Psalm 79 - When the Rug Slides Out from Under Me

Summer in the Psalms

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If we are to travel to a foreign place, Summer is often the time we do it. It's funny how we sometimes crave the experience of strange and unfamiliar - to see the architecture and landscape, to hear the sounds of the culture in music and language, to taste their version of "comfort food" or "fine dining."

Maybe this Summer, foreign is exactly what you need. But no bags need to be packed. Not a single one. No airline reservations need to be made.

You see, praise in times of plenty, that's easy. It's natural. But praise in want, it's never easy. It's unnatural. Foreign may be an even better word. It feels strange, unfamiliar, unsettling.

That's because it is. Praise and rejoicing in things go well is proof of citizenship on earth, meaning everyone is capable of this. Praise and rejoicing, gratitude and proclaiming God's greatness and goodness, when things don't go as well as we hoped or expect - it's proof of citizenship in heaven. Only those filled with the power of the Holy Spirit are equipped to do such an unearthly thing.

Today, a good friend of mine, Sarah Freymuth, is sharing her reflection of Psalm 79 with us and helping us remember to proclaim God's praise, and live as foreigners of this earth, in those times when we feel the rug has slid out from under us.

Sarah Freymuth describes herself as a writer and dreamer who finds God's goodness in the everyday, upside-down, and in-between moments that make this life real, relatable and beautiful. She believes God created imagination to truly see His handiwork. And she believes in the ability of words to cultivate a spark that inspires and challenges readers to see the world with a wider and deeper lens.

Professionally, Sarah serves as the content and storytelling manager for Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a global sports ministry, where she gets to tell the story of what God is doing around the world through coaches and athletes – guiding them in going deeper in their faith. She also writes for different places, sharing about God's goodness where it isn't easily seen.

You can find her living a simple Midwest life with her husband, visiting Lake Michigan and Washington Island as often as life allows.

It’s been one year since life took a nose dive and drew me deeper into the darkness of physical and mental health struggles.

I have not mourned for the life I once lived carefree, before my body bore the weight of its wounds and my mind met a resistance it could not get through.

I have not grieved for what I left, what was surrendered, what I left behind. Dreams, travel, moments in friends’ and family’s lives that I wanted so badly to celebrate. The deepening desire to experience more of God and how He could become more personal.

I was just getting started when the rug slid out from under me and I felt left to pick up the pieces of what I knew and tape them together into what was becoming.

We live the same disappointments; another loss, another tragedy, more sad news for an already broken heart.

What will it take to heal from another heartbreak? A heartbreak in multiple places, when we look for reason and assurance, an ounce of understanding to make the pain seem bearable.

Where is God when we suffer, when it stings? Where is He in those moments where we feel abandoned and lost and let down? Where do we go? When we call out to the sky with everything in us and are met with silence?

How long, Lord,

it seems we cry along with Psalm 79:5-6,

will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire? Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that do not call on your name. - Psalm 79:5-6

We wonder with Asaph, the writer of this psalm. God, where are You when the world aches and the chaos breaks into our everyday and those around us who don’t call on You are thriving while we sputter on each day, simply trying to survive? How long, Lord, must we stay in this upside-down world where things just don’t seem right?

What is the way of His heart? Does He see us in our struggle, our pain? What is the purpose of all this when it doesn’t feel good and we keep waiting and watching?

Here, in these unsung places, we can still take hope in the Shepherd of our hearts. The good Shepherd whose rod and staff comfort us, guide us, correct us, protect us. We are His sheep; He calls us by name and knows us. And we know His voice. And we turn to it when we are in trouble, when we are confused, when we are sad. When things don’t go the way we want them to, we cry out, “Lord, Lord, be near. You are with us. Lord You will have Your justice and mercy.”

As we look to Him to make things right, we hold to the promises that He offers and gives us.

Verse 13 says:

Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will proclaim your praise. - Psalm 79:13

Praise is possible when we lift our eyes to Who goes before us, and Who goes with us. The God of this universe, the One who created every crack and crevice of this earth, and every sinew and stretch mark of our bodies, He is One in the same. And He cares. He comes close. And He dries our tears. Whether in want or plenty, it’s time to proclaim His praise. The God whose hands hold our lives will see us safely through.

Now, It's Your Turn!

I challenge you to take a moment to pray, then read or listen to Psalm 79 today. Think about what stands out to you. Consider writing down a statement of faith. It may help to think of this as an I-statement. Maybe yours is similar to Sarah's:

The God of this universe... He cares. He comes close. And He dries our tears. Whether in want or plenty, it’s time to proclaim His praise. The God whose hands hold our lives will see us safely through.

Then, jot down a question to think about today. Maybe yours is similar to Sarah's:

What are the unsung places within me where I need to take hope in the Shepherd of my heart? Where have I been listening to other voices rather than the voice my heart knows so well and needs so desperately, the voice of my Shepherd?

May this reflection lead our hearts to gratitude and praise today and may we stand in victory against the tactics and schemes of the enemy.

And praise God for refreshment as we are intentional to spend a summer in the Psalms together, for if we want His truth to ever be on our lips, it must first be planted in our hearts.

Our strength grows as we rely on strength from above. Our joy grows as we see God transforming us from the inside out. Our peace grows as we spend time in God's presence, and we find rest when we intentionally seek the Lord first in our lives, for the Lord is ever our portion.

The good life, well it starts with a good day. Then another. Then another. Let's choose to live #TheGoodDay one day at a time.