

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