22/04/2022 - SUPPORTED DURING CRISIS

• 
• 
• 
• 

You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. Psalm 77:4

We don’t know whether Asaph, the writer of Psalm 77, was speaking of himself or as a prophet – of someone else, who although served the Lord, faced unbelievable crises. There is no way of knowing whether this happened with him, but it is absolutely true that his words fit our life. God’s servants have received promises which guarantee that the Lord will always keep them (Psalm 91; Matthew 10:28-31). However, during our trials, we often neglect God’s guidance and open our mouths to give way to the evil one.

The Word describes Job as a man in whom we find no faults: There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. (Job 1:1).  When he was afflicted with great tribulation, he defended himself with all he had, saying that there was nothing wrong in his life. So, at first it seems that God had authorized the enemy for no reason, but then Job himself concluded that he had failed, allowing fear into his soul. He confessed it: For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, And what I dreaded has happened to me. (Job 3:25).

In the beginning of the Psalm, Asaph reveals important details about his attitude towards the wiles of the kingdom of darkness that were going on. For him, it was difficult to understand the fact that he was full of problems; after all, he believed in God and always sought Him. Asaph was a Levite famous for his love for the Lord, but when he remembered Him, he was troubled, because he didn’t understand what was happening to him and why the Most High wasn’t protecting him. The psalmist wanted to find out the reason for all that he was going through. 

In the midst of that evil, Asaph observed that a good fact occurred: his eyelids were unaffected – proof that God was with him. Only the Lord could keep the psalmist’s spiritual perception intact. Even though he was not in sin, he was affected by evil, and his inner eye was searching for answers, believing that it would find them. The Father was teaching him something unknown to him. Does this happen to you too?

Their eyes were sustained by the Most High, Asaph concludes. This was true. Surely, the same can happen with you. Although your faith is being tested, making you upset because of the seeming absence of the Almighty, He is right beside you, strengthening and protecting you. Be careful so that in your prayers, you do not say something inappropriate, offending the Lord. He knows how to make His children learn their lesson!

Perhaps your temptation is big, but it is not supernatural. If it were, you couldn’t stand it: No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13). Therefore, calm down and only open your mouth to confess God’s Word. Making your flesh sin (Ecclesiastes. 5:6) increases your suffering. Live in Jesus!

Asaph was wise and in the midst of his troubled heart, he said he could not speak. Those who are under temptation must be very careful as well. During such times, if you are not firm in your faith, you will confess things that will bind you: You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth (Proverbs 6:2). Praise the Lord for everything!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares