Psalm 76-77; Luke 9:37-62

Psalm 76
This psalm was written as a celebration of some great military victory which brought glory to God. It's a great comfort to know that God is on our side as we face life's battles! Our job is to trust Him and remain faithful to Him.

Psalm 77
Here is another one of those Psalms in which the psalmist, in this case Asaph, cries out to God in despair. He doesn't feel the peace and serenity and comfort that he longs for. Obviously, he believes that God CAN answer his prayers or he wouldn't be praying at all. So what does he do? He does exactly what you and I should do. He keeps on praying, telling God exactly how he feels. vv. 1-6

Then he asks questions that we are sometimes afraid to verbalize, but if we are thinking the thoughts, we might as well pray them to the Lord because He already knows. "Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will he never again be kind to me? Is his unfailing love gone forever? Have his promises permanently failed? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he slammed the door on his compassion? And I said, "This is my fate; the Most High has turned his hand against me." vv. 7-10

Then God begins to answer his prayer as he meditates on what God has already done. As he remembers, he praises the Lord, "O God, your ways are holy, Is there any god as mighty as you? You are the God of great wonders." vv. 13-14ff  He (Asaph) gradually seemed to feel better. His mind was less on himself and more on the miracles of God. The last memory recorded here is of the rescue of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt by the parting of the Red Sea. The people must certainly have been terrified and feeling that God had forsaken them, but He had not!

Luke 9:37-62
In the midst of the great need of the boy who was tortured by an evil spirit, Jesus says to His disciples, "How long must I be with you and put up with you?" We normally don't think of Jesus having to "put up with us," but apparently He does! What things cause Him this reaction?
1. Our unbelief and dullness about what He has told us. vv. 44-45
2. Our pride, vv. 46-47
3. Jealousy, vv. 49-50
4. Impatience and even hatred, vv. 51-56
5. Lack of dedication to the Lord. vv. 57-62

I think we would all admit that we have in many ways caused Jesus to say, "How long must I put up with you?!" Let's confess our sin and weakness and learn from our mistakes and go on the trust and serve the Lord.