JUST BECAUSE YOU CANNOT SEE IT, DOES NOT MEAN THERE’S NOTHING THERE.
A strange sentence to begin this devotional with, but that’s the sentence I wrote in my journal after reading through Psalm 77. Before I share a bit of context on Psalm 77, let me ask you this…
‘Have you ever noticed the ‘blinding effect’ that pain, or suffering, or hurt, or uncertainty has on you when any one of those emotions enters your day?’
In other words, it’s often hard to see much beyond what we feel. But to repeat what I wrote above…
JUST BECAUSE YOU CANNOT SEE IT, DOES NOT MEAN THERE’S NOTHING THERE.
As Tristan (my son) and I are getting closer to finishing our six-month journey through the Scriptures together, I am in the midst of reading lots and lots of Psalms. And last week, I found myself in Psalm 77… such a great Psalm! If you have a few free minutes to read through the entirety of Psalm 77, I think you’ll be super-encouraged… here’s a link to Psalm 77.
In short, the Psalmist is overwhelmed crying out for God’s help… but the help he’s crying out for does not seem to be coming… at least in the way he’d like. He is ‘feeling’ as if he’s been rejected and forgotten by God altogether. He’s battling with whether or not God’s love for him is genuine and if the promises of God are true and trustworthy.
After expressing all sorts of very raw emotions, the Psalmists has an ‘ah-ha moment’… an epiphany of sorts. See that with me in Psalm 77:11…
“But then I recall all you have done, O LORD; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.”
Thankfully, the Psalmist journals for us the ‘wonderful deeds’ that the LORD brought to mind. And would you know it, what the LORD brought to mind was the moment when the people of God were ‘feeling’ all sorts of panic and fear.
The people of God had been set free by Pharoah, but as Pharoah had done on numerous occasions before, he changed his mind. In front of the people of God was the Red Sea and now behind the people of God was Pharoah and his army in hot pursuit.
I can’t fathom the fear that they must have felt.
I cannot fathom the uncertainty they must have felt in not knowing whether they’d live or die.
I cannot fathom the disappointment they must have felt in being promised freedom only to have those who enslaved them seeking to enslave them once again.
Water is in front of you.
And behind you… the world’s most powerful army.
As I mentioned above, it’s hard to see much further than what you can feel. And when the people of God ‘felt’ panic and ‘fear’, they could not see the ‘UNSEEN ROAD.’
What’s the ‘UNSEEN ROAD’ – glad you asked!
See that with me in Psalm 77:19…
“Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters— a pathway no one knew was there!”
God could see the pathway— He knew it was there the whole time.
The people did not see it, and I’m convinced the people did not even know that a pathway through the water was even possible. But as they’d soon discovered, it was possible and the ‘UNSEEN ROAD’ what right in front of them the whole time.
For me, far too often my vision… what I can see, is completely dictated by the situation or circumstance that I find myself in. And the greater the pain, hurt, confusion or disappointment, the greater my inability is to see what might actually be right in front of me.
I don’t know what ‘uncertainty’ you may be facing today or in this season, but God used this Psalm to remind me (and hopefully you as well)…
JUST BECAUSE YOU CANNOT SEE IT, DOES NOT MEAN THERE’S NOTHING THERE.
If your ‘feelings’ or ‘emotions’ have been blinding you lately, I’d encourage you to join me in praying a very simple prayer— a prayer that our gracious Heavenly Father loves to answer…
“LORD, help me to see what I cannot see, but I know you can see. LORD, help me to see the path that you’ve called me to travel and give me the courage to walk that path hand-in-hand with you. LORD, let my vision not be dictated by my ‘emotions’ or ‘feeling’, but help me to see You… the One who creates pathways that no one else ever could.”
