When I am weak

“And I said, ‘This is my weakness’; I will remember the deeds of the Lord, yes, I will remember the miracles of the Most High. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.” (Psalm 77:10-12)

In this world where it seems only the strong survive, everyone seems to be striving to become strong in many ways. People try not only to be physically strong but also to be intellectually strong and socially strong. Because of this, we tend to avoid admitting our weaknesses in front of others. However, as we live in this world and face storms of trials and difficulties, we inevitably come to realize how fragile human beings truly are. No matter how healthy a young man is, if he is given a terminal cancer diagnosis by a doctor, what can he do in the face of death? Truly, we humans are very weak and fragile beings.

Looking at Psalm 77:10 today, the psalmist Asaph confesses, “This is my weakness.” By acknowledging his weakness, Asaph says that because of it, he developed weak thoughts. What were his weak thoughts? Look at Psalm 77:7-9: “Has the Lord rejected forever? Has he abandoned his throne for endless ages? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” Although God never abandons His people, Asaph, in his weakness, wondered, “Has the Lord rejected me forever?” He knew God is gracious and delights in showing mercy, yet he thought, “Has God forgotten to be gracious?” God is the loving God who loves us forever without end, yet Asaph, in his weakness, even thought, “Has his mercy come to an end?” God is faithful to fulfill His promises, but Asaph doubted whether God’s promises had ended forever. In his extreme weakness, Asaph could not even feel God’s compassion. These were the thoughts of a human being in his weakness.

Asaph, who doubted God’s love, grace, and mercy in his weakness—why did he come to acknowledge his own weakness like this? The reason was the suffering that came upon him (verse 2). Because of that suffering, Asaph earnestly sought God and refused to be comforted without an answer to his prayer (verse 2).

In times of hardship, when no matter how much we cry out to God it seems our prayers go unanswered, we sometimes have the weak thought that the Lord has abandoned us. David experienced this too. Especially in Psalm 22:1-2, when he cried out day and night with the groaning of his heart in prayer but received no answer, he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (22:1). Both David and Asaph felt in times of great suffering that God had abandoned them. But as we know, God never forsakes us forever.

In the midst of such intense pain, when it seemed no prayer was answered despite crying out to God, Asaph had the weak thought wondering if perhaps God had abandoned him (77:7). He was also anxious and worried, and his spirit was broken (verse 3). Because he could not sleep, he suffered greatly (verse 4). Due to the suffering that had come upon him, he was very weak spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

In such extreme weakness, what did Asaph do? He resolved to remember the ancient deeds of the Lord: “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds” (verses 11-12). He sought to overcome his present troubles by remembering and deeply reflecting on all the works the Lord had done in the past. He made a right decision amid great pain.

Why did Asaph want to remember all the works God had done in the past? Because through all the works God had done, he desired to deeply meditate on the fact that God is truly God. That is why in Psalm 78:34-35, when Israel was under God’s discipline for their sins, the people turned back and earnestly sought God, remembering that He was their Rock and their Redeemer, the Most High God (verse 35).

Asaph remembered and meditated deeply on God’s being God through all His works. Likewise, when we face pain and adversity, we too must deeply realize our own weakness and remember and meditate deeply on all that God has done in our lives. Therefore, we must deeply meditate on God’s being God through all the works He has done. That is the only way to overcome our weakness. Through this, the weakness we come to recognize through hardship will be made strong in the Lord.

Let us not forget that remembering the Lord is our strength.

Remembering what the Lord has done through the church’s college ministry retreat,

Pastor James
(with a heart meditating once again on the promise of the five loaves and two fish)