PSALM 77<\/b><\/p>\n
In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; my hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing \u2026<\/i><\/p>\n
(Psalm 77:2)<\/i>.<\/p>\n
In John Bunyan\u2019s Pilgrim\u2019s Progress<\/i>, he writes of an incident when the main character, Christian, is trapped in a dark castle, held in chains by a dreadful giant. The castle is called Doubting Castle and the Giant\u2019s name is Despair. Christian and a companion were imprisoned by Giant Despair when they turned down a road that was not in the way God had directed them.<\/p>\n
This allegory aptly portrays the Christian\u2019s struggle against despair and doubt. Frustration and despair easily creep in on us if we do not stand guard against them. When we take our eyes off the Lord and focus on ourselves, we begin to doubt which leads to despair. We have already encountered David\u2019s battle against despair a number of times in the psalms. Psalm 77 also deals with this problem and offers solutions to those who find themselves bound in chains by Giant Despair.<\/p>\n
We find escape from doubt and despair only by looking to God, remembering His promises and fixing on His mercies and grace. To take hold of this deliverance from despair we must cry out to God. \u201cIn this manner it becomes us to wrestle against despair, in order that our sorrow, although it may seem to be incurable, may not shut our mouths and keep us from pouring out our prayers before God,\u201d Calvin wrote. Many of us refrain from approaching God when we are plagued with doubts. Yet, the psalm teaches that no matter what our situation, we must continually seek God in prayer. Even when comfort is not given to us immediately, we must remain steadfast in this sweet communion.<\/p>\n
When we approach God during these times, we must remember former joys of our walk with Him, the divine mercies He has bestowed on us, and His great works done for His people. The psalmist here recalls God\u2019s power in delivering Israel from Egypt. Likewise, His people in all ages can remember how He delivered them from the bondage of sin. Considering God\u2019s glory and holiness in bringing salvation to His people, as well as His power in delivering them from sin, causes a light to shine in our hearts and lifts us out of despair. When doubts creep upon you, cry out to God and put your hope in His mercy and power.<\/p>\n
CORAM DEO<\/b><\/p>\n
Job 12\u201314<\/p>\n
Acts 8:26\u201340<\/p>\n
Read 2 Corinthians 1:3\u20134 and meditate on God\u2019s action for us. The expected result is that we should comfort others with the comfort we received. Have you done this? Have you given to others from what you have been given from God. Look for opportunities to comfort others.<\/p>\n
For further study: Isa. 51:1\u20133; 66:13 \u2022 John 14:1\u20134; 16:33<\/i><\/p>\n
wednesday<\/p>\n
june<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PSALM 77 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; my hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing \u2026 (Psalm 77:2). In John Bunyan\u2019s Pilgrim\u2019s Progress, he writes of an incident when the main character, Christian, is trapped in a dark castle, held in chains by a dreadful giant. The castle … Continue reading “COMFORT IN PRAYER”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12272\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}