I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
When I remember God, I moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah
(Psalm 77:1-3)
Psalm 77 belongs to the category of Psalms often referred to as “Psalms of Lament.” If you’ve been at Veritas for any length of time, you are likely familiar with these Psalms and with the practice of lament. The idea is basic enough: we bring our sorrows to God in prayer and song. Sometimes this takes place communally, and sometimes individually, like in Psalm 77.
A significant question put to us when we read such Psalms is this: What do we do with our sorrows? The reality is, we all face adversity and affliction in this life. We all face what is often referred to as “the dark night of the soul.” We are in the midst of a kind of collective dark night of the soul right now. The entirety of the globe is walking through the valley of the shadow of death. So, in the midst of this valley, what do we do with our sorrows and sadness, our difficulties and distress, our fears and feelings of brokenness?
The Psalmist, here Asaph, shows that the proper place for our sorrow and sadness is not in the driver’s seat of our lives, nor in the trunk. We might all have our particular proclivities: some of us are tempted to put our feelings in the driver’s seat, letting them control our thoughts and lives. Others might be tempted to put them in the trunk, and pretend they’re not there or that they’re not significant. Here, Asaph shows that the proper place for these feelings is in dialogue with the Triune God. If you are scared, sad, or suffering, your God and Savior invites you to bring your troubles to him and lay them at his feet.
- Pastor Garrison Greene