When God Feels Far Away

77:1 I will cry out to God and call for help! I will cry out to God and he will pay attention to me. 77:2 In my time of trouble I sought the Lord. I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night. I refused to be comforted. 77:3 I said, “I will remember God while I groan; I will think about him while my strength leaves me.” (Selah) 77:4 You held my eyelids open; I was troubled and could not speak. 77:5 I thought about the days of old, about ancient times. 77:6 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. 77:7 I asked, “Will the Lord reject me forever? Will he never again show me his favor? 77:8 Has his loyal love disappeared forever? Has his promise failed forever? 77:9 Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has his anger stifled his compassion?” 77:10 Then I said, “I am sickened by the thought that the sovereign One might become inactive. 77:11 I will remember the works of the Lord. Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago! 77:12 I will think about all you have done; I will reflect upon your deeds!” 77:13 O God, your deeds are extraordinary! What god can compare to our great God? 77:14 You are the God who does amazing things; you have revealed your strength among the nations. 77:15 You delivered your people by your strength – the children of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah) 77:16 The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you and trembled. Yes, the depths of the sea shook with fear. 77:17 The clouds poured down rain; the skies thundered. Yes, your arrows flashed about. 77:18 Your thunderous voice was heard in the wind; the lightning bolts lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook. 77:19 You walked through the sea; you passed through the surging waters, but left no footprints. 77:20 You led your people like a flock of sheep, by the hand of Moses and Aaron. Psalm 78 A well-written song by Asaph.

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Psalm 77 moves from deep distress to renewed hope. The singer cries to God in the night and feels no comfort. He then remembers the Lord’s past works, especially the exodus, and finds confidence again in God’s power and faithfulness.

The psalm begins with a man in trouble who prays hard and cannot rest. He keeps asking whether the Lord has rejected him, forgotten mercy, or stopped showing love. These are honest grief-filled questions, but they are still spoken to God. The turning point comes when he chooses to remember the Lord’s deeds instead of only his pain. He recalls God’s mighty works long ago and praises him for rescuing his people through the sea. The psalm ends by showing that God led his people like a flock through Moses and Aaron. The main lesson is that faith in distress is strengthened by remembering what God has already done.

• God hears the cries of his people.
• A believer may bring deep distress and hard questions to God.
• Trouble can make God seem far away, but feelings are not the final word.
• Remembering the Lord’s past works strengthens faith.
• God’s deeds are great and cannot be matched by any other god.
• The exodus showed God’s power over the sea, the storm, and the depths.
• God led his people as a shepherd leads a flock.

• Cry out to God in trouble.
• Do not let pain silence prayer.
• Do not treat God’s silence as proof that his love has failed.
• Remember the Lord’s works.
• Reflect on what God has done in the past.
• Trust that God can lead and save his people.
• God’s covenant love and mercy are not lightly dismissed in this psalm.

This psalm is set in Israel’s life under the Mosaic covenant. It looks back to the exodus, the founding act of redemption for God’s people. The sea crossing shows the Lord’s saving power and his faithful leadership through Moses and Aaron. In the wider Bible, this pattern of deliverance points forward to God’s later saving work, but the psalm first speaks about the Lord’s faithfulness to Israel.

When your heart is heavy, keep praying even if comfort does not come quickly. Do not only stare at present trouble. Rehearse what God has already done in Scripture and in his saving works. Memory can steady faith when emotions are shaken. The psalm teaches us to answer fear with remembrance.

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