Disappointment is a part of being human in a fallen world. It impacts everybody, each the Christian and non-Christian alike. However what ought to we do with our unhappiness? Ought to we reject unhappiness in our pursuit of Christian pleasure? Ought to we goal to place an finish to all our unhappiness on this period? No. Disappointment isn’t antithetical to Christian pleasure. And, no. Our aim shouldn’t be to drive away unhappiness fully. Our aim needs to be to redeem our unhappiness.
In different phrases, Christians needs to be unhappy for the glory of God. If Jesus cried and He lived completely each second of His earthly life, then crying or being mentioned is what most glorifies God at some factors in our lives.But, how do we discover redemption in our unhappiness? Psalm 77 invitations us to precise our ache truthfully to God and factors us to larger hope as we recall God’s mighty works of salvation because the context of our personal story.
The Voice of Disappointment
Psalm 77 begins with a heartfelt cry: “I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he’ll hear me” (v. 1). In his overwhelming unhappiness, Asaph, the psalmist, seeks the Lord insistently for assist (v. 2), however what does he discover? He finds sleepless nights, moaning, a fainting spirit, an absence of phrases, a sense of abandonment, and plenty of doubts (vv. 3-5).
These verses (1-5) vividly painting the loneliness and despair that always accompany our unhappiness. It’s as if Asaph is alone in his room, stretching his arm as much as God, crying out for assist, however receives no fast reply. The obvious divine silence leads Asaph to some unsettling questions concerning the very goodness of God (vv. 7-9). The voice of unhappiness asks:
- “Will the Lord reject us and betray his covenant?”
- “Has His (hesed) love vanished eternally?”
- “Has God forgotten to be merciful?”
- “Will God not hold His guarantees?”
These questions reveal how unhappiness typically challenges our religion, tempting us to interpret God’s character based mostly on our circumstances. This strategy is harmful. It might probably lead us to understand God as weak, absent, or detached, as Asaph does in verse 10.[1] As a substitute, we’re known as to reverse this course of: to interpret our circumstances in gentle of God’s unchanging and gracious character, as revealed in His saving works.
The Voice of Reminiscence
The second a part of Psalm 77 gives a stark distinction: the voice of reminiscence. Asaph turns his thoughts to think about God’s outdated wonders (v. 11) and all His works (v. 12). He decides to look past and recall God’s previous deeds, significantly the deliverance of Israel throughout the Exodus. His new conclusion? That God’s methods are holy and distinctive, and that nobody is like Him (v. 13). He is aware of that is true; God has made himself recognized (v. 14). How has God revealed Himself?
Asaph highlights three main occasions associated to the exodus: deliverance from slavery in Egypt (vv. 15, 20), the opening of the Pink Sea (vv. 16, 19), and the covenant assembly at Sinai (vv. 17-18), alluded by means of the point out of thunders, lightening, and earthquakes (cf. Exod. 19). God has not been absent. He has not been inactive. He has not forgotten His covenant guarantees. Keep in mind all this, and you can be inspired—that was Asaph’s level.
The Voice of the Gospel
Christians should do the identical: bear in mind God’s outdated works, and all of them, to be inspired in current sadnesses. As Christians, nonetheless, we’ve a fair larger reminiscence to attract upon: the life, demise, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Christ, God has delivered us from our slavery to sin, opening up a method by means of demise in His resurrection, and has sealed a brand new and eternal covenant by means of the blood He shed on the cross. Jesus is the last word demonstration of God’s love for us and the peace of mind that His guarantees won’t ever fail.
The gospel thus supplies clear solutions to the questions posed by unhappiness. Think about that dialogue:
“Will the Lord reject us and betray His covenant?”—Disappointment asks.
“No! ‘Since we’ve been justified by religion, we’ve peace with God by means of our Lord Jesus Christ.’”—the Gospel solutions.[2]
“Has His (hesed) love vanished eternally?”—Disappointment insists.
However the Gospel replies: “Completely not! ‘On this the love of God was made manifest amongst us, that God despatched his solely Son into the world, in order that we’d reside by means of him. In that is love, not that we’ve liked God however that he liked us and despatched his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.’”[3]
But, Disappointment continues: “Has God forgotten to be merciful?”
“By no means”—counters the Gospel. “God, being wealthy in mercy, due to the good love with which he liked us, even once we have been useless in our trespasses, made us alive along with Christ—by grace we’ve been saved.”[4]
“Will God not hold his guarantees?”—Disappointment persists.
However the Gospel is assured: “Fairly the opposite, ‘for all the guarantees of God discover their Sure in him. That’s the reason it’s by means of him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.’”[5]
In His demise and resurrection, Jesus bore our sorrows and gave us the hope of everlasting life with no extra tears. The gospel story places our unhappiness in correct perspective. So, we should evangelize our unhappiness.
Conclusion
When unhappiness whispers that the best hand of the Lord has turn out to be inoperative (v. 10), bear in mind Jesus’ phrases: “Take coronary heart! I’ve overcome the world” (John 16:33). The identical God who parted the ocean for Israel is the God who opened the best way to everlasting life by means of Jesus’ resurrection. That is the muse of our hope and the last word reply to our sorrows.
So, in your subsequent encounter with unhappiness, let it dialogue with the gospel. Keep in mind Jesus—His works and guarantees—and discover consolation in figuring out that God not solely understands your ache however can also be working to redeem your unhappiness. Your unhappiness may not go away, however when evangelized, your unhappiness can be confronted and expressed for the glory of God.
Questions for Reflection
- In case you are going by means of a time of unhappiness, how does the gospel assist you to body that unhappiness within the context of redemption?
- In case you are a counselor, how will you alter your objectives in gentle of the potential for redemption of human unhappiness?
[1] The interpretation of verse 10 is notably troublesome. Verse 10 might both be a poor conclusion of verses 1-9 or a wonderful affirmation that results in the change of tone within the verses that observe. For this text, I’m taking the primary possibility as extra believable, as in some related English translations (see CSB, NET, NASB).
[2] Romans 5:1
[3] John 4:9-10
[4] Ephesians 2:4-5
[5] 2 Corinthians 1:20
