seeking God in dark seasons of the soul
a devotional through psalm 77
Crying out in the in-between
January 2023 was a month filled with bad news, followed by hard news, topped with traumatic news in the lives of several close friends. The cries of the psalmist in Psalm 77 felt so familiar, mirroring the grief expressed by those most affected by these trials. Indeed, in my own life when faced with hardships I couldn’t fathom enduring, my prayers often moved from the internal silence of my soul to outward vocalizations. Like the psalmist, I would cry aloud to God,
“Will the Lord reject forever and never again show favor? Has his faithful love ceased forever? Is his promise at an end for all generations? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” (Ps. 77:7-9)
Isn’t it refreshing to know that we can be completely honest before God, as the psalmist is, even with our questions and doubts? When what is happening in our lives doesn’t seem to align with what we know to be true about God’s goodness, we can tell him! But then what? Should our desperation propel us into problem-solving mode, in an attempt to expedite God’s plan for ending the grief and trials? The psalmist models a better way.
No other way but through
The crossing of the Red Sea was a moment etched on the collective minds and memories of generations of Israelites. As Christ-followers today, we still point back to it, a stone of remembrance serving as clear proof of God’s faithfulness to His people. The psalmist identifies with this moment too. He redirects his focus from the pangs of his present grief, and the uncertainty of his future, to the past evidence that his God who has been faithful before would be faithful again, even when he could not see how.
When the Israelites were surrounded—faces to the mighty sea, backs to the massive Egyptian army—they likely didn’t envision how they would be rescued. Imagine their mounting despair; don’t we feel that way too, when the weight of adversity seems right on the verge of crushing us?
But the waters didn’t block their way forever. The waters responded!—not to the Israelites, desperate for rescue, and not to the armies, rushing towards them on the shore. It was when the waters saw their Creator God that they trembled. Just as the chaos of the waters was brought to order when God saw fit, the suffering and turmoil we face in our lives in this sin-cursed world must eventually tremble and bow down before our sovereign God. When the Israelites saw no way out, God made the path clear: His way was through the sea.
Though the deliverance God provided was miraculous, the process to get there—through the sea—likely seemed daunting. For us, sometimes the doors God opens can seem just as risky to enter as staying in the current trial. Yet through the very ordinary means of human vessels, Moses and Aaron, and the extraordinary means of parted seas, God led His people to the other side. Both for them then and for us now, we must ponder the question: what other way is there but through?
The Lord continues to teach me that we are most likely to recognize, recall, and rejoice in God’s intervention when it is done in such a manner that we can’t claim we made it through on our own. Our Father’s ways are holy and are higher than ours. What a good thing for His children to remember! Our trials may look different from each other’s; it could be death in the family or depression; financial losses or spiritually dry seasons. But for as many ways as we can despair, we have innumerably more reasons to have hope and trust in God.
What moments of past faithfulness from Scripture or from your own life do you often look back on? Has God ever resolved a situation in a way you never anticipated?
Like the psalmist, cry out to God with all that presently burdens you, then take time to recall and reflect on those past moments. God’s past faithfulness will remind you that in the future, whether on this side of heaven or the next, He will grant His children relief.
Originally published in Season of A Soul, a devotional series edited by Jessica Mathisen, 2023. Lightly edited for clarity.
So much wisdom in these words, Ashley ❤️
Love this.
And yeah--January 2023 was a doozy for us, too. What was UP with that?