Episode #190 Turning from Chaos to the Creator, Inspired By Psalm 74 – What’s Going On?!

Hey friends, does the world just feel crazy right now? Like you turn on the news or you scroll social media, and it just feels like what in the world is going on? If that feels true to you, that for sure feels true for me. And that's what we're talking about in this series on Good God Talks, what's going on?

And in today's episode, we're talking about when the world feels like it's falling apart.

I'm a millennial, so I'm not going to lie life, life has been interesting. I've lived through some Interesting times since childhood in my not yet 40 years of life.

But I don't at all think that this is new.

I think that every season of life under the sun has had its own form of tumultuous circumstances, its own form of crazy.

And for probably a lot of reasons, that gives me comfort. It gives me comfort to know that our God, who is outside of time, cares for us all in all of the times that we might live through on earth.

Now, back in episode 186, I was talking about communal grieving and how we can bring our grief to God. And one of the ways that we can do that is through laments, through passionate expressions of grief or sorrow. And I'm actually going to read for us a number of verses from Psalm 74 today, which is a Psalm of communal lament.

One of the things I noticed when I was reading through this Psalm is how easy it is to turn our focus to what's going on out there when things in the world feel crazy or chaotic. I'm going to jump into Psalm 74. Starting in verse four, I'm going to kind of skip around a little bit and notice how the song of lament, of expressing grief or sorrow, is focused on what Israel's enemies are doing. It says

“There your enemies shouted their victorious battle cries; there they set up their battle standards. They swung their axes like woodcutters in a forest… They burned your sanctuary to the ground. They defiled the place that bears your name. Then they thought, ‘Let’s destroy everything!’ So they burned down all the places where God was worshiped. We no longer see your miraculous signs. All the prophets are gone, and no one can tell us when it will end. How long, O God, will you allow our enemies to insult you? Will you let them dishonor your name forever?” (Psalm 74:4-5,7-10 NLT)

So it starts with what the enemies are doing. They are doing this; they're coming against us this way. And it's sharing, and rightly so, back to the Lord, look what this has meant for us. We don't get to see your miracles. The people who tell us your word, they're gone. No one can tell us how long this season is going to last. Your enemies are insulting you. How long are you going to let them do that God? Are you going to let them do this forever?

And then the song of sorrow progresses to focusing on God. I'll pick it up in verse 12. It says,

“You, O God, are my king from ages past, bringing salvation to the earth. You split the sea by your strength…You crushed the heads of Leviathan…You caused the springs and streams to gush forth, and you dried up rivers that never run dry. Both day and night belong to you; you made the starlight and the sun. You set the boundaries of the earth, and you made both summer and winter. (Psalm 74:12,13a,14a,15-17 NLT)

And in Verse 20, it says,

“Remember your covenant promises, for the land is full of darkness and violence!” (Psalm 74:20 NLT)

A lot of this passage of grief and sorrow reminded me of where our world is at today. And again, I take comfort in that. Because not only does that remind me of where our circumstances are right now, it also reminds me of our God who was before all of this and who created the world and set the earth's boundaries and created the seasons.

And this is our God that we can run to, and we can rely on, and that we can trust in. We get to come to the Lord, even in our distress, even in our wonderings and our worries of what is going on. We can call on him to remember his promises to us. And I promise you, he does not forget.

And so with the circumstances that are top of mind for you, with the heaviness that you might feel pressing down on you with what's going on in the world or in your home or in your neighborhood, I want to offer you a question to take to God, to then continue this conversation with him today.

We don't have to ignore the things that are going on. I invite you, start as the Psalm did telling God about what you see and what is hard and what feels like it's taking so long and the pain that you're enduring. And then ask him,
Now that I've told you about them, God, will you tell me something about me and you?

And then listen for what he wants to tell you.

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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