Psalm 77:19  Your path led through the sea, 
         your way through the mighty waters, 
         though your footprints were not seen. 

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ps 77:19.

    Your road led through the sea, 
      your pathway through the mighty waters— 
      a pathway no one knew was there! 

Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015), Ps 77:19.

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Our server at one of our favorite restaurants in Park City, Utah has a name meaning Walk. She has had an interesting journey so far. She is Navajo. Her smile is gracious. Her demeanor is gentle. Her voice is soft. Our conversation was pleasant. We would have enjoyed it if she could have pulled up a chair to tell us more about her journey and her destinations. 

This verse in Psalm 77 has been one of my favorites for years. Reading through the Bible in the New Living Translation some years ago, this verse practically leaped from the page. Our Father in heaven travels pathways we do not know and cannot perceive until he reveals them in just the right way at just the right time. 

This is a good psalm for a bad day. Read the whole song top to bottom. It begins in a minor key. You can hear a St. Louis blues piano before Asaph steps up to the microphone to express his lament in verses 1-9. (Here is a good example of St. Louis blues piano. Skip ahead to 1:13 to get past the lecture. [https://bit.ly/3N0p3zG])

Notice how the mood shifts when the immovable object in front of Asaph is overcome by memory. The blues are exchanged for a more joyous tune. Think Rhapsody in Blue ([https://bit.ly/3D05qmL]). Verses 10-20 sing and soar and provide hope for a better future. Why? How? Because God is who he has always been. He will do what he has always done. Every good thing he has done in the past is prelude to what he will do next. 

God’s best is yet to be.

How can we not sing? How can we not trust him? How can we not follow wherever he leads? 

He opens seas to reveal pathways sure, safe, and thrilling. 

Winds blow. Lightning flashes. Earth quakes. God smiles. We are delivered. 

God is not finished yet. Let us not quit before he does. 

Jesus said, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working,” (John 5:17). 

Go ahead and sing the blues. There are days that demand them. Never get stuck in the blues, however. Minor keys enhance the beauty of major chords. Keep your ears open for the trumpet blast announcing the arrival of the most beautiful music ever composed and never yet performed awaiting the moment when all of time slips forever into eternity.

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I will sing the blues when I must, and I will sing them with a smile.  (https://bit.ly/3IkQlgM)

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Our Father, thank you for the truth that one day the bad times will be over for good. Now, our Father, use us in whatever ways you see fit to bring an end to the bad times plaguing our world with death, destruction, and deceit of an international scale. Amen.