MidTree Church
The sermon audio of MidTree Church in Harris County, Ga. BEHOLD // BELIEVE // BECOME
MidTree Church
When our hearts argue with our theology | Larry Young | 07 Sept 2025
Asaph's raw journey through spiritual doubt and rediscovered faith in Psalm 77 reveals how we can navigate times when God feels distant yet remains faithful.
• Moving from crying out to God in deep distress to finding comfort in remembering His character
• Running to God even when our cries are ugly and our pain feels overwhelming
• Learning that our theology should shape how we suffer rather than letting suffering shape our theology
• Recognizing that our seemingly impossible situations become the stage for God's power to be displayed
• Understanding that remembering God's past faithfulness gives us courage to face present struggles
• Finding hope in Christ's work on the cross—the ultimate display of God's faithfulness
• Standing on unshakable hope even during long, sleepless nights and heavy burdens
"I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?" (Psalm 77:11-13)
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I am one of the elders here at Midtree and I have the privilege to present the word to you guys today. I don't know about you guys, but I would love to see Will in a daishiki. So, as your black brother, will, I'm giving you permission. It is not cultural appropriation, so please feel free to bust in here with a daishiki here pretty soon. So today we're going to take a little break from the book of Joshua, but one thing I want to do is continue the theme of remembering remembering what God has done. And so if you were here last week, david Blanchard did an incredible job talking about the 12 stones and what that symbolizes in terms of remembering. And so if you have your Bibles with you today, I think it'd be really helpful. I like to use the Bibles in the pews because towards the end of the sermon we're going to kind of move kind of quickly through Psalm 77. And I think it would just be really, really helpful for you if you have that available.
Larry Young:Tim Keller, in his book Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering, he writes this no matter what precautions we take, no matter how well we have put together a good life, no matter how hard we have worked to be healthy, wealthy, comfortable with friends and family and successful with our career, something will inevitably ruin it. For some of us, this could be a time when we unexpectedly lost a loved one. It could have been a parent, it could have been a spouse, it could be a marriage falling apart, it could be failing health, an unexpected job loss. Whatever the situation, there are just times when our hearts will argue with our theology. Our mouth may sing praises to God, but our heart and souls feel detached and we will ask God this question. We'll say God, why does it feel like you don't see me? And if you've ever felt this, you certainly aren't alone.
Larry Young:And all throughout scripture we see examples of similar expressions. I mean, just go in Exodus 5.22,. We see Moses. He asked the Lord why have you brought trouble on the Israelites and why have you chosen me to lead these people? And in Job 13, verse 24, we read this he makes a plea to God. And Job says why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy? And then in Matthew 27, we see our Lord Christ as he's dying on the cross. He echoes the word of the Psalmist in Psalm 22, when he says my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why does it sometimes feel like no matter what's going on in our life? Why does it feel like God is failing us even when we've been faithful? You see, intellectually we know the answer. God saves his people and he shows them mercy time and time again, all throughout scripture. We see that all the time. But this doesn't mean that the reality of God's unfailing love is easy for us to digest, especially in times when our troubles seem very present and they seem very real and they seem very heavy.
Larry Young:So, before we dive into Psalm 77 this morning, there's a few things I'd like to share with you that I think will help us navigate the text. Okay, so, first of all, who's the author of Psalm 77? And so the portion of the text in Psalm 77 prior to verse one that's called the superscription Okay, superscription, or simply referred to as the heading. And so this is actually part of the original Hebrew manuscript and it's not an editorial note added later in time by a translator, but it's actually part of the inspired scripture. And so we see here in the superscription, it says this to the choir master, according to Juduthun, a psalm of Asaph. And so here you see two names. Okay, it's Asaph and Juduthun, or Juduthun and Asaph. And in 1 Chronicles we see that David appointed some of the Levites, including Juduthun and Asaph, as leaders and ministers of worship who, through their music, were described as prophets as well. And so the superscription in Psalm 77 is conveying that Juduthin was likely the worship leader who would have directed the singing of this psalm, and Asaph was the divinely inspired writer who's conveying God's message in the text.
Larry Young:And before we dive in, I just also want to give you the two takeaways that we have for this particular message, and they're these two things I want us to remember today In times of trouble, don't allow suffering to shape your theology. Rather, your theology should shape how you suffer. And then, secondly, I want us to remember this Our trials become the stage for God's power and faithfulness to be put on display. So that gives you an idea of where we're going. So, with that in mind, let's dive into Psalm 77.
Larry Young:Let's start at verse. One 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. So we see here the psalmist. He's praying with a sense of deep, sincere need, from relief for relief, and we don't know what his troubles are. The Psalm does not express what he was struggling with, but what we see here it's nighttime and he's verbally crying out to God. And then we see in verse two that he mentions again that he's crying out to God. And this is here for emphasis, to instruct us that the psalmist is deeply troubled and that all he can do in this time is to cry out to God. And what we can picture here is, like Asaph, his hands are outstretched, they're stretched up, symbolizing an appeal, a deep dependence on God to hear his plea Lord, help me. That's essentially what Asaph is saying Lord, help me. He's restless, he's desperate, he's crying and reaching out for God all night. But even with petitioning the Lord, we see that at the end of verse two, asaph states that he refuses to be comforted. He's raw, he's honest.
Larry Young:Here Asaph isn't sugarcoating anything. I mean he's not trying to pray some sweet prayer, right? I mean, this is a lament. This is one of those moments where I can see Asaph approaching one of us, or some of us, and saying you know, hey, brother, I'm really sorry for what you're going through. This is us talking to Asaph man, I hate what you're going through, and I'm just making this up, but I can totally see Asaph quipping back to us and saying man, I'm trying that, man, I'm trying to appeal to the Lord, and you know what? It's just not helping. I'm in that deep moment of desperation where nothing is helping. And, as a side note, I have to give Asaph props here, because he's doing exactly what he should in moments like this he's praying, he isn't running to drugs, he isn't running to alcohol or some other vice to ease his pain. No, asaph is rightly turned to God in his deep hour of need because, even though in this moment he's struggling to acknowledge it, he knows nothing else outside of God can truly bring him hope or peace.
Larry Young:You know, I feel like every day one of our kids is getting hurt at our house. This is kind of an illustration point, but one of our kids is always getting hurt like every single day. And so, if you guys know, we actually live on a small farm but our house is actually the zoo, and so we have seven kids right now, and my kids they love to wrestle, they love to wrestle I think they get that from their daddy and they play outside and they do all the things, but inevitably someone's going to get hurt every single time. And now I've gotten to the point where I'll say five minutes when he's going to be crying. And now I've gotten to the point where I'll say five minutes when he's going to be crying, and usually I'm about right. And so we have one kid and they have like, don't judge me, y'all, they have a really ugly cry. And when they get hurt it's like I'm not going to tell you guys which kid it is, come over my house, watch them play, you'll figure it out. But every time they get hurt their face smushes up and their tears are like legitimately squirting out of their eyes. Like if you know, you guys would get wet up here in the front and their nose starts running and it's like that thick kind of snot. And then they run to you and they hug, crisp your eye and it's great especially if I have to drive to Atlanta to go to work they get snot all over my pants. It's the best.
Larry Young:But what am I trying to say here? Seriously, like small children running to a loving parent when we are hurting isn't that how we should feel about God? Shouldn't we be able to run to the Lord. When we feel like that, I mean it's okay to run to Him. Even if your cries are ugly, it's okay. He actually invites our cries.
Larry Young:It's in those moments that we draw near to Him, like a small child running to someone that they deeply trust and that they love. And for those of you with small children, have you ever noticed that even when they run to you and they grip your leg or your neck or your arm, it isn't like their relief is always instant in that moment? I know some of you have noticed that You'll grab a child, they'll cry and they'll still be crying for a few moments, but after a time they become consoled, not necessarily because the pain has gone away. You know that scraped knee still may be bleeding, their feelings may still be hurt, but the cries begin to ease because they're now in the presence of someone that they love. They're in the presence of someone that they love. They're in the presence of someone that they love and that they trust. And so, like a small child clinging to a loving father or mother in their time of distress, we too should run to our heavenly father, because he's proven time and time again that he loves his people and that we can trust him and our pain isn't guaranteed to immediately cease, but God isn't intimidated by our cries.
Larry Young:In Psalm 34, verse 18, it says this the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. So when our hearts are broken and we're in distress, we can trust God to be near. So, like Asaph, even when it's ugly and the situation is ugly, and even if your cries are ugly, run to the Lord. But we see here in verse three of Psalm 77, that even though Asaph knows that he can run to the Lord in prayer during this difficult time, he says this, he says my soul refuses to be comforted and that when he remembers God, he moans, when he meditates, his spirit faints. Then we get a break in the text and we see the word Selah, and so sometimes again, we can want to skip over that word, but again that's really important. What does Selah mean? It's a word in the Psalms and its meaning is to convey to us to take a moment pause, meditate on what you just read or what you just sang in that instance. So, in other words, let the word sink in, think about it, take your time.
Larry Young:And isn't it interesting, as we pause and reflect on this, that Asaph doesn't say that the issue troubling him is causing him to moan or his spirit to faint, but rather he finds the thought of God himself to be troubling. Isn't that interesting. He finds the thought of God troubling to him. We see this in the Psalms. It almost seems counterintuitive if you think about it. But what Asaph is wrestling with here is that he knows that God is all powerful. He knows that he's faithful, he knows that he's loving, he knows that he's merciful. But in his moment of suffering, remembering those truths about God's character only sharpens the pain. Asaph is essentially saying to himself God, you are good, so why does my life feel this way? Asaph is experiencing the agony of knowing that God could act, yet he seems silent in this dark hour.
Larry Young:In his commentary on the Psalms called the Treasury of David, charles Spurgeon paints this picture when commenting on Asaph's lack of comfort. We read this With no spirit left in us to sustain our infirmity. Our case becomes forlorn, like man in a tangle of briars who is stripped of his clothes. Every hook of the thorns becomes a lancelet and we bleed with 10,000 wounds. What does this mean?
Larry Young:I have to break this down in the modern English, because I can tell some of you guys are like forlorn. What the heck? What is this? So, a few times, if you've ever been on our property, you know it's a farm and sometimes I'll be walking out on the property and I rarely wear long pants, so usually you'll see me in shorts and I'll accidentally walk into a briar patch. And if you guys have ever accidentally walked into a briar patch, those sharp thorns are not fun and at first it's kind of like one scratch but then as you try to get out, another thorn grabs you and so then you're kind of in this situation where you're moving and you're trying to get out, and you know you should get out, but it keeps cutting you and it's like a thousand little razors just annoying you. If you are a hunter, you know what I'm talking about. Those briars are not fun.
Larry Young:And that's what he's saying, what Charles Spurgeon is saying here. He's like, hey, asaph's spirit is fainting. It's like he's caught in a thorn, a thorn patch of despair, and he can't get himself free and every thought of God only makes that pain sharper. Every time he thinks about God in light of his present suffering, it's like a little cut and it's aggravating him more and more with each thought, reminders of God, of what God could do, but what God hasn't done yet in his situation. But as we see here in a few moments, asaph, his focus, doesn't stay there. Let's continue on.
Larry Young:Let's go to verses four through six. It says this you hold my eyelids open. I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I consider the days of old, the years of long ago. I said, let me remember the song in the night, my song in the night. Let me meditate in my heart. Then my spirit made a diligent search. What Asaph is saying here? Then my spirit made a diligent search. What Asaph is saying here? He's saying God, you know this thing is heavy, but you can't give me, you won't give me rest or sleep. There is so much pressure that I can't even express it. So he goes from crying out loud to God to a state of just troubling quiet. Asaph doesn't have words for what he's experiencing. No-transcript. I can tell you guys that sleepless nights especially some of you who may be able to relate to this they wear you down. It's almost like you can't function at all.
Larry Young:And then he says here in verse 5 that he is considering the days of old, the years, long ago. And here what I think Asaph is saying is he's thinking about better days. He's thinking about those times in those earlier seasons in his life where he actually felt like God was present. He felt like his prayers were being answered and that God's presence was just undeniable to him. That's what he's thinking about. And then let's jump down to verse six. It says let me remember my song in the night, let me meditate in my heart. Then my spirit made a diligent search. So we see, here we're starting to see a little faint flicker of light coming to Asaph's mind here, and he's possibly thinking about the other Psalms. He's thinking about worship songs to the Lord, maybe even some that he's written.
Larry Young:But what you see, my point, is that Asaph is trying to stir his heart here, but then it leads him to some questions about God. In verses seven through nine let's read that together Will the Lord spurn forever and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Or his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? So here you see, asaph isn't so much presenting an indictment of God being unfair, unjust or even unloving, but here the first question will the Lord spurn forever. Asaph is recognizing that Israel was in covenant with God. They broke that covenant and that God spurned them, and spurn means to reject, to cast away. And so we see Asaph crying out God, have you rejected us for good? Are you that tired of us? His voice is raw and he's just saying God, are you just done with me? Are you finished with me? But in verse eight, these seem to be the most shocking questions to me, and you'll see why. In verse eight he says has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time?
Larry Young:The Hebrew term God uses to describe his enduring faith, his faithfulness and his love. You'll see this in the Old Testament. It's called chesed. I hope I'm pronouncing that right. I'm going to mention Jamie. I got it, mitch. Chesed. Hope I'm pronouncing that right. I'm going to mention Jamie. I got it Mitch. That's it. I got to get that deep in it.
Larry Young:But this term is found nearly 245 times in the Old Testament, and it's an expression of an essential part of God's character. It describes his mercy and his compassion. There's really no English word for it, because it means generous, loving, compassionate, long-suffering. It expresses the covenantal side of God's love. And so the question is has his steadfast love hesed, ceased, forever ceased? In other words, has God's character toward us, the way that he conducts himself towards us, has it changed? And at the end of verse nine we also see the question has he, in anger, shut up his compassion? I know, in the new King James Version translation I actually like that better, because instead of the word compassion it actually says tender mercies. Has he, in anger, shut up his tender mercies? And I think that translation of this particular word gives us a better picture or an idea to convey a real deep bond, a tenderness like a very intimate closeness and think of, like a motherly closeness. That's what it's expressing.
Larry Young:And in his commentary on the Psalms I'm going back to Uncle Chuck y'all I love Uncle Chuck he says this. He says if you are a child of God and he's talking about Asaph's questions in verses seven through nine he says this if you are a child of God and never had to ask these questions, you ought to be very grateful. But if you have to ask them, be thankful that Asaph asked them before you and believe that, as he had a comfortable answer to them, so shall you. It is always a comfort when you can see the footprints of another man in the mire and the slough. I put that there, y'all, like the S-L-E-W, so I know how to pronounce it correctly. So don't judge me, for if that man passed through unharmed, so may you, for his God shall also be your helper.
Larry Young:Moving on, in the ESV translation of verse 10, in your pew Bibles it should read this I will appeal to this the years of the right hand of the most high. And so this means that Asaph is now choosing to remember God's mighty works in the past, and so this is what I see as a more hopeful translation of the text, when you compare to what you see in the footnote of the ESV translation. It says this it says this is my grief that the right hand of the most high has changed. Do you guys see that in the footnote? You see that Good, good, and this is more of a pessimistic view to me. To me, what is in the footnote continues really the theme of what we see in verses one through nine, and I think and this is just my opinion, I could be wrong I think it's a little bit more accurate, because if you see the other, the translation that's in the main text. It's a little bit more hopeful. But either way, my point is that this is a hinge in the text.
Larry Young:Okay, whether Asaph is reminding himself of how strong God's hand has been, or whether he's lamenting that God's hand seems absent, what we do know is that this line marks a pivot in the psalm. There's a turning now, and so now let's look at verses 11 through 13. Asaph says I will remember the deeds of the Lord. Yes, I will remember the wonders of old. I will ponder all your work and meditate on your mighty deeds your way. O God is holy. What God is great like our God. And this gets us to our first takeaway Don't allow your suffering to shape your theology.
Larry Young:Rather, your theology should shape how you suffer. It's wild to think that sometimes in our lives, suffering has a way of being the loudest voice in our heads, especially at night and when you're in pain or struggling through something. Our emotions can sometimes try to convince us that God has somehow changed. Our emotions can make us think that God's forgotten about us, or that he's unfair, or that he just doesn't care about us. But that's letting suffering write our theology for us. Instead, our theology, the truths, meaning the truths that we know about God from his word, from the Bible. That must be what steadies us in times of suffering.
Larry Young:And so let's take another look at verse 13, where Asaph, he says this your way, oh, god is holy. What God is great, like our God. You see, asaph, he's now contemplating God's holiness, but what he's implicitly saying he's like God, you are holy, I am not, and whatever is happening to me, god is not unjust, it's not unfair, because your way is good and apart from you, I'm not good. And then this leads him into worship. And as an illustration point, as I was thinking this through, it's almost like when a storm comes in, it could be a sunny day, and then all of a sudden, you guys notice like clouds will just rush in and you're like man.
Larry Young:It is dark outside and it can seem like the sun has completely disappeared from the sky. But has it? Has the sun disappeared? No, it hasn't. It hasn't disappeared, it hasn't changed. The problem isn't that the sun changed or that the sun went away. The problem is our perspective being clouded by the storm.
Larry Young:In the same way, when we are in trouble, we can feel like God has vanished or that his loves run out, like Asaph did for the first part of the psalm. His focus was actually on himself and on his problems. You notice that, like in verse one, he says this I cry loud. Verse two my hand stretched out. Verse three my spirit faints. Verse four I can't sleep. Lord, you won't let me go to sleep, I'm so troubled. Verse six I will meditate in my heart.
Larry Young:But then we see in verses 11 through 13, we see Asaph go from focusing on himself to then shifting his focus on what he knows to be true about God and his faithfulness, and then that leads him into worship. It's almost like he realizes wait, the sun is still shining, god is still there and these clouds are just temporary. And it leads him to worship God. And so we see Asaph. He's no longer wrapped up in his troubles, he's not stuck in the briar, but now he's beginning to be wrapped up in the character of God and his mighty works. So instead of being pierced by the thorns of his troubles and his questions and his doubts, he's being pierced by the truth of who God is and his focus shifts from his pain to God's unending love and his holiness.
Larry Young:Folks, if you don't remember anything else from this sermon, remember God for who he is, not through the lens of how you feel. Our feelings may be screaming one thing, but honestly, our feelings, they lie to us. Our faith can stand on the truth that God is holy and faithful and powerful, even when our circumstances don't look that way. Powerful even when our circumstances don't look that way. I don't find it odd that as I was writing the sermon this week, I got some news. As some of you know, christy and I are foster parents and we have had a sweet baby girl for 19 months. We've had her most of her life and for most of the time it looked like, you know, her biological mom was struggling, wasn't going to get together, and then we're kind of told, hey, you may get to adopt her. But then this past Tuesday we were in court and the court says I think she'll be ready to go home in the next 90 days. That was a blow to me and I'll be honest with you, I have had some sleepless nights. But what I have to remember is that, god, you are sovereign over this baby. Even if she's in our home or if she's somewhere else, you are still good, and that you are the author of her life, not me, and so, you know, this hit very, very, very real to me. It hit home for me.
Larry Young:And then I ran to Lamentations 3. And I started in verse 21. It said this. I'll share this with you guys. It said, but I call this to mind and therefore I have hope the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, my soul says, says my soul. Therefore I will hope in him.
Larry Young:So as we continue our study in Psalms, in Psalm 77, let's go to verse 14. You are the God, the God who works wonders. You have made known your might among the peoples. You have made known your might among the peoples. You see, asaph knows God's wonders that he talks about here. They're not some abstract, detached idea. No, he knows that they were real. They were visible acts of God's power. They were witnessed by the Israelites, they were written down for them, and even that news traveled to other nations, as David Planchard shared with us last week. He reminded us of God stopping the flow of the Jordan River and God's call to remember.
Larry Young:And then, if you guys were here for us studying the second chapter of the book of Joshua, there was Rahab. She was a prostitute living in the walls of Jericho. And what did she say? She said we have heard what your God has done. We know of your God. Rahab says that when they heard about God's acts that their hearts melted, the people of Jericho knew that they were defeated.
Larry Young:And then let's go on to verse 15 of Psalm 77. It says you with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph Selah. What is Asaph doing? He's pointing back to the Exodus here. You see, israel couldn't save themselves here. They were stuck between Pharaoh's army and this. What seemed to be an incrossable body of water. But gosh, that's exactly where God wanted them to be, because they're in seemingly impossible situation actually became the stage for God to display his power and his might. And then you see Asaph.
Larry Young:In verses 16 through 18, he dives into more vivid detail. He says this and think about this. He's personifying the water here. He says when the water saw you, oh God, when the water saw you, they were afraid. The deep trembled, the clouds poured out water, the skies gave forth thunder. Your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind. Your lightnings lighted up the world. The earth trembled and shook. You know, from Israel's perspective, y'all, they saw an incrossable sea. And then they had this army just coming from the rear. What are we going to do? But God showed his redeeming and magnificent power. The trembling waters, the lightning, the thunder, they were all part of the display of his glory.
Larry Young:And then we get to verse 19,. And it says your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters, yet your footprints were unseen. Israel's impossible trial became the backdrop for God's might. And this leads us to our second takeaway. Our trials become the stage for God's power and faithfulness to be put on display. The very things that may feel like could be our undoing, that could feel like it could be our end, become the very things where God showcases his faithfulness. And then we get to verse 20. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Larry Young:You know, it's interesting to me that the same God who showed like you just read in verses 16 through 18, the same God who showed all this mighty power, who's putting on this flag? I mean God is showing out. He's the same God that comes to us intimately, with a whisper. He's deeply powerful, immensely powerful, but he's deeply personal, and I find that so fascinating. You know, it's incredible that God puts all this on display so that we can rest not only in the middle of our present struggles, but that we can trust God for whatever the future holds as well. This reminds me of a quote by Alexander McLaren. He said this In other words, the way we remember God's faithfulness becomes the very paintbrush that gives color to our future hope. Gifts colored to our future hope. When we recall how God has carried us before, we find the courage to believe that he'll carry us again and again, and again.
Larry Young:This makes me think about a story that I have about Christie's mom. Her name is Lori, or, as her grandchildren, they called her Lala, or as her grandchildren they called her Lala. So in 2009, it was right after Chrissy and I had graduated from law school and she was diagnosed with stage four metastatic breast cancer. And the doctors they told her hey, you probably have only six to nine months to live, but God was so kind to give us another nine years with her until she went on to glory and defeated cancer in 2018. And it was during this nine-year cancer battle my father-in-law he's also an attorney. He actually gave up his career and he became her full-time caretaker. And over that nine-year period she endured countless chemo treatments, she had several surgeries and even one time she had a blood infection and she was in the hospital for a while. But even through all that, god kept her, and she and my father-in-law. The most amazing thing is that during this time their faith only continued to get deeper. Their roots and faithfulness in the Lord just got deeper.
Larry Young:And if you knew Lala, you would know that she's an artist. She was a bit of an intellectual, but she was also a little bit zany too. And towards the end of her life she began to fold these little origami cranes and this one here is an earring that she actually made for Christy. I couldn't find the other one, but this kind of gives you an idea of the size. That's what they look like. And she folded all these little cranes and even when the chemo blistered her fingers and the movement caused pain for her because she would get these these big like little boils on her fingers, she kept folding and she would leave these little origami cranes everywhere. And one thing that she did she had a jar and she filled them with a thousand little cranes, these little cranes, and she gave them to my father-in-law. Here's a bigger one that Madison made just kind of give you an idea what they look like on a bigger scale.
Larry Young:And so one day we were visiting her and I said hey, lala, what's the meaning behind the 1,000 paper cranes that you gave to your husband? And she said you know, in Japanese culture, a gift of 1,000 cranes, it symbolizes gratitude and the hope that the person who's a receiver of the cranes it basically is like a thank you, it gives hope. And she said that there's also a myth that the thousand cranes will grant one big wish to the people, to the person who receives them. And she's like I don't believe in that mumbo jumbo. What I do want is I gave them to Mike because I want them to remind them of how grateful I've been for him in this journey. He gave up everything to love on me when I couldn't do much for myself. And most of all, I want those thousand cranes to point him to the Lord.
Larry Young:You see, these little cranes are not just paper, but they're tiny reminders of a larger testimony. They're a testimony that even in suffering, there are thousands and millions of ways that we cannot comprehend how God shows his love and faithfulness to us each and every day, even if we're walking in the shadow of death. Asaph looked back to the Exodus in the midst of suffering, but we have the privilege to see that the Exodus points us to the cross, proof of God's power and faithfulness isn't just parting of the Red Sea, but it's an empty tomb. The crucifixion and resurrection of the Son of God became the stage for the greatest display of God's faithfulness and his victory over sin and death. And that's what communion, as we prepare to do here in a few moments, that's what communion helps us to remember.
Larry Young:As a family of believers, we partake in the elements here. The bread reminds us that Christ's body was broken for us, the cup remind us that his blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. And communion calls us to remember God's past faithfulness. It strengthens us in our present struggles and points us towards the day when Jesus will come again. Paul says in Romans 8, 32, he who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also do also with him? Graciously, give us all things. If you are here today and you do not yet know Christ. I kindly ask you that you refrain from partaking in the elements. But I'll also ask you this Would you take a few moments and consider Psalm 77?
Larry Young:Think about it as an invitation.
Larry Young:Think about Asaph's questions. Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he closed off his compassion? Those things were answered once and for all at the cross, the God who split the sea, who shook the heavens. He stepped down as a humble servant in the flesh to bear your sin, to redeem you, to give you a new life. If you all but turn away from your sin, repent and follow him, then when the storms of your life come and believe me, they will come when your long, sleepless nights come and the nights weigh heavy on you and you feel like you cannot get any rest, you too can stand on unshakable hope. That's the hope of the gospel, and I'll leave us with this. Tim Keller once said, and I'll leave us with this. Tim Keller once said while other worldviews lead us to sit in the midst of life's joys for seeing the coming sorrows, christianity empowers its people to sit in the midst of this world's sorrows, tasting the coming joy. That's what Psalm 77 shows us and that's what the finished work of Christ secures for us.