목양연가(牧羊戀歌)

The day of affliction and praise  Psalm 77:1-12

In our journey of life, we’ve experienced many afflictions. There is probably not a single person who has not tasted the bitterness of life. Also, it’s probably rare for us, the believers, to not go through suffering and trouble as we lead a faithful life. That is because God leads us to walk through the valley of affliction in order to strengthen our faith. This valley is also expressed as the road of wilderness and in this wilderness God meets us and teaches us a lot of things. The author of today’s scripture met a day of affliction. He couldn’t think clearly. He just felt scared and hopeless. At that time, the satan shoot an arrow of doubt in his heart. He started to have doubt in his heart. “Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Did his anger stop him from being compassionate?” All of us go through affliction at one point or another but in a different degree. Then, why are we faced with affliction and trial? That is because the ancestors of mankind Adam and Eve went against God’s will. When God created Adam and Eve, He created them to look like him and they were supposed to live according to God’s will. However, they did not follow God’s fundamental purpose. They had followed the satan and they became the satan’s servant. After this, the mankind continued to live this way and the humans had lost the opportunity to have the eternal life. From the ancient times, the mankind struggled to live well, however, they couldn’t get out of life full of illness, pain, hatred, curse and death. Then later, the humans believed in Jesus as the Savior and the sins were forgiven. We found comfort in God’s arms and God became the center of our life. However, just because the humans came back to God that doesn’t mean that we always live according to God’s will. Although we try to live according to God’s Word, we can’t help but to go back to our old habits and thoughts and sin against God. This is the reality of mankind and it is our problem. Here, our will goes before God’s will. We try to accomplish God’s will with our own means and methods. Therefore, God let’s us experience the suffering in the wilderness. So, we should remember that from time to time we will experience the valley of darkness. No matter what position we hold in church, even pastors go through this process. As we know, to go through the life’s darkness is painful and it is an unbearable trial. Therefore, today I would like to think about some of the ways to overcome the day of affliction so that we can pass it successfully.

First of all, when we are faced with the day of affliction, we should remember the past. Let’s read today’s scripture verses 10-11. “Then I thought, ‘To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High.” I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.” Therefore, when we are going through the night of suffering, we should remember the time that God led us. Doesn’t the bible record all the deeds of the Lord? Therefore, we should remember the times that God blessed us or God saved us from despair and be thankful to God. When God sees us having this attitude, He gives us the blessing of winning with our faith.

Second of all, in the day of affliction, we should remember God’s miracle. We should never forget that “God performs miracles.” I heard a lot of testimony about being healed from diseases that are not curable with present day’s medical technology. This was only possible by praying. The only way to save a person who is in despair is through miracle. It is only natural for a believer to come to God expecting a miracle. Therefore, if there is someone who is in despair, you should be thankful for what God has done for you so far and remember God’s miracles. We should write down God’s miracles that are recorded in the bible and we should acknowledge them with our mouth and firmly believe that we can receive the same kind of blessing.

Thirdly, in the night of affliction, we should praise. Although it is easy to praise for a good occasion, it is not easy to be thankful and to praise in the night of affliction. However, we should overcome our emotions and we should praise to the Lord. God wants us to give praise to Him. What is so great about Christianity is that we praise a lot. Whether we are happy or sad we should praise the Lord. Then, God of ability will reveal himself.

Fourthly, in the night of affliction, we should be thankful to God unconditionally. The bible tells us, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” To be thankful unconditionally means to be thankful to God for His grace in good times and bad times, in other words, no matter what. Matthew 10:30 says, “And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Therefore, we should leave all our problems to God and be thankful even if we are faced with death so that we can see God’s glory.

Lastly, in the day of affliction, we should try harder to pray. Let’s read today’s scripture verse 2 together. “When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted.” We should pray with all our heart and we should pray earnestly. After God hears our prayers, he answers them in different shapes and forms. Halleujah!  Thank you.

By: Rev.  Samuel Choi