Our Daily Bread: Picking Up the Pieces After Job Loss

Psalm 77 

1 I WILL cry to God with my voice, even to God with my voice, and He will give ear and hearken to me.

2 In the day of my trouble I seek (inquire of and desperately require) the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out [in prayer] without slacking up; I refuse to be comforted.

3 I [earnestly] remember God; I am disquieted and I groan; I muse in prayer, and my spirit faints [overwhelmed]. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

4 You hold my eyes from closing; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

5 I consider the days of old, the years of bygone times [of prosperity].

6 I call to remembrance my song in the night; with my heart I meditate and my spirit searches diligently:

7 Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more?

8 Have His mercy and loving-kindness ceased forever? Have His promises ended for all time?

9 Has God [deliberately] abandoned or forgotten His graciousness? Has He in anger shut up His compassion? Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

10 And I say, This [apparent desertion of Israel by God] is my appointed lot and trial, but I will recall the years of the right hand of the Most High [in loving-kindness extended toward us], for this is my grief, that the right hand of the Most High changes.

11 I will [earnestly] recall the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will [earnestly] remember the wonders [You performed for our fathers] of old.

12 I will meditate also upon all Your works and consider all Your [mighty] deeds.

13 Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary [in holiness, away from sin and guilt]. Who is a great God like our God?

14 You are the God Who does wonders; You have demonstrated Your power among the peoples.

15 You have with Your [mighty] arm redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

16 When the waters [at the Red Sea and the Jordan] saw You, O God, they were afraid; the deep shuddered also, for [all] the waters saw You.

17 The clouds poured down water, the skies sent out a sound [of rumbling thunder]; Your arrows went forth [in forked lightning].

18 The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind, the lightnings illumined the world; the earth trembled and shook.

19 Your way [in delivering Your people] was through the sea, and Your paths through the great waters, yet Your footsteps were not traceable, but were obliterated.

20 You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Devotional

DAYS OF DOUBT: In 1970, Ronald Dunn began keeping a record of answered prayers and special blessings in a little book.
He misplaced the book but found it again several years later at a time when his faith was foundering. He was surprised that he had forgotten most of the incidents he had written about.
As he was reading, something happened. "My memory of God's faithfulness was revived and my sagging faith began to recover," he said. "Remembering had restored my confidence in the Lord." Dunn now encourages Christians to keep a book of remembrance, recording God's activity in their lives. "One day," he writes, "it may mean the difference between victory and defeat." In Psalm 77, Asaph's faith was also foundering. After listing his serious doubts, he asked, "Has God forgotten to be gracious?" (v.9). Suddenly he stopped and said: "I will remember the years of [God's] right hand . . . . I will remember the works of the LORD; surely I will remember Your wonders of old" (vv.10-11). The act of remembering obviously revived his faith.
Just read the rest of the psalm! Why not create your own book of remembrance, recording God's wonderful deeds? Then read it often, especially on days of doubt. -Joanie Yoder
Remembering God?s goodness is a good cure for doubt.