Prayer Perspective

Do you ever feel that your prayers stop at the ceiling? We

know God could answer our prayers, but He chooses not
to. Rather than seeing God as our personal problem solver,
maybe we should refocus our prayers to learn more about
God and His character. As we develop our prayer lives to
know and understand Him more, we are reminded that He
is holy and He is great . . . and we can most certainly trust
Him through times of doubt and trial.

Why Doesnt

God

Answer Me?
Trusting in Times of Doubt and Trial

Dr. Ray Stedman authored many books from Spiritual

Warfare to Body Life to his insightful commentary
Adventuring Through the Bible. His books span the
experiences of Christian life.

To order more of Why Doesnt God Answer Me? or any of

over 100 other titles, visit discoveryseries.org.

HP112

Ray Stedman

introduction

Why Doesnt God

Answer Me?
Trusting in Times of Doubt and Trial

s it possible that we have been misled into

thinking we can solve our problems with

prayer? What could be more important than

knocking harder on the door of heaven when God

seems to go silent in the midst of our requests?
In this excerpt from Psalms: Folk Songs of Faith,
1

Ray Stedman suggests that prayer may not be

the first thing to do when we are in trouble. This
experienced pastor even admits that more prayer
may not give us the peace of mind or answers we
are looking for.
So what should we do when we dont know
where else to turn? The following pages will show
us how to renew our strength when all we feel is
our own weakness and fear.
Mart DeHaan

WHY DOESNT GOD ANSWER ME?

contents

one

In Times of Doubt
Psalm 77:1-12 5
two

Through the Deep Waters

Psalm 77:13-19 17
three

The Shepherd of His People

Psalm 77:20 29

MANAGING EDITOR: J.R. Hudberg

COVER IMAGE: Jorgen McLeman via Shutterstock.
COVER DESIGN: Jeremy Culp
INTERIOR DESIGN: Steve Gier
Adapted from Psalms: Folk Songs of Faith by Ray Stedman, published by
Discovery House. Copyright 2006.
Interior Images: (p.1) Jorgen McLeman via Shutterstock; (p.5) Aasadkova via
Pixabay.com; (p.17) Aaron G via Pixabay.com; (p.29) composite, Steve Gier.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978,
1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
2011, 2015 Our Daily Bread Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI
All rights reserved.
Printed in USA

one

In Times of Doubt
Psalm 77:1-12

any psalms were written to help people

struggling with doubt. Psalm 77 is not an
idealistic presentation of why we dont
need to doubt. It is the story of a man who is nearly driven
to despair because it seems that God refuses to respond to
his prayers. This psalm shows how we as believersand
yes, sometimes doubterscan move from despair to a
renewed and deepened faith in God.
Psalm 77 opens with a distressed cry: I cried out to
5

God for help;I cried out to God to hear me.When I

was in distress, I sought the Lord;at night I stretched
out untiring hands,and I would not be comforted.I
remembered you, God, and I groaned;I meditated, and
my spirit grew faint (vv. 13).
We dont know what problem Asaph was dealing
with, but he cried out to God about it. He begged and
groaned and pleaded to the point
of exhaustionhis spirit was
faint. Sorrow and disappointment
threatened to crush him. Though
he tried to focus on the Lords
goodness, he simply could not
find comfort.
The history of
He continued: You kept my
eyes from closing; I was too
Gods people is a
troubled to speak (v. 4). He tried
lengthy record
to sleep, but his eyelids would not
of tragedies,
stay closed. He was so disturbed
catastrophes,
that he couldnt even describe his
problems, pain,
problem to others. Asaph is in the
and, yes,
throes of grief, and there seems
doubt.
to be no light at the end of the
tunnel. In his desperation, he holds
nothing back. His words are blunt and to the point.
Its easy to think that problems should go away because
we are Christians: Now that Im a Christian, my faith will
solve every problem, relieve every doubt. But Psalm 77and
all the Biblesuggests something to the contrary. Even
with faith, life is still full of problems and doubts.
6

WHY DOESNT GOD ANSWER ME?

No one understood grief and confusion better than Jesus Think

of His agony in the garden in Gethsemane There He cries out to
God, saying, in effect, If at all possible, let this horror, this awful
cup, pass from Me Yet, let it not be as I will, but let Your will be
done (SEE LUKE 22:42) Later, on the cross, in His agony and loneliness
He wonders, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
(MATTHEW 27:46) If Jesus knew such intense inner struggle over Gods
will for His life, He certainly understands how we can feel perplexed

It is unrealistic to imagine that the Christian life, that

any kind of life, can be lived without pain and doubt. The
history of Gods people is a lengthy record of tragedies,
catastrophes, problems, pain, and, yes, doubt.
Asaph does two things in response to his pain and
doubt: He prays and he meditates. Even so, his pain
continues unabated and his confusion settles even deeper.
His problem is exacerbated by Gods silence.
Its hard enough to endure affliction, but if our faith
collapses under the pressure, we lose not only our current
battle but all our battles. Faith helps us navigate the
stormy and uncertain waters that threaten to capsize us.
Thats the temptation the psalmist faces. He has tried
prayer, but prayer doesnt seem to work. He has tried
meditating on Gods Word, but that too leaves him empty.
His problem is that he is relying on prayer and meditation as
techniquesand problems cannot be solved by techniques.

A Disturbing Conclusion
This psalm unmasks the glib and superficial advice
we often give one another in times of trial and
In Times of Doubt

discouragement. We see a person

whose heart has been ripped out,
and what is our response? Pray
about it, we say, and meditate on
the Word.
Such advice is not wrong, but
its virtually useless. Prayer (as we
God designed
will see later in the psalm) is not
prayer as an
the first thing to do when we are
instrument of
in trouble. Does that surprise you?
intimacy between
Does it seem almost blasphemous?
Him and us.
Yet Psalm 77 assures us that it is so.
We make a serious
Asaph thought prayer would
mistake when
solve his problems. But prayer was
we
reduce prayer
never designed for that purpose.
to
a technique.
God designed prayer as an
instrument of intimacy between
Him and us. We make a serious
mistake when we reduce prayer to a technique.
If we advise someone in distress to pray about it, and
that person has prayed and received no answer from God,
then we have not really helped. Encouraging what seems
to be a pointless activity may tempt someone to simply
give up on their faith, thinking, Faith doesnt work. God
doesnt respond to prayer.
When we pray, we often expect God to answer in an immediate
and miraculous way that matches exactly what we have asked for
However, Scripture shows that God often answers prayers in ways
we do not expect (SEE 2 CORINTHIANS 12:89)

WHY DOESNT GOD ANSWER ME?

Muddling through a time of doubt isnt good enough.

We cant just sit by and wait for a time when our faith is
not shaken and weak. We want to understand. We need
to know whats happening and why. The truth is simple,
if difficult: God allows painful experiences in our lives
because through them we grow and learn. If we do not
find Gods solution to our trials of doubt, our faith may
not survive.
In Psalm 77, Asaph comes perilously close to a
precipice. He is ready to slide into unbelief. Desperately
hoping to shore up his faith, he reflects on the past: I
thought about the former days, the years of long ago; I
remembered my songs in the night. My heart mused and
my spirit asked (vv. 56).
Asaph remembers Gods goodness and past blessings.
He remembers the songs and psalms he sang in past
nights of pain. Surely this will bring clarity and comfort.
Unfortunately, even as he remembers the good old
days and his songs in nights past, his spirit insistently
asks questions. The doubts assaulting his mind refuse
to be silenced. And his doubts all spring from the same
question: Why doesnt God answer me? This nagging
question drags him to the depths of despair: Will the
Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again?
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? (vv. 79).
These are understandable questions. We ask similar
questions in our times of confusion: If God has blessed
me in the past, then why doesnt He bless me now?
In Times of Doubt

Whats different? Why do I feel

forgotten and abandoned? Has
His mercy come to an end? Is He
angry with me?
Finally, the questions, doubts,
and silence lead the psalmist to a
terrifying conclusion: Then I said, If God can change,
then He is nothing
It is my grief, that the right hand
of the Most High has changed
more than a
(v.10 nasb).
manlike being
In other words, Ive prayed all
with godlike
night long. Ive searched my heart,
powers.
analyzed my situation, and I cant
answer these questions. Theres only
one conclusion: God has changed. I cant count on Him.
With that thought, Asaph faces the real possibility
of losing his faith. The foundation of his faithGod is
always the sameis crumbling beneath his feet. What
can save him from his crisis of doubt?

The Terrible Thought

The psalmist is peering over the brink into unbelief. He has
concluded that God can changeonly a small step from
believing something terrifying: God is not really God.
After all, if God can change, then He is nothing
more than a manlike being with godlike powers. Gods
unchanging character is essential to the psalmists
understanding of who God is. If God can change, if He
can be unloving and unjust, then God is not really God.
But Psalm 77 takes a turn at verse 11: I will remember
10

WHY DOESNT GOD ANSWER ME?

the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles

of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate
on all your mighty deeds (vv. 1112).
Suddenly there is a radical shift in Asaphs approach
to the crisis of doubt. His fear and despair vanish and
he has a new sense of confidence and peace which he
expresses to God.
In verses 110, Asaph had been talking to himself, posing his
rhetorical questions to the air However, in verse 11, he begins to
address God directly

The psalmist steps back from the precipice, turns around,

and moves in the opposite direction.
This monumental shift does not come because Asaphs
doubts are finally vanquished. His decision to believe in
Gods love and justice is not emotional or intellectual; its
a determination made purely with his will. He makes a
choice to step back from unbelief,
and that choice saves him.
Asaphs actions model something
we need to learn: We dont need
to be afraid to face our doubts
squarely. The Bible is true. God
is alive and strong enough to
We dont need to
withstand our honest inquiry.
Examine the Scriptures, and I
be afraid to
believe youll come to the same
face our doubts
conclusion as the apostle Peter. In
squarely.
John 6, Jesus made some difficult
statements to His disciples. At that
In Times of Doubt

11

point many of them left Him. When He saw the crowds

leaving, Jesus turned to His 12 closest friends and said,
You do not want to leave too, do you? Peter answered:
Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of
eternal life (john 6:6768).
So it was with Asaph. His doubts had driven him to a
terrible conclusion. He stood at the edge of unbelief and
stared down but resolved to continue believing that God
is God.

The Place to Begin

We cannot live in an unresolved state of tension between
faith and doubt. Ultimately we must come down on one
side or the other. If we fail to settle our questions of faith,
doubts will pull on us until we tumble into the abyss of
unbelief and become enemies of faith.
Asaph began by thinking about God: I will remember
the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles
of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate
on all your mighty deeds (vv. 1112).
Notice the psalmists first (and repeated) words, I
will. Those two words indicate that a decision has been
made and a course of action will be taken. His feelings
will no longer control him. His head, not his heart, will
determine his course. With that decision, the psalmist
stops focusing on himself and his circumstances and starts
focusing on God.
Here is where we find out what to do when we are
faced with trouble. Our response should not be prayer!
Prayer is not the first thing to do when we are in trouble.
12

WHY DOESNT GOD ANSWER ME?

We are to meditate on God. Make sure we understand

Him. Focus on God Himself before praying about our
hurts, our needs, our feelings, and our petitions.
Inexact notions of God are part of the common human
experience Because we are finite and He is infinite, it is
impossible to have perfect and complete knowledge of Him
But inexact does not necessarily mean inaccurate Nor does it
mean that God is unknowable

Lets be honest, our tendency is to pray first, ask God

to resolve all of our problems with a wave of His hand,
and then meditateif we meditate at allwaiting for
God to come to the rescue. When we pray before we
meditate, we pray about our problems, our suffering, our
anxiety, and our worries. We put ourselves at the center
of our prayers: Im in trouble! Im in pain! Im depressed!
Save me from my problems, God!
Instead, we need to learn to meditate on God. We need
to think about His nature, the wonder of who He is, and
His activity in history and in our own lives. Then when
we pray, God takes center stage in our prayers instead of
ourselves. Meditating on God changes the way we pray. We
focus on who God is, what He is like, and what He can do.
God, You are the Lord of my life and my problems.
You are holy and merciful. You are unchanging and
dependable. You are all I ever need in life.
Now we begin to see what Psalm 77 is all about. The
psalmist begins by describing a natural view of his problems.
He prays from a natural and self-centered mindset. He
begins with the thought, See how afflicted I am! See how
In Times of Doubt

13

I cry out and nothing happens!

When we put ourselves at the center,
emotions take over and our mind is
governed by our feelings.
But when the psalmists
perspective changes in verse 11, his
prayer changes as well. Instead of
The inconceivable
focusing on his pain in self-pity, he
becomes possible
focuses entirely on God. This shift
when we begin
contains profound psychological
with God.
insight. Psalm 77 begins with a
man enslaved to his emotions.
His anxiety and despair color his
outlook on his problems as well as his outlook on God.
His emotions have brought him to the brink of a collapse
of faith. But when the psalmist decides to take himself out
of the center of his prayers and put God there instead, his
perspective changes and the difference is dramatic.
If we begin by praying about our problems and our
feelings, we limit our thinking. But when we begin with
God, we start with a God who knows no limits. He is
the Creator of the universe and the Author of life. All
knowledge and truth are His. By focusing on Him instead
of ourselves, we remove unnecessary limitations from our
thinking and our prayers. The inconceivable becomes
possible when we begin with God.

Explaining the Silence of God

Before we leave the opening verses of Psalm 77, there is
still a question that needs an answer: Why didnt God
14

WHY DOESNT GOD ANSWER ME?

answer? The first verses of this psalm dont record just

the moments leading up to Asaphs change in perspective.
Verses 110 give the indication of an ongoing struggle
and of a prolonged silence from God.
In one sense the answer is as obvious as it is shocking:
God was silent because He chose to be. His silence was
intentional.
Would God deliberately ignore our pleas for help?
We know that He is loving and merciful. It seems like a
violation of His nature for Him to treat us with silence
just when we need Him most.
Why would God deliberately allow anyone to go
through such a time of trial, doubt, and despair? Because
God wants us to have a deeper faith. Times of trial and
doubting are part of the process that make us grow
spiritually strong and wise.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face
trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith
produces perseverance Let perseverance finish its work so that you
may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (JAMES 1:24)

If God always responded instantly to our cries for help,

we would remain spiritually immature, forever mastered
by feelings and moods. Our prayers would always be selfcentered rather than God-centered. Our outlook would
remain natural, not spiritual.
We will never reach spiritual maturity if God always
responds to us the instant we call upon Him. We will
never achieve mature faith and Christlike character
as long as our trust in God is subject to our moods,
In Times of Doubt

15

emotions, and circumstances. God hides Himself at times

so that we will grow to become more like Christ.
If you are going through a trial and God seems silent,
know that despite how it feels, He is there with you,
hurting and weeping with you. He is also helping you
to grow in your character and your faith. Through this
painful experience, you are learning lessons that cannot
be learned any other way. Gods silence does not signal
His absence or His disinterest.
Soon youll be able to rejoice with the psalmist and say,
I will remember the deeds of the Lord! You have Gods
Word on that.

16

WHY DOESNT GOD ANSWER ME?

two

Through the
Deep Waters
Psalm 77:13-19

he event that defined Israel as a nation was the

exodus, when God led the Israelites out of slavery
in Egypt. This event established Israels identity for
all time. The book of Psalms continually refers to the time
God brought the plagues upon Egypt and then miraculously
opened the Red Sea and led the Israelites to safety and
freedom. God fed them during their journey, leading them
17

by a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night.

The details of these events were well-known throughout
the ancient world. After a time in the desert, when the
people of Israel came to the edge of the Jordan River and
were about to enter the Promised Land, they found that
word had spreadthe inhabitants of the land were already
terrified of themand this paved the way for Israel to
take over the land.
Its possible that Asaph was thinking about the exodus
when he wrote: I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will
consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty
deeds (psaLm 77:1112).
As Christians, we too can reflect on Gods amazing deeds
and remember the works of Jesus and His miracles. We can
meditate on His teaching, healing, and raising the dead, as
well as His work of dying on the
cross and rising from the grave.
The apostle Paul testified to this
same historical heritage before King
Agrippa when he said of the death
and resurrection of Jesus, None of
this has escaped [the kings] notice,
The Bible is
because it was not done in a corner
grounded
in history.
(acts 26:26). The historic fact of
Christianity
would
the death and resurrection of Jesus
never
have
was a well-attested event that many
people witnessed and knew of. The survived if it were
risen Lord didnt appear to only one
based on lies.
or two people but to dozens, and to
18

WHY DOESNT GOD ANSWER ME?

over 500 people at once on one occasion. These people all

testified to the resurrection.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance:
that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he
was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve
After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers
and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though
some have fallen asleep Then he appeared to James, then to
all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one
abnormally born (1 CORINTHIANS 15:38)

God has acted in history. The story of Jesus is not a

myth. God became flesh and lived among us, was crucified,
and rose again. The Bible is grounded in history. Christianity
would never have survived if it were based on lies. The
resurrection is the central fact of human history. We can
say along with the psalmist, I will remember the deeds of
the Lord.

The Greatness of God

The psalmist goes on to tell us what will result when we
meditate on who God is and what He has done: Your ways,
God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? You are
the God who performs miracles; you display your power
among the peoples. With your mighty arm you redeemed
your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph (vv. 1315).
Our faith will stand firm as long as we are convinced
of the two towering truths the psalmist expresses here:
God is holy and God is great. Asaph is filled with a sense
Through the Deep Waters

19

of awe regarding the perfection,

majesty, and power of God.
We like to celebrate our own
greatness. We think we are
powerful because of technological
advances like nuclear power, space
exploration, and iPhones. But how
Remember the
does this power compare with the
greatness of a God
power of God?
who could create
Our sun works on the same
such a universe
principle as nuclear power
as ours. It helps
generating energy by fusing the
to
keep things in
nuclei of hydrogen atoms. But did
you know that our sun unleashes
perspective.
the equivalent of 100 billion nuclear
bombs every second? Whats more,
the sun, 300,000 times the size of planet Earth, is just one
of about 100 billion stars in the Milky Way Galaxy, which
is just one of more than 100 billion galaxies in the known
universe! In other words, at any given instant of time,
Gods universe is unleashing trillions and trillions of times
the energy of humans most powerful invention!
The next time you think of human greatness, remember
the greatness of a God who could create such a universe
as ours. It helps to keep things in perspective.

The Reality of Miracles

The psalmist writes: You are the God who performs
miracles; you display your power among the peoples
(psaLm 77:14).
20

WHY DOESNT GOD ANSWER ME?

Some skeptics argue in a complete circle: There is

no God, so there can be no miracles. Since there are no
miracles, there is no God.
But this kind of thinking is begging the question. Its the
fallacy of basing a conclusion on an unproven assumption.
You cant logically say, Miracles cant happen; therefore
miracles have not happened. You first have to prove that
miracles cant happen.
If we look at the events of the Bible as a record of
eyewitness accounts given by honest, sincere men and
women, then the Bible constitutes strong and convincing
evidence for miracles.
The God of the psalmist is a God who created a
universe out of nothing, a God who leads a nation out of
bondage by taking them through the depths of a parted
sea. This same God breathed life back into the dead. He
is a God who displays His awesome power. It is precisely
because these events are supernatural that people find
them convincing evidence of the reality of God.

The God of Redemption

Asaph makes another profound observation about the
deeds of God. His works are not simply great; they are
redemptive. God did great works that saved His people.
Asaph writes, With your mighty arm you redeemed your
people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph (v. 15).
The word redeem means to restore, to buy back
something that has been lost. I cant redeem you from
your sins. I cant even redeem myself. Redemption is
Gods special work, and everything He does in our lives
Through the Deep Waters

21

is focused on our redemption, on restoring us to belong

to Him.
The miracles of the Bible are redemptive. The miracles
God did in Egypt redeemed the people of Israel from
bondage and moved them to a place of usefulness for
God in the Land of Promise. The miracles Jesus did in
the Gospelsthe transformation of water into wine, the
healings, and the feedingswere all designed to impress
people with a truth that would transform their hearts:
Jesus is the Messiah.
The miracle of the resurrection was, of course, the
most redemptive miracle of all, for it was the supernatural
event that made it possible for us to be saved from sin
and death. In the crucifixion and resurrection, God paid
the price for our redemption. He bought us back from
the pawnshop of sin and death, and He restored us to
relationship with Him.
Everything in the life of our Lord Jesus focused on
redemption. The apostle Paul wrote, You know the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet
for your sake he became poor, so that you through his
poverty might become rich (2 corinthians 8:9). Note the
phrase for your sake. That is an expression of our Lords
redemptive love. For us He left heaven and became poor.
For us He was beaten and crucified.
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so
that in him we might become the righteousness of
God (5:21). God the Father made the Sinless One, Jesus,
responsible for our sin, and He paid the penalty for
sin in our place so that we could be redeemed. Jesus
22

WHY DOESNT GOD ANSWER ME?

was crucified and raised so that

we might be set free from sin.
Scripture tells us that at this very
moment Jesus is interceding for
us in heavenagain, for our
sakes! As we read in Hebrews,
Jesus is able to save completely
Redemption
is for Gods people, those who come to God through
him, because he always lives to
for those who
intercede for them (7:25).
respond to His
Notice that the psalmist
invitation and act writes, With your mighty arm
upon His Word. you redeemed your people (psaLm
77:15). No one is redeemed without
their knowledge or against their will. Redemption is for
Gods people, for those who respond to His invitation
and act upon His Word.
The proclamation of Gods redemptive love demands a
response. The book of Hebrews tells us, Without faith it
is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes
to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards
those who earnestly seek him (11:6).
You might say, But I dont know if God exists. I cant
find Him. How can I believe in Him if I dont know if He
is real or not? Answer: Draw near to God, and He will
draw near to you. That is always the promise of Scripture.
If you sincerely and earnestly seek Him, you will find
Him. Those who truly want to find Him will do so.
Are you responding to Gods redemptive call? Or are
you sitting in sullenness, waiting for God to do something
Through the Deep Waters

23

to you in spite of yourself? With His mighty arm, He has

redeemed His people. He is still redeeming His people
today. Seek Him, draw near to Him, and respond to His
invitation so you can say with the psalmist, What god is
as great as our God? (psaLm 77:13).
The Gospels record Jesus often extending this invitation
to people and capture His sorrow at the lack of response
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone
those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your
children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,
and you were not willing (LUKE 13:34)

The Thing You Fear

This psalm opens with a cry of doubt and despair. But the
psalmist has traced his way to faith and triumph. Now
in the closing lines of Psalm 77, he writes: The waters
saw you, God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very
depths were convulsed (psaLm 77:16).
The psalmist returns to that pivotal event in Israels
history when God parted the Red Sea and led His people
out of Egypt.
Asaph recognizes Gods control over all human
activities and over nature: The waters of the Red Sea
saw God and trembled in fear before His might. This is a
moving poetic image of how the waters responded to the
mighty power of God.
Imagine the fear of the Israelites when they reached
the edge of the sea. The Egyptians were close behind
and the impassable sea loomed ahead. Their situation
24

WHY DOESNT GOD ANSWER ME?

seemed hopeless. Yet the very

thing that closed off their escape,
the thing that virtually ensured
their death or reenslavementthe
water of the seawas afraid of
God!
God commanded Moses to
The sea didnt
stretch out his staff, and the sea
dare touch those
parted. The waters stacked up on
whom God
either side, held back by the hand
protected.
In the
of God. The Israelites went down
psalmists poetic
into a dry channel between the
imagery, the water
waters. They were afraid of the
waters, but the waters were afraid
saw God, and
of God. The sea didnt dare touch
it writhed and
those whom God protected. In
convulsed in fear.
the psalmists poetic imagery, the
water saw God, and it writhed and
convulsed in fear.
The very powers and forces that
frighten us are themselves under the command of God.
The thing you fear fears Him.

Through the Depths of the Sea

Next the psalmist tells us that the forces of nature are
nothing but instruments in Gods hands. He writes: The
clouds poured down water, the heavens resounded with
thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth. Your thunder
was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the
world; the earth trembled and quaked (psaLm 77:1718).
Through the Deep Waters

25

If you have ever been through

an electrical storm, you know what
the psalmist is describing: the soulshaking roar of thunder, lightning
flashing across the heavens like
fiery arrows, the earth trembling
in response. All of these forces
All of the worlds
are under Gods command. No
forces, systems,
power, natural or human, can
and
authorities
operate except by permission of
are under Gods
the Almighty.
control.
In the last hours before Jesus
went to the cross, forsaken by His
friends, betrayed by Judas, and denied by Peter, Jesus
stood alone and seemingly powerless before Pontius Pilate,
the Roman governor. When Pilate questioned Jesus, the
Lord gave him no answer. Exasperated, Pilate asked Him,
Do you refuse to speak to me? . . . Dont you realize I
have power either to free you or to crucify you? Jesus
answered, You would have no power over me if it were
not given to you from above (john 19:1011).
All of the worlds forces, systems, and authorities are
under Gods control. All power belongs to God. Nothing
can touch us without the permission of God Himself.
Asaph goes on to say: Your path led through the
sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your
footprints were not seen (psaLm 77:19).
The people of Israel didnt know where God was
leading them, but God had prepared the way. He
knew what He was doing. As the psalmist ponders this
26

WHY DOESNT GOD ANSWER ME?

miraculous event, he discovers a second great truth: The

fact that we dont understand what God is doing does not
mean He isnt at work.
This is a difficult concept to wrap our minds around.
We want God to explain all of His plans and actions. And
unless God constantly reassures us, we fret and panic, just
as the Israelites did when they reached the edge of the
Red Sea.
In Exodus 14 the Israelites were camped in the desert
near the sea when they saw a cloud of dust and heard
the thunder of horses hooves and
chariot wheels. Pharaohs army
was coming. The people cried out
to the Lord; then they panicked
and blamed Moses for their peril.
Was it because there were no
graves in Egypt that you brought
Do not be afraid.
us to the desert to die? What
have you done to us by bringing
Stand firm and
us out of Egypt? Didnt we say to
you will see the
you in Egypt, Leave us alone; let
deliverance the
us serve the Egyptians? It would
L
ord will bring
have been better for us to serve
you today.
the Egyptians than to die in the
desert! (vv. 1112).
EXODUS 14:13
The people of Israel had lost
faith in Moses and in God. Moses
had to give them a pep talk: Do not be afraid. Stand firm
and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you
today (v. 13).
Through the Deep Waters

27

If we had been in their sandals,

would we have reacted differently?
In desperate situations havent we
prayed, Lord, theres no way out!
Im trapped! Why dont You do
something? I confess that I have
prayed that way many times. That
We need to place
is not a prayer of faith. Thats a
our confidence in
prayer of panic.
Him,
trusting that
What the people of Israel didnt
He has a plan that
understand and couldnt imagine
is perfect.
is that this was part of Gods plan
all along. His plan of deliverance
never even entered their minds!
Though His footprints were unseen, God knew exactly
what He was doing.
This is a principle we all need to remember in those
times when hope is fading and there seems no way out
of total disaster. We need to place our confidence in
Him, trusting that He has a plan that is perfect. We cant
imagine what God will do, but we can trust that whatever
He does will be the best thing for us; and in the end, it
will be amazing!

28

WHY DOESNT GOD ANSWER ME?

three

The Shepherd of
His People
Psalm 77:20

he final truth the psalmist discovered was this:

The Lord is the Shepherd of His people. He
writes: You led your people like a flock by the
hand of Moses and Aaron (psaLm 77:20).
Is there any figure of speech so beautifully descriptive
of the relationship of God to His people than that of a
shepherd with his flock? The closing verse of Psalm 77
29

reminds us of the opening verse of Psalm 23: The

L ord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. Because the Lord
is our Shepherd, He leads us and supplies everything
we need.
What does the Lord supply to His sheep? First, He
supplies a sense of meaning and
purpose for our lives. A shepherd
always has a goal in mind for the
flock. If he leads his sheep to the
mountain pastures, its because
he has something he wants to
accomplish there. If he leads them
What does the
beside the still water, he has a
Lord supply to
reason for doing so. If he leads
His sheep? He
the sheep out into the territory of
the wolves, its because he wants
supplies a sense
them there. Its the shepherd who
of meaning and
supplies the purpose.
purpose for our
Meaning is an essential
lives.
A shepherd
ingredient of life. A man once
always has a
came to me for counseling. He
goal
in mind for
said, I have everything I want, but
I dont want anything I have. He
the flock.
was suffering from destination
sickness, the feeling of having
achieved all of his life goals only
to find that none of his achievements brought him peace
and satisfaction. God, our Good Shepherd, supplies us
with meaning, purpose, and a reason for living. He makes
life worthwhile.
30

WHY DOESNT GOD ANSWER ME?

Second, the Shepherd supplies love, another desperate

need in our lives. Our Lord loves His sheep. He gives
us everything that love entails: caring, protection, and
provision. As the apostle Peter writes, Cast all your
anxiety on him because he cares for you (1peter 5:7). We
matter to Him. He cares about our needs. That is the
heart of a shepherd.
Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd, and He said
that what defined Him in that role was His self-sacrificing
love for the sheep:
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays
down His life for the sheep. The hired hand is not
the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when
he sees the wolf coming, he
abandons the sheep and runs
away. Then the wolf attacks
the flock and scatters it. The
man runs away because he is a
hired hand and cares nothing
for the sheep. I am the good
Whenever we feel
shepherd; I know my sheep and
my sheep know mejust as the
abandoned or
Father knows me and I know the neglected by God,
Fatherand I lay down my life
we need
for the sheep (john 10:1115).
Whenever we feel abandoned or
neglected by God, we need to
remember that He is our Shepherd.
We are always in His protective

to remember
that He is our
Shepherd.

The Shepherd of His People

31

care, even when we are not aware of it. God always

shepherds His own. Thats the conclusion the psalmist
comes to.
Have you come to that same conclusion? Are you able
to trust God, even through times of doubt and pressure,
trial and temptation? Have faith in God! He will lead you
through the deep waters and bring you safely to the other
shore. Once there, youll be able to say with the psalmist,
Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our
God? (psaLm 77:13).

32

WHY DOESNT GOD ANSWER ME?

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