“Then I said, ‘I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.'” Psalm 77:10
November 5, 2025
If you have read Psalm 77 you could be puzzled by what the psalmist says in verses 1-9. For example he says, “My soul refuses to be comforted” (v. 2). This is the way lament psalms flow. Have you ever had a complaint about what the Lord is doing in your life? But that is not the end of the story. The word “then” in verse 10 is a turning point. The psalmist shifts mental gears and thinks about the holiness, greatness, power, and care of God (verses 10-20). We have to pull ourselves together and think about the wonders of God. “We must call to mind what we know to be true” (Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds – Deep Mercy). This window into the soul of the psalmist is vital to understanding how lament functions along the pathway of grief. We engage with God by praying through our complaints toward the resolution of truth. If you read further in Psalm 77 you can’t help but notice the thunder and lightning description of Israel’s exodus from Egypt through the opened waters of the Red Sea. Actually, this is a slap in the face of Baal, the Canaanite storm god, who was no match for the God of Israel. In praying your complaints to God think upon the gospel, what God has done for you. Build your thoughts upon the character of God. There is a battle being waged. Though your circumstantial pain and suffering may seem chaotic, God rules over every molecule in the universe. God is committed to you and is not controlled by the forces of earthly conditions. Allow the providing hand of God to keep you calm in your troubles (look closely at 77:19-20). He is the Good Shepherd who leads His people through the desert.
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“O Lord, Most High, help me up with my griefs so I can see how lament is the way we learn important truths about you and our world.”